{"slug":"azure-identity-py","title":"azure-identity-py","summary":"Azure Identity SDK for Python authentication with Microsoft Entra ID. Use for DefaultAzureCredential, managed identity, service principals, and token caching. Triggers: \"azure-identity\", \"DefaultAzureCredential\", \"authentication\", \"managed identity\", \"service principal\", \"credent","platform":"GitHub Copilot","tags":[],"authorName":"Ciza","authorSlug":"ciza","score":0,"source":"github","price":null,"verified":false,"createdAt":"2026-08-12T21:05:07.566564Z","repo":{"url":"https://github.com/microsoft/skills","stars":3052,"forks":351,"license":"MIT","updatedAt":"2026-09-24T16:38:17Z"},"bodyHtml":"
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name: azure-identity-py\ndescription: |\nAzure Identity SDK for Python authentication with Microsoft Entra ID. Use for DefaultAzureCredential, managed identity, service principals, and token caching.\nTriggers: \"azure-identity\", \"DefaultAzureCredential\", \"authentication\", \"managed identity\", \"service principal\", \"credential\".\nlicense: MIT\nmetadata:\nauthor: Microsoft\nversion: \"1.0.0\"\npackage: azure-identity

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Azure Identity library for Python

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Authentication library for Azure SDK clients using Microsoft Entra ID.

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Use this skill when:

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Installation

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pip install azure-identity\n
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For VS Code or broker-based desktop auth:

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pip install azure-identity-broker\n
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Python Version

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azure-identity supports Python 3.9+.

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Environment Variables

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# Service principal with client secret\nAZURE_TENANT_ID=<your-tenant-id>\nAZURE_CLIENT_ID=<your-client-id>\nAZURE_CLIENT_SECRET=<your-client-secret>\n\n# Service principal with certificate\nAZURE_TENANT_ID=<your-tenant-id>\nAZURE_CLIENT_ID=<your-client-id>\nAZURE_CLIENT_CERTIFICATE_PATH=/path/to/cert.pem\nAZURE_CLIENT_CERTIFICATE_PASSWORD=<optional-password>\n\n# Authority (sovereign clouds)\nAZURE_AUTHORITY_HOST=login.microsoftonline.com  # Default; or login.chinacloudapi.cn, login.microsoftonline.us\n\n# User-assigned managed identity\nAZURE_CLIENT_ID=<managed-identity-client-id>\n\n# Credential selection (new)\nAZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=dev|prod|<credential-name>  # Optional, restricts DAC chain\n
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Authentication & Lifecycle

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\uD83D\uDD11 Two rules apply to every code sample below:

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  1. Prefer DefaultAzureCredential. It works locally (Azure CLI / VS Code / Developer CLI) and in Azure (managed identity, workload identity) with no code change. Avoid connection strings, account/API keys — they bypass Entra audit and rotation.\n
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    • Local dev: DefaultAzureCredential works as-is.
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    • Production: set AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod (or AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=<specific_credential>) to constrain the credential chain to production-safe credentials.
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    2. \n
  2. Wrap credentials and clients in context managers when they own token caches / transports:\n
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    • Sync: with DefaultAzureCredential() as credential:
      • \n
    • Async: async with DefaultAzureCredential() as credential: (from azure.identity.aio)
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    3. \n
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Snippets may abbreviate this setup, but production code should always follow both rules.

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DefaultAzureCredential

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

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from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential\nfrom azure.storage.blob import BlobServiceClient\n\n# Works in local dev AND production without code changes\ncredential = DefaultAzureCredential()\n\nwith BlobServiceClient(\n    account_url=\"https://<account>.blob.core.windows.net\",\n    credential=credential\n) as client:\n    containers = list(client.list_containers())\n
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Credential Chain Order

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See DefaultAzureCredential overview for the current credential chain order and defaults.

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Customizing DefaultAzureCredential

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# Exclude credentials you don't need\ncredential = DefaultAzureCredential(\n    exclude_environment_credential=True,\n    exclude_shared_token_cache_credential=True,\n    managed_identity_client_id=\"<user-assigned-mi-client-id>\"  # For user-assigned MI (also accepts object ID or resource ID)\n)\n\n# Enable interactive browser (disabled by default)\ncredential = DefaultAzureCredential(\n    exclude_interactive_browser_credential=False\n)\n\n# Set subprocess timeout for CLI-based credentials (default: 10s)\ncredential = DefaultAzureCredential(process_timeout=30)\n\n# Require AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS env var to be set\ncredential = DefaultAzureCredential(require_envvar=True)\n
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Exclude Parameters

