azure-identity-py

CategoryCoding
AuthorAgentic Awesome Skills 社区
LicenseMIT
Rating4.40/5
Uses9.1K

Azure Identity SDK for Python

Authentication library for Azure SDK clients using Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD).

Installation

bash
pip install azure-identity

Environment Variables

bash
# Service Principal (for production/CI)
AZURE_TENANT_ID=<your-tenant-id>
AZURE_CLIENT_ID=<your-client-id>
AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET=<your-client-secret>

User-assigned Managed Identity (optional)

AZURE_CLIENT_ID=<managed-identity-client-id>

DefaultAzureCredential

The recommended credential for most scenarios. Tries multiple authentication methods in order:

python
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
from azure.storage.blob import BlobServiceClient

Works in local dev AND production without code changes

credential = DefaultAzureCredential()

client = BlobServiceClient(
    account_url="https://<account>.blob.core.windows.net",
    credential=credential
)

Credential Chain Order

| Order | Credential | Environment |
|-------|-----------|-------------|
| 1 | EnvironmentCredential | CI/CD, containers |
| 2 | WorkloadIdentityCredential | Kubernetes |
| 3 | ManagedIdentityCredential | Azure VMs, App Service, Functions |
| 4 | SharedTokenCacheCredential | Windows only |
| 5 | VisualStudioCodeCredential | VS Code with Azure extension |
| 6 | AzureCliCredential | az login |
| 7 | AzurePowerShellCredential | Connect-AzAccount |
| 8 | AzureDeveloperCliCredential | azd auth login |

Customizing DefaultAzureCredential

python
# Exclude credentials you don't need
credential = DefaultAzureCredential(
    exclude_environment_credential=True,
    exclude_shared_token_cache_credential=True,
    managed_identity_client_id="<user-assigned-mi-client-id>"  # For user-assigned MI
)

Enable interactive browser (disabled by default)

credential = DefaultAzureCredential(
    exclude_interactive_browser_credential=False
)

Specific Credential Types

ManagedIdentityCredential

For Azure-hosted resources (VMs, App Service, Functions, AKS):

python
from azure.identity import ManagedIdentityCredential

System-assigned managed identity

credential = ManagedIdentityCredential()

User-assigned managed identity

credential = ManagedIdentityCredential(
    client_id="<user-assigned-mi-client-id>"
)

ClientSecretCredential

For service principal with secret:

python
from azure.identity import ClientSecretCredential

credential = ClientSecretCredential(
    tenant_id=os.environ["AZURE_TENANT_ID"],
    client_id=os.environ["AZURE_CLIENT_ID"],
    client_secret=os.environ["AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET"]
)

AzureCliCredential

Uses the account from az login:

python
from azure.identity import AzureCliCredential

credential = AzureCliCredential()

ChainedTokenCredential

Custom credential chain:

python
from azure.identity import (
    ChainedTokenCredential,
    ManagedIdentityCredential,
    AzureCliCredential
)

Try managed identity first, fall back to CLI

credential = ChainedTokenCredential(
    ManagedIdentityCredential(client_id="<user-assigned-mi-client-id>"),
    AzureCliCredential()
)

Credential Types Table

| Credential | Use Case | Auth Method |
|------------|----------|-------------|
| DefaultAzureCredential | Most scenarios | Auto-detect |
| ManagedIdentityCredential | Azure-hosted apps | Managed Identity |
| ClientSecretCredential | Service principal | Client secret |
| ClientCertificateCredential | Service principal | Certificate |
| AzureCliCredential | Local development | Azure CLI |
| AzureDeveloperCliCredential | Local development | Azure Developer CLI |
| InteractiveBrowserCredential | User sign-in | Browser OAuth |
| DeviceCodeCredential | Headless/SSH | Device code flow |

Getting Tokens Directly

python
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential

credential = DefaultAzureCredential()


Get token for a specific scope

token = credential.get_token("https://management.azure.com/.default")
print(f"Token expires: {token.expires_on}")

For Azure Database for PostgreSQL

token = credential.get_token("https://ossrdbms-aad.database.windows.net/.default")

Async Client

python
from azure.identity.aio import DefaultAzureCredential
from azure.storage.blob.aio import BlobServiceClient

async def main():
    credential = DefaultAzureCredential()
    
    async with BlobServiceClient(
        account_url="https://<account>.blob.core.windows.net",
        credential=credential
    ) as client:
        # ... async operations
        pass
    
    await credential.close()

Best Practices

1. Use DefaultAzureCredential for code that runs locally and in Azure
2. Never hardcode credentials — use environment variables or managed identity
3. Prefer managed identity in production Azure deployments
4. Use ChainedTokenCredential when you need a custom credential order
5. Close async credentials explicitly or use context managers
6. Set AZURE_CLIENT_ID for user-assigned managed identities
7. Exclude unused credentials to speed up authentication

When to Use

This skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.

Limitations

  • Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
  • Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
  • Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.
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