Azure Identity library 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".
67
80%
Does it follow best practices?
Run evals on this skill
Adds up to 20 points to the overall score
View guide
Passed
No findings from the security scan
Fix and improve this skill with Tessl
tessl review fix ./.github/plugins/azure-sdk-dotnet/skills/azure-identity-dotnet/SKILL.mdAuthentication library for Azure SDK clients using Microsoft Entra ID.
dotnet add package Azure.Identity
# For ASP.NET Core integration
dotnet add package Microsoft.Extensions.Azure
# For brokered authentication and Visual Studio Code credential support
dotnet add package Azure.Identity.BrokerAZURE_CLIENT_ID=<application-client-id>
AZURE_TENANT_ID=<directory-tenant-id>
AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET=<client-secret-value>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> # OptionalAZURE_CLIENT_ID=<user-assigned-managed-identity-client-id> # Only for user-assignedThe recommended credential for most scenarios. Tries multiple authentication methods in order. See DefaultAzureCredential overview for the current credential chain order and defaults.
using Azure.Identity;
using Azure.Storage.Blobs;
var credential = new DefaultAzureCredential();
var blobClient = new BlobServiceClient(
new Uri("https://myaccount.blob.core.windows.net"),
credential);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());
});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>"
});// 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>"));
// User-assigned by object ID
var credential = new ManagedIdentityCredential(
ManagedIdentityId.FromUserAssignedObjectId("<object-id>"));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);var certificate = X509CertificateLoader.LoadCertificateFromFile("MyCertificate.pfx");
var credential = new ClientCertificateCredential(
tenantId: "<tenant-id>",
clientId: "<client-id>",
certificate);var credential = new ChainedTokenCredential(
new ManagedIdentityCredential(),
new AzureCliCredential());
var client = new SecretClient(
new Uri("https://myvault.vault.azure.net"),
credential);// 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();// Production vs Development
TokenCredential credential = builder.Environment.IsProduction()
? new ManagedIdentityCredential("<client-id>")
: new DefaultAzureCredential();var credential = new DefaultAzureCredential(
new DefaultAzureCredentialOptions
{
AuthorityHost = AzureAuthorityHosts.AzureGovernment
});
// Available authority hosts:
// AzureAuthorityHosts.AzurePublicCloud (default)
// AzureAuthorityHosts.AzureGovernment
// AzureAuthorityHosts.AzureChina| 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 |
// Development
var devCredential = new DefaultAzureCredential();
// Production - use specific credential
var prodCredential = new ManagedIdentityCredential(
ManagedIdentityId.FromUserAssignedClientId("<client-id>"));// Good: Single credential instance shared across clients
var credential = new DefaultAzureCredential();
var blobClient = new BlobServiceClient(blobUri, credential);
var secretClient = new SecretClient(vaultUri, credential);var options = new ManagedIdentityCredentialOptions(
ManagedIdentityId.FromUserAssignedClientId(clientId))
{
Retry =
{
MaxRetries = 3,
Delay = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(0.5),
}
};
var credential = new ManagedIdentityCredential(options);using Azure.Core.Diagnostics;
using AzureEventSourceListener listener = new((args, message) =>
{
if (args is { EventSource.Name: "Azure-Identity" })
{
Console.WriteLine(message);
}
}, EventLevel.LogAlways);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}");
}| Exception | Description |
|---|---|
AuthenticationFailedException | Base exception for authentication errors |
CredentialUnavailableException | Credential cannot authenticate in current environment |
AuthenticationRequiredException | Interactive authentication is required |
Supported Azure services:
All credential implementations are thread-safe. A single credential instance can be safely shared across multiple clients and threads.
| Package | Purpose | Install |
|---|---|---|
Azure.Identity | Authentication (this library) | dotnet add package Azure.Identity |
Microsoft.Extensions.Azure | DI integration | dotnet add package Microsoft.Extensions.Azure |
Azure.Identity.Broker | Brokered auth | dotnet add package Azure.Identity.Broker |
| Resource | URL |
|---|---|
| NuGet Package | https://www.nuget.org/packages/Azure.Identity |
| API Reference | https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/azure.identity |
| Credential Chains | https://aka.ms/azsdk/net/identity/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 |
e20084b
If you maintain this skill, you can claim it as your own. Once claimed, you can manage eval scenarios, bundle related skills, attach documentation or rules, and ensure cross-agent compatibility.