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ParameterDefaultEffect
exclude_environment_credentialFalseSkip env-var-based auth
exclude_workload_identity_credentialFalseSkip Kubernetes workload identity
exclude_managed_identity_credentialFalseSkip managed identity
exclude_shared_token_cache_credentialFalseSkip shared token cache
exclude_visual_studio_code_credentialFalseSkip VS Code credential
exclude_cli_credentialFalseSkip Azure CLI
exclude_powershell_credentialFalseSkip Azure PowerShell
exclude_developer_cli_credentialFalseSkip Azure Developer CLI
exclude_interactive_browser_credentialTrueSkip interactive browser
exclude_broker_credentialFalseSkip WAM broker
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get_bearer_token_provider

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Helper that wraps a credential into a callable returning a bearer token string. Essential for OpenAI SDK and other non-Azure-SDK clients:

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from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential, get_bearer_token_provider\n\ncredential = DefaultAzureCredential()\ntoken_provider = get_bearer_token_provider(\n    credential, \"https://cognitiveservices.azure.com/.default\"\n)\n\n# Use with OpenAI SDK\nfrom openai import AzureOpenAI\n\nwith AzureOpenAI(\n    azure_endpoint=\"https://<resource>.openai.azure.com/\",\n    azure_ad_token_provider=token_provider,\n    api_version=\"2024-10-21\",\n) as client:\n    # response = client.chat.completions.create(...)\n    ...\n
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Credential Types

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Credential Chains

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
CredentialUse Case
DefaultAzureCredentialMost scenarios — auto-detects environment
ChainedTokenCredentialCustom credential chain with explicit ordering
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Azure-Hosted Applications

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CredentialUse Case
EnvironmentCredentialAuth via AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET / AZURE_CLIENT_CERTIFICATE_PATH env vars
ManagedIdentityCredentialAzure VMs, App Service, Functions, AKS, Arc, Service Fabric
WorkloadIdentityCredentialKubernetes with Microsoft Entra Workload ID
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Service Principals

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CredentialUse Case
ClientSecretCredentialService principal with client secret
CertificateCredentialService principal with PEM/PKCS12 certificate
ClientAssertionCredentialService principal with signed JWT assertion
AzurePipelinesCredentialAzure Pipelines with workload identity federation
OnBehalfOfCredentialMiddle-tier on-behalf-of flow (delegated user identity)
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User Authentication

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CredentialUse Case
InteractiveBrowserCredentialInteractive browser OAuth sign-in
DeviceCodeCredentialHeadless/SSH device code flow
AuthorizationCodeCredentialPreviously obtained authorization code
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Developer Tools

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CredentialUse Case
AzureCliCredentialaz login
AzureDeveloperCliCredentialazd auth login
AzurePowerShellCredentialConnect-AzAccount
VisualStudioCodeCredentialVS Code Azure Resources extension
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Specific Credential Examples

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ManagedIdentityCredential

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

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from azure.identity import ManagedIdentityCredential\n\n# System-assigned managed identity\ncredential = ManagedIdentityCredential()\n\n# User-assigned managed identity (client_id, object_id, or resource_id)\ncredential = ManagedIdentityCredential(\n    client_id=\"<user-assigned-mi-client-id>\"\n)\n# Also valid:\n# credential = ManagedIdentityCredential(object_id=\"<object-id>\")\n# credential = ManagedIdentityCredential(resource_id=\"<resource-id>\")\n
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ClientSecretCredential

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import os\nfrom azure.identity import ClientSecretCredential\n\ncredential = ClientSecretCredential(\n    tenant_id=os.environ[\"AZURE_TENANT_ID\"],\n    client_id=os.environ[\"AZURE_CLIENT_ID\"],\n    client_secret=os.environ[\"AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET\"],\n)\n
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CertificateCredential

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Note: The class is CertificateCredential, NOT ClientCertificateCredential.

