Azure APIs Documentation
Welcome to the comprehensive documentation for Azure APIs. This portal provides detailed information, code samples, and reference materials for developers building solutions on Microsoft Azure.
Overview
Microsoft Azure offers a vast array of APIs that enable programmatic interaction with its services. These APIs are designed to be robust, scalable, and secure, allowing you to automate tasks, integrate services, and build complex cloud-native applications.
You can access Azure APIs through several mechanisms:
- REST APIs: The most common way to interact with Azure services.
- Azure SDKs: Language-specific libraries that wrap REST APIs, simplifying development.
- Azure CLI & PowerShell: Command-line tools for managing Azure resources.
Getting Started
Before you begin interacting with Azure APIs, ensure you have the following:
- An Azure Subscription.
- An Azure Active Directory (now Microsoft Entra ID) tenant for authentication and authorization.
- Appropriate permissions configured for your user or service principal.
Authentication and Authorization
Azure services are secured using Azure Active Directory (Microsoft Entra ID). The most common methods for authenticating API requests are:
- OAuth 2.0: Used by applications to obtain access tokens.
- Service Principals: For unattended applications and services.
- Managed Identities: A credential management feature for Azure resources.
For detailed information on authentication flows and best practices, refer to the Microsoft Entra ID authentication overview.
Azure Resource Manager (ARM) API
The Azure Resource Manager API is the foundational API for deploying, managing, and organizing Azure resources. It allows you to:
- Deploy resources using ARM templates or Bicep.
- Query and manage resource groups.
- Set resource tags and locks.
- Manage role-based access control (RBAC).
For more details, visit the Azure Resource Manager API documentation.
Popular API Categories
Virtual Machines
Manage virtual machines, disks, and associated resources.
Key Operations: Create, start, stop, resize, delete VMs.
Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
Deploy and manage containerized applications with Kubernetes.
Key Operations: Create, scale, upgrade clusters.
Blob Storage
Store and access unstructured data like documents, images, and videos.
Key Operations: Upload, download, manage blobs and containers.
Table Storage
Store semi-structured NoSQL data.
Key Operations: Query, insert, update entities.
Virtual Network (VNet)
Provision private networks in Azure.
Key Operations: Create subnets, configure routing, manage NSGs.
Load Balancer
Distribute network traffic to ensure application availability and responsiveness.
Key Operations: Configure load balancing rules, health probes.
Code Samples
Below are examples of how to interact with Azure APIs using different methods.
REST API Example (Get Resource Group)
This example shows a simple GET request to retrieve details about a resource group using `curl`.
curl 'https://management.azure.com/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}?api-version=2021-04-01' \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
Azure CLI Example (Create Storage Account)
Creating a storage account using the Azure CLI.
az storage account create \
--name mystorageaccount <unique_suffix> \
--resource-group MyResourceGroup \
--location eastus \
--sku Standard_LRS
Always use the latest stable `api-version` specified in the Azure REST API documentation for the service you are interacting with. Using outdated versions may lead to unexpected behavior or deprecated features.
SDKs
Azure SDKs provide idiomatic and simplified ways to interact with Azure services from your favorite programming languages. We offer SDKs for:
Explore the Azure SDK documentation for language-specific guides and examples.