Authenticate Python apps to Azure services during local development using developer accounts

Article
2024-10-17

When developers create cloud applications, they typically debug and test applications on their local workstation. When an application is run on a developer's workstation during local development, it still must authenticate to any Azure services used by the app. This article covers how to use a developer's Azure credentials to authenticate the app to Azure during local development.

A diagram showing how a Python app during local development uses the developers credentials to connect to Azure by obtaining those credentials from locally installed development tools.

For an app to authenticate to Azure during local development using the developer's Azure credentials, a developer must be signed-in to Azure from the Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell, or Azure Developer CLI. The Azure SDK for Python is able to detect that the developer is signed-in from one of these tools and then obtain the necessary credentials from the credentials cache to authenticate the app to Azure as the signed-in user.

This approach is easiest to set up for a development team since it takes advantage of the developers' existing Azure accounts. However, a developer's account will likely have more permissions than required by the application, therefore exceeding the permissions the app will run with in production. As an alternative, you can create application service principals to use during local development, which can be scoped to have only the access needed by the app.

1 - Create Microsoft Entra security group for local development

Since there are almost always multiple developers who work on an application, it's recommended to first create a Microsoft Entra security group to encapsulate the roles (permissions) the app needs in local development. This approach offers the following advantages.

Every developer is assured to have the same roles assigned since roles are assigned at the group level.
If a new role is needed for the app, it only needs to be added to the Microsoft Entra group for the app.
If a new developer joins the team, they simply must be added to the correct Microsoft Entra group to get the correct permissions to work on the app.

If you have an existing Microsoft Entra security group for your development team, you can use that group. Otherwise, complete the following steps to create a Microsoft Entra security group.

Azure CLI
Azure portal

The az ad group create command is used to create groups in Microsoft Entra ID. The --display-name and --main-nickname parameters are required. The name given to the group should be based on the name of the application. It's also useful to include a phrase like 'local-dev' in the name of the group to indicate the purpose of the group.

az ad group create \
    --display-name MyDisplay \
    --mail-nickname MyDisplay  \
    --description "<group-description>"

Copy the value of the id property in the output of the command. This is the object ID for the group. You need it in later steps. You can also use the az ad group show command to retrieve this property.

To add members to the group, you need the object ID of Azure user. Use the az ad user list to list the available service principals. The --filter parameter command accepts OData style filters and can be used to filter the list on the display name of the user as shown. The --query parameter limits the output to columns of interest.

az ad user list \
    --filter "startswith(displayName, 'Bob')" \
    --query "[].{objectId:id, displayName:displayName}" \
    --output table

The az ad group member add command can then be used to add members to groups.

az ad group member add \
    --group <group-name> \
    --member-id <object-id>

Instructions	Screenshot
Navigate to the Microsoft Entra ID page in the Azure portal by typing Microsoft Entra ID into the search box at the top of the page and then selecting Microsoft Entra ID from under services.
On the Microsoft Entra ID page, select Groups from the left-hand menu.
On the All groups page, select New group.
On the New Group page: Group type → Security. Group name → A name for the security group, typically created from the application name. It's also helpful to include a string like local-dev in the name of the group to indicate the purpose of the group. Group description → A description of the purpose of the group. Select the No members selected link under Members to add members to the group.
On the Add members dialog box: Use the search box to filter the list of user names in the list. Choose one or more users for local development for this app. As you choose an object, the object moves to the Selected items list at the bottom of the dialog. When finished, choose the Select button.
Back on the New group page, select Create to create the group. The group will be created and you will be taken back to the All groups page. It may take up to 30 seconds for the group to appear and you may need to refresh the page due to caching in the Azure portal.

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Authenticate Python apps to Azure services during local development using developer accounts

1 - Create Microsoft Entra security group for local development