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from azure.identity import CertificateCredential\n\n# From file path\ncredential = CertificateCredential(\n    tenant_id=\"<tenant-id>\",\n    client_id=\"<client-id>\",\n    certificate_path=\"/path/to/cert.pem\",\n)\n\n# From bytes with password\ncredential = CertificateCredential(\n    tenant_id=\"<tenant-id>\",\n    client_id=\"<client-id>\",\n    certificate_data=cert_bytes,\n    password=\"<cert-password>\",\n    send_certificate_chain=True,  # Required for SNI auth\n)\n
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AzureCliCredential

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from azure.identity import AzureCliCredential\n\ncredential = AzureCliCredential()\n# With tenant restriction\ncredential = AzureCliCredential(tenant_id=\"<tenant-id>\")\n
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ChainedTokenCredential

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Custom credential chain:

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from azure.identity import (\n    ChainedTokenCredential,\n    ManagedIdentityCredential,\n    AzureCliCredential,\n)\n\n# Try managed identity first, fall back to CLI\ncredential = ChainedTokenCredential(\n    ManagedIdentityCredential(client_id=\"<user-assigned-mi-client-id>\"),\n    AzureCliCredential(),\n)\n
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WorkloadIdentityCredential

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For Azure Kubernetes Service with workload identity:

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from azure.identity import WorkloadIdentityCredential\n\n# Reads from AZURE_TENANT_ID, AZURE_CLIENT_ID, AZURE_FEDERATED_TOKEN_FILE\ncredential = WorkloadIdentityCredential()\n\n# Or explicit configuration\ncredential = WorkloadIdentityCredential(\n    tenant_id=\"<tenant-id>\",\n    client_id=\"<client-id>\",\n    token_file_path=\"/var/run/secrets/azure/tokens/azure-identity-token\",\n)\n
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DeviceCodeCredential

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For headless devices (IoT, SSH, CLI tools):

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from azure.identity import DeviceCodeCredential\n\ncredential = DeviceCodeCredential()\n# Prints device code prompt to stdout by default\n\n# With custom prompt callback\ndef prompt_callback(verification_uri, user_code, expires_on):\n    print(f\"Go to {verification_uri} and enter code {user_code}\")\n\ncredential = DeviceCodeCredential(\n    client_id=\"<client-id>\",\n    prompt_callback=prompt_callback,\n)\n
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InteractiveBrowserCredential

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For interactive OAuth browser sign-in:

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from azure.identity import InteractiveBrowserCredential\n\ncredential = InteractiveBrowserCredential()\n\n# With specific tenant and client\ncredential = InteractiveBrowserCredential(\n    tenant_id=\"<tenant-id>\",\n    client_id=\"<client-id>\",\n)\n
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OnBehalfOfCredential

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For middle-tier services propagating user identity:

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from azure.identity import OnBehalfOfCredential\n\ncredential = OnBehalfOfCredential(\n    tenant_id=\"<tenant-id>\",\n    client_id=\"<client-id>\",\n    client_secret=\"<client-secret>\",\n    user_assertion=\"<access-token-from-client>\",\n)\n
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AzurePipelinesCredential

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For Azure DevOps pipelines with workload identity federation:

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import os\nfrom azure.identity import AzurePipelinesCredential\n\ncredential = AzurePipelinesCredential(\n    tenant_id=\"<tenant-id>\",\n    client_id=\"<client-id>\",\n    service_connection_id=\"<service-connection-id>\",\n    system_access_token=os.environ[\"SYSTEM_ACCESSTOKEN\"],\n)\n
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Getting Tokens Directly

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from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential\n\nwith DefaultAzureCredential() as credential:\n    # Get token for a specific scope\n    token = credential.get_token(\"https://management.azure.com/.default\")\n    print(f\"Token expires: {token.expires_on}\")\n\n    # For Azure Database for PostgreSQL\n    token = credential.get_token(\"https://ossrdbms-aad.database.windows.net/.default\")\n
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Async Credentials

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Async credentials are in azure.identity.aio. Always close them or use async with:

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from azure.identity.aio import DefaultAzureCredential\nfrom azure.storage.blob.aio import BlobServiceClient\n\nasync def main():\n    # Preferred: use async context manager for both credential and client\n    async with DefaultAzureCredential() as credential:\n        async with BlobServiceClient(\n            account_url=\"https://<account>.blob.core.windows.net\",\n            credential=credential,\n        ) as client:\n            # ... async operations\n            pass\n
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The async get_bearer_token_provider is at azure.identity.aio.get_bearer_token_provider.

