Agent skill
azure-identity-dotnet
Azure Identity SDK for .NET. Authentication library for Azure SDK clients using Microsoft Entra ID. Use for DefaultAzureCredential, managed identity, service principals, and developer credentials. Triggers: "Azure Identity", "DefaultAzureCredential", "ManagedIdentityCredential", "ClientSecretCredential", "authentication .NET", "Azure auth", "credential chain".
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SKILL.md
Azure.Identity (.NET)
Authentication library for Azure SDK clients using Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD).
Installation
dotnet add package Azure.Identity
# For ASP.NET Core
dotnet add package Microsoft.Extensions.Azure
# For brokered authentication (Windows)
dotnet add package Azure.Identity.Broker
Current Versions: Stable v1.17.1, Preview v1.18.0-beta.2
Environment Variables
Service Principal with Secret
AZURE_CLIENT_ID=<application-client-id>
AZURE_TENANT_ID=<directory-tenant-id>
AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET=<client-secret-value>
Service Principal with Certificate
AZURE_CLIENT_ID=<application-client-id>
AZURE_TENANT_ID=<directory-tenant-id>
AZURE_CLIENT_CERTIFICATE_PATH=<path-to-pfx-or-pem>
AZURE_CLIENT_CERTIFICATE_PASSWORD=<certificate-password> # Optional
Managed Identity
AZURE_CLIENT_ID=<user-assigned-managed-identity-client-id> # Only for user-assigned
DefaultAzureCredential
The recommended credential for most scenarios. Tries multiple authentication methods in order:
| Order | Credential | Enabled by Default |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | EnvironmentCredential | Yes |
| 2 | WorkloadIdentityCredential | Yes |
| 3 | ManagedIdentityCredential | Yes |
| 4 | VisualStudioCredential | Yes |
| 5 | VisualStudioCodeCredential | Yes |
| 6 | AzureCliCredential | Yes |
| 7 | AzurePowerShellCredential | Yes |
| 8 | AzureDeveloperCliCredential | Yes |
| 9 | InteractiveBrowserCredential | No |
Basic Usage
using Azure.Identity;
using Azure.Storage.Blobs;
var credential = new DefaultAzureCredential();
var blobClient = new BlobServiceClient(
new Uri("https://myaccount.blob.core.windows.net"),
credential);
ASP.NET Core with Dependency Injection
using Azure.Identity;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Azure;
builder.Services.AddAzureClients(clientBuilder =>
{
clientBuilder.AddBlobServiceClient(
new Uri("https://myaccount.blob.core.windows.net"));
clientBuilder.AddSecretClient(
new Uri("https://myvault.vault.azure.net"));
// Uses DefaultAzureCredential by default
clientBuilder.UseCredential(new DefaultAzureCredential());
});
Customizing DefaultAzureCredential
var credential = new DefaultAzureCredential(
new DefaultAzureCredentialOptions
{
ExcludeEnvironmentCredential = true,
ExcludeManagedIdentityCredential = false,
ExcludeVisualStudioCredential = false,
ExcludeAzureCliCredential = false,
ExcludeInteractiveBrowserCredential = false, // Enable interactive
TenantId = "<tenant-id>",
ManagedIdentityClientId = "<user-assigned-mi-client-id>"
});
Credential Types
ManagedIdentityCredential (Production)
// System-assigned managed identity
var credential = new ManagedIdentityCredential(ManagedIdentityId.SystemAssigned);
// User-assigned by client ID
var credential = new ManagedIdentityCredential(
ManagedIdentityId.FromUserAssignedClientId("<client-id>"));
// User-assigned by resource ID
var credential = new ManagedIdentityCredential(
ManagedIdentityId.FromUserAssignedResourceId("<resource-id>"));
ClientSecretCredential
var credential = new ClientSecretCredential(
tenantId: "<tenant-id>",
clientId: "<client-id>",
clientSecret: "<client-secret>");
var client = new SecretClient(
new Uri("https://myvault.vault.azure.net"),
credential);
ClientCertificateCredential
var certificate = X509CertificateLoader.LoadCertificateFromFile("MyCertificate.pfx");
var credential = new ClientCertificateCredential(
tenantId: "<tenant-id>",
clientId: "<client-id>",
certificate);
ChainedTokenCredential (Custom Chain)
var credential = new ChainedTokenCredential(
new ManagedIdentityCredential(),
new AzureCliCredential());
var client = new SecretClient(
new Uri("https://myvault.vault.azure.net"),
credential);
Developer Credentials
// Azure CLI
var credential = new AzureCliCredential();
// Azure PowerShell
var credential = new AzurePowerShellCredential();
// Azure Developer CLI (azd)
var credential = new AzureDeveloperCliCredential();
// Visual Studio
var credential = new VisualStudioCredential();
// Interactive Browser
var credential = new InteractiveBrowserCredential();
Environment-Based Configuration
