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Labs

Read a Secret from an Azure Key Vault in Azure Pipelines

You are deploying a database and application using Azure DevOps, but you don't want to store the database passwords within the repo or within the pipeline. Use Azure Key Vault in the pipeline to read the database password for the deployment.

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Lab platform
Lab Info
Level
Intermediate
Last updated
Sep 25, 2025
Duration
1h 30m

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Table of Contents
  1. Challenge

    Create a New Azure DevOps Organization and Import a Repo
    • Log in to the Azure portal.
    • Create a new private project named AwesomeProject.
    • Create a new Azure Repo by importing a GitHub Repo.
    • Set the default branch to keyvault.
  2. Challenge

    Create a Service Connection
    • Create a service connection using an app registration or managed identity (manual) and set the credential to Secret.
    • The subscription ID, subscription name, and directory (tenant) ID can be found by running Get-AzSubscription from the cloudshell.
    • The application (client) ID and client secret can be found on the lab credential page under the service principal.
    • Important: Make sure the Service connection name is set to ServiceConnection.
  3. Challenge

    Install a Self-hosted Agent on the Provided VM
    • Install a self-hosted agent onto the provided Linux VM.
    • Use a personal access token for the authentication method.
  4. Challenge

    Create a Key Vault and Secret
    • Change the Key Vault access configuration to a vault access policy.
    • Give the service principle ID permissions to get and list secrets.
    • Create a secret named sqldbpassword and ensure you use at least 8 digits, one number, one capital letter, and one special letter for the password.
  5. Challenge

    Create an Azure DevOps Pipeline

    Make sure the following has been configured in the pipeline YAML:

    • subscriptionID is set to your Azure subscription ID.
    • webAppName is set to a unique web app name.
    • keyVaultName is set to your Key Vault name.
    • resourceGroup is set your resource group name.
    • location is set to the same location as your resources.

    Run the pipeline and validate success by opening the connection string on the Azure web app.

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