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Sovereign Clouds

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Use AzureAuthorityHosts or the AZURE_AUTHORITY_HOST env var:

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from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential, AzureAuthorityHosts\n\n# Azure Government\ncredential = DefaultAzureCredential(authority=AzureAuthorityHosts.AZURE_GOVERNMENT)\n\n# Azure China\ncredential = DefaultAzureCredential(authority=AzureAuthorityHosts.AZURE_CHINA)\n
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ConstantAuthority
AzureAuthorityHosts.AZURE_PUBLIC_CLOUDlogin.microsoftonline.com (default)
AzureAuthorityHosts.AZURE_GOVERNMENTlogin.microsoftonline.us
AzureAuthorityHosts.AZURE_CHINAlogin.chinacloudapi.cn
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Persistent Token Caching

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Opt-in disk-based caching with TokenCachePersistenceOptions:

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from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential, TokenCachePersistenceOptions\n\ncredential = DefaultAzureCredential(\n    cache_persistence_options=TokenCachePersistenceOptions()\n)\n\n# Allow unencrypted fallback (NOT recommended for production)\ncredential = DefaultAzureCredential(\n    cache_persistence_options=TokenCachePersistenceOptions(allow_unencrypted_storage=True)\n)\n
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Storage: Windows (DPAPI), macOS (Keychain), Linux (Keyring).

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Multi-Tenant Support

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Allow token acquisition for additional tenants beyond the configured one:

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from azure.identity import ClientSecretCredential\n\ncredential = ClientSecretCredential(\n    tenant_id=\"<home-tenant>\",\n    client_id=\"<client-id>\",\n    client_secret=\"<secret>\",\n    additionally_allowed_tenants=[\"<other-tenant>\", \"*\"],  # \"*\" allows any tenant\n)\n
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Error Handling

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from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential, CredentialUnavailableError\nfrom azure.core.exceptions import ClientAuthenticationError\n\nwith DefaultAzureCredential() as credential:\n    try:\n        token = credential.get_token(\"https://management.azure.com/.default\")\n    except CredentialUnavailableError:\n        # No credential in the chain could attempt authentication\n        pass\n    except ClientAuthenticationError as e:\n        # Authentication was attempted but failed\n        # e.message contains details from each credential in the chain\n        pass\n
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Logging

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Enable authentication logging for debugging:

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import logging\n\n# Enable verbose Azure Identity logging\nlogging.basicConfig(level=logging.DEBUG)\nlogger = logging.getLogger(\"azure.identity\")\nlogger.setLevel(logging.DEBUG)\n
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# Or via environment variable\nAZURE_LOG_LEVEL=debug\n
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Credential Selection Matrix

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EnvironmentRecommended Credential
Local DevelopmentDefaultAzureCredential (uses Azure CLI)
Azure App ServiceDefaultAzureCredential (uses Managed Identity)
Azure FunctionsDefaultAzureCredential (uses Managed Identity)
Azure Kubernetes ServiceWorkloadIdentityCredential
Azure VMsDefaultAzureCredential (uses Managed Identity)
CI/CD PipelineEnvironmentCredential or AzurePipelinesCredential
Desktop AppInteractiveBrowserCredential
CLI / Headless ToolDeviceCodeCredential
Middle-tier ServiceOnBehalfOfCredential
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Best Practices

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    \n
  1. Pick sync OR async and stay consistent. Do not mix azure.xxx sync clients with azure.xxx.aio async clients in the same call path. Choose one mode per module.
    2. \n
  2. Use credentials as context managers (with DefaultAzureCredential() as credential:) when they own token caches / HTTP transports you want cleaned up; for async, use async with on credentials from azure.identity.aio.
    3. \n
  3. Use DefaultAzureCredential for code that runs locally. Use a specific token credential for code that runs in Azure.
    4. \n
  4. Never hardcode credentials — use environment variables or managed identity
    5. \n
  5. Prefer managed identity in production Azure deployments
    6. \n
  6. Use get_bearer_token_provider for non-Azure-SDK clients (OpenAI, REST APIs)
    7. \n
  7. Use ChainedTokenCredential when you need a custom credential order
    8. \n
  8. Set AZURE_CLIENT_ID for user-assigned managed identities (object ID and resource ID are also valid identifiers)
    9. \n
  9. Exclude unused credentials to speed up DefaultAzureCredential authentication
    10. \n
  10. Use CertificateCredential (not ClientCertificateCredential — that name doesn't exist)
    11. \n
  11. Enable cache_persistence_options for long-running services to reduce token requests
    12. \n
  12. Reuse credential instances — same credential can be shared across multiple clients
    13. \n
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Reference Links

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ResourceURL
PyPI Packagehttps://pypi.org/project/azure-identity/
API Referencehttps://learn.microsoft.com/python/api/azure-identity
GitHub Sourcehttps://github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-python/tree/main/sdk/identity/azure-identity
Credential Chainshttps://aka.ms/azsdk/python/identity/credential-chains
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Reference Files

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FileContents
references/capabilities.mdAdditional non-hero capabilities, operation-group coverage, and production checklists.
references/non-hero-scenarios.mdDedicated non-hero examples for secondary/advanced scenarios.
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