Azure API Documentation
Welcome to the comprehensive API documentation for Microsoft Azure. This section provides detailed information, reference materials, and examples for interacting with Azure services programmatically.
Getting Started with Azure APIs
Azure offers a rich set of REST APIs, SDKs, and command-line tools to manage and orchestrate your cloud resources. Understanding these APIs is crucial for automating deployments, building custom management solutions, and integrating Azure services into your applications.
You can access Azure APIs through:
- REST APIs: Direct HTTP requests to Azure endpoints.
- Azure SDKs: Language-specific libraries that abstract the complexity of REST APIs.
- Azure CLI / PowerShell: Powerful command-line interfaces for managing Azure resources.
For authentication and authorization, Azure uses Azure Active Directory (Azure AD). Ensure you have the necessary permissions and tokens before making API calls.
Explore the categories below to find the specific API documentation you need.
Core API Concepts
Authentication and Authorization
All Azure API operations require authentication. Azure AD is the primary identity provider. Learn how to obtain access tokens and manage permissions:
Resource Management
The Azure Resource Manager (ARM) API is the foundation for deploying, managing, and deleting Azure resources. It uses JSON templates for declarative deployments.
Error Handling
Understand common HTTP status codes and error formats returned by Azure APIs to effectively handle errors in your applications.
API Reference by Service
Detailed reference for APIs categorized by Azure service:
Compute Services
Manage virtual machines, containers, and serverless computing resources.
| Service | API Endpoint Prefix | Key Operations |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Machines | https://management.azure.com/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/... |
GET, PUT, DELETE |
| Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) | https://management.azure.com/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.ContainerService/managedClusters/... |
GET, POST, DELETE |
| Azure Functions | https://management.azure.com/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.Web/sites/... |
GET, POST |
Storage Services
Interact with various Azure storage services.
| Service | API Endpoint Prefix | Key Operations |
|---|---|---|
| Blob Storage | https://{accountName}.blob.core.windows.net/... (Data Plane), https://management.azure.com/.../storageAccounts/... (Management Plane) |
GET, PUT, DELETE |
| Table Storage | https://{accountName}.table.core.windows.net/... |
GET, POST, PUT, DELETE |
Database Services
Manage relational and NoSQL databases.
| Service | API Endpoint Prefix | Key Operations |
|---|---|---|
| Azure SQL Database | https://management.azure.com/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.Sql/servers/... |
GET, PUT, DELETE |
| Azure Cosmos DB | https://management.azure.com/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/resourceGroups/{resourceGroupName}/providers/Microsoft.DocumentDB/databaseAccounts/... |
GET, PUT, DELETE |
API Versioning
Azure APIs are versioned to allow for changes and new features without breaking existing applications. Always specify the API version you intend to use in your requests. For example:
GET https://management.azure.com/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines?api-version=2021-07-01Refer to individual service documentation for the latest supported API versions.
Using Azure SDKs
For a more streamlined development experience, consider using the Azure SDKs. They provide idiomatic APIs for various programming languages (e.g., Python, .NET, Java, JavaScript) and handle authentication, request building, and response parsing.