Introduction to Azure Key Vault API in C#
- Microsoft Azure Key Vault is designed to safeguard cryptographic keys and secrets used by cloud applications and services.
- A key benefit is its ability to help secure access to sensitive information by utilizing API endpoints in secure environments.
Setting Up Your Project
- Ensure your C# project is set up with .NET SDK and you have the necessary permissions to access Azure Key Vault resources.
- Install the Azure Key Vault packages: `Azure.Security.KeyVault.Secrets`, `Azure.Identity` for authentication.
- Use NuGet package manager to include necessary libraries:
dotnet add package Azure.Security.KeyVault.Secrets
dotnet add package Azure.Identity
Authentication with Azure Identity
- Azure.Identity provides a simplified API for authenticating Azure services.
- For local development, the `DefaultAzureCredential` class automatically uses your Azure CLI credentials.
using Azure.Identity;
// Instantiate a token credential that retrieves authentication tokens.
DefaultAzureCredential credential = new DefaultAzureCredential();
Connecting to Azure Key Vault
- Create a client for interacting with the Azure Key Vault.
- The `SecretClient` class enables you to interact with your secrets stored in Azure Key Vault.
using Azure.Security.KeyVault.Secrets;
// Replace <your-key-vault-name> with your Key Vault name.
var client = new SecretClient(new Uri("https://<your-key-vault-name>.vault.azure.net/"), credential);
Working with Secrets
- To store a secret, use the `SetSecretAsync` method. This will create or update an existing secret.
- Retrieve a secret value using the `GetSecretAsync` method.
- Delete secrets using `StartDeleteSecretAsync`, which begins the deletion process for the specified secret.
// Store a secret called "mySecretName".
await client.SetSecretAsync("mySecretName", "mySecretValue");
// Retrieve the secret.
KeyVaultSecret retrievedSecret = await client.GetSecretAsync("mySecretName");
Console.WriteLine($"Secret is: {retrievedSecret.Value}");
// Start deleting the secret.
await client.StartDeleteSecretAsync("mySecretName");
Handling Key Vault Exceptions
- Key Vault API operations might throw exceptions for various reasons such as access issues or invalid data.
- Use try-catch blocks to handle specific exceptions like `RequestFailedException`.
try {
// Attempt to retrieve a secret.
KeyVaultSecret secret = await client.GetSecretAsync("nonExistingSecret");
}
catch (Azure.RequestFailedException ex) {
Console.WriteLine($"Request to Key Vault failed: {ex.Message}");
}
Conclusion
- Utilizing Azure Key Vault in C# offers a powerful way to securely manage cryptographic keys and secrets in your applications.
- Leverage the Azure SDK for seamless integration and exploit Azure's authentication mechanisms for secure access.