// Production vs Development
TokenCredential credential = builder.Environment.IsProduction()
? new ManagedIdentityCredential("<client-id>")
: new DefaultAzureCredential();
Sovereign Clouds
var credential = new DefaultAzureCredential(
new DefaultAzureCredentialOptions
{
AuthorityHost = AzureAuthorityHosts.AzureGovernment
});
// Available authority hosts:
// AzureAuthorityHosts.AzurePublicCloud (default)
// AzureAuthorityHosts.AzureGovernment
// AzureAuthorityHosts.AzureChina
// AzureAuthorityHosts.AzureGermany
Credential Types Reference
| Category | Credential | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Chains | DefaultAzureCredential |
Preconfigured chain for dev-to-prod |
ChainedTokenCredential |
Custom credential chain | |
| Azure-Hosted | ManagedIdentityCredential |
Azure managed identity |
WorkloadIdentityCredential |
Kubernetes workload identity | |
EnvironmentCredential |
Environment variables | |
| Service Principal | ClientSecretCredential |
Client ID + secret |
ClientCertificateCredential |
Client ID + certificate | |
ClientAssertionCredential |
Signed client assertion | |
| User | InteractiveBrowserCredential |
Browser-based auth |
DeviceCodeCredential |
Device code flow | |
OnBehalfOfCredential |
Delegated identity | |
| Developer | AzureCliCredential |
Azure CLI |
AzurePowerShellCredential |
Azure PowerShell | |
AzureDeveloperCliCredential |
Azure Developer CLI | |
VisualStudioCredential |
Visual Studio |
Best Practices
1. Use Deterministic Credentials in Production
// Development
var devCredential = new DefaultAzureCredential();
// Production - use specific credential
var prodCredential = new ManagedIdentityCredential("<client-id>");
2. Reuse Credential Instances
// Good: Single credential instance shared across clients
var credential = new DefaultAzureCredential();
var blobClient = new BlobServiceClient(blobUri, credential);
var secretClient = new SecretClient(vaultUri, credential);
3. Configure Retry Policies
var options = new ManagedIdentityCredentialOptions(
ManagedIdentityId.FromUserAssignedClientId(clientId))
{
Retry =
{
MaxRetries = 3,
Delay = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(0.5),
}
};
var credential = new ManagedIdentityCredential(options);
4. Enable Logging for Debugging
using Azure.Core.Diagnostics;
using AzureEventSourceListener listener = new((args, message) =>
{
if (args is { EventSource.Name: "Azure-Identity" })
{
Console.WriteLine(message);
}
}, EventLevel.LogAlways);
Error Handling
using Azure.Identity;
using Azure.Security.KeyVault.Secrets;
var client = new SecretClient(
new Uri("https://myvault.vault.azure.net"),
new DefaultAzureCredential());
try
{
KeyVaultSecret secret = await client.GetSecretAsync("secret1");
}
catch (AuthenticationFailedException e)
{
Console.WriteLine($"Authentication Failed: {e.Message}");
}
catch (CredentialUnavailableException e)
{
Console.WriteLine($"Credential Unavailable: {e.Message}");
}
Key Exceptions
| Exception | Description |
|---|---|
AuthenticationFailedException |
Base exception for authentication errors |
CredentialUnavailableException |
Credential cannot authenticate in current environment |
AuthenticationRequiredException |
Interactive authentication is required |
Managed Identity Support
Supported Azure services:
- Azure App Service and Azure Functions
- Azure Arc
- Azure Cloud Shell
- Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
- Azure Service Fabric
- Azure Virtual Machines
- Azure Virtual Machine Scale Sets
Thread Safety
All credential implementations are thread-safe. A single credential instance can be safely shared across multiple clients and threads.
Related SDKs
| SDK | Purpose | Install |
|---|---|---|
Azure.Identity |
Authentication (this SDK) | dotnet add package Azure.Identity |
Microsoft.Extensions.Azure |
DI integration | dotnet add package Microsoft.Extensions.Azure |
Azure.Identity.Broker |
Brokered auth (Windows) | dotnet add package Azure.Identity.Broker |
Reference Links
| Resource | URL |
|---|---|
| NuGet Package | https://www.nuget.org/packages/Azure.Identity |
| API Reference | https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/azure.identity |
| Credential Chains | https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/azure/sdk/authentication/credential-chains |
| Best Practices | https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/azure/sdk/authentication/best-practices |
| GitHub Source | https://github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-net/tree/main/sdk/identity/Azure.Identity |
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