Azure App Configuration Acceptance Criteria

SDK: azure-appconfigurationRepository: https://github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-for-pythonPurpose: Skill testing acceptance criteria for validating generated code correctness

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1. Correct Import Patterns

1.1 Client Imports

✅ CORRECT: Sync Client via Connection String

from azure.appconfiguration import AzureAppConfigurationClient

client = AzureAppConfigurationClient.from_connection_string(
    os.environ["AZURE_APPCONFIGURATION_CONNECTION_STRING"]
)

✅ CORRECT: Sync Client via Entra ID

from azure.appconfiguration import AzureAppConfigurationClient
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential

client = AzureAppConfigurationClient(
    base_url=os.environ["AZURE_APPCONFIGURATION_ENDPOINT"],
    credential=DefaultAzureCredential()
)

✅ CORRECT: Async Client via Entra ID

from azure.appconfiguration.aio import AzureAppConfigurationClient
from azure.identity.aio import DefaultAzureCredential

client = AzureAppConfigurationClient(
    base_url=os.environ["AZURE_APPCONFIGURATION_ENDPOINT"],
    credential=DefaultAzureCredential()
)

1.2 Model Imports

✅ CORRECT: Configuration Setting

from azure.appconfiguration import ConfigurationSetting

setting = ConfigurationSetting(
    key="app:message",
    value="Hello, World!",
    label="production"
)

✅ CORRECT: Snapshot Models

from azure.appconfiguration import (
    ConfigurationSnapshot,
    ConfigurationSettingFilter
)

snapshot = ConfigurationSnapshot(
    name="v1-snapshot",
    filters=[ConfigurationSettingFilter(key="app:*")]
)

1.3 Anti-Patterns (ERRORS)

❌ INCORRECT: Wrong module path

# WRONG - ConfigurationSetting is not in this module
from azure.appconfiguration.models import ConfigurationSetting

# WRONG - Client should not be imported from models
from azure.appconfiguration.models import AzureAppConfigurationClient

Instead: Import directly from azure.appconfiguration for both ConfigurationSetting and AzureAppConfigurationClient. The models submodule does not expose these classes publicly.

❌ INCORRECT: Using async with sync imports

# WRONG - mixing sync and async
from azure.appconfiguration import AzureAppConfigurationClient  # Sync
from azure.identity.aio import DefaultAzureCredential  # Async

Instead: Use async modules from azure.appconfiguration.aio and azure.identity.aio when working with async code. Sync and async credential types are not compatible.

---

2. Client Creation Patterns

2.1 ✅ CORRECT: Connection String

from azure.appconfiguration import AzureAppConfigurationClient

client = AzureAppConfigurationClient.from_connection_string(
    os.environ["AZURE_APPCONFIGURATION_CONNECTION_STRING"]
)

setting = client.get_configuration_setting(key="app:message")
print(setting.value)

2.2 ✅ CORRECT: Entra ID Authentication

from azure.appconfiguration import AzureAppConfigurationClient
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential

client = AzureAppConfigurationClient(
    base_url=os.environ["AZURE_APPCONFIGURATION_ENDPOINT"],
    credential=DefaultAzureCredential()
)

setting = client.get_configuration_setting(key="app:message")

2.3 ✅ CORRECT: Context Manager

from azure.appconfiguration import AzureAppConfigurationClient
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential

with AzureAppConfigurationClient(
    base_url=endpoint,
    credential=DefaultAzureCredential()
) as client:
    setting = client.get_configuration_setting(key="app:message")
    print(setting.value)

2.4 Anti-Patterns (ERRORS)

❌ INCORRECT: Hardcoded credentials

# WRONG - never hardcode credentials
client = AzureAppConfigurationClient(
    base_url="https://mystore.azconfig.io",
    credential="mykey"  # WRONG
)

Instead: Use DefaultAzureCredential() and environment variables. Hardcoded credentials are a security vulnerability and should never be used in production code. Load endpoint and credentials from environment variables or secure configuration systems.

❌ INCORRECT: Wrong parameter names

# WRONG - parameter is 'base_url', not 'endpoint'
client = AzureAppConfigurationClient(endpoint=endpoint, credential=cred)

Instead: The correct parameter name is base_url, not endpoint. Use base_url to specify the Azure App Configuration endpoint URL.

❌ INCORRECT: Not using context manager

# WRONG - should use context manager for cleanup
client = AzureAppConfigurationClient(base_url=endpoint, credential=cred)
setting = client.get_configuration_setting(key="app:message")
# Missing: client.close() or using 'with' statement

Instead: Always use a context manager (with statement) when creating clients. This ensures proper resource cleanup and connection handling automatically, even if an exception occurs.

---

3. Configuration Settings Patterns

3.1 ✅ CORRECT: Get Setting

setting = client.get_configuration_setting(key="app:settings:message")
print(f"Key: {setting.key}, Value: {setting.value}")

3.2 ✅ CORRECT: Get Setting with Label

# Labels enable environment-specific values
setting = client.get_configuration_setting(
    key="app:settings:message",
    label="production"
)

3.3 ✅ CORRECT: Set Setting

from azure.appconfiguration import ConfigurationSetting

setting = ConfigurationSetting(
    key="app:settings:message",
    value="Hello, World!",
    label="development",
    content_type="text/plain",
    tags={"environment": "dev"}
)

client.set_configuration_setting(setting)

3.4 ✅ CORRECT: Delete Setting

client.delete_configuration_setting(
    key="app:settings:message",
    label="development"
)

3.5 ✅ CORRECT: List All Settings

settings = client.list_configuration_settings()
for setting in settings:
    print(f"{setting.key} [{setting.label}] = {setting.value}")

3.6 ✅ CORRECT: List with Filters

# Filter by key prefix
settings = client.list_configuration_settings(key_filter="app:settings:*")

# Filter by label
settings = client.list_configuration_settings(label_filter="production")

# Combine filters
settings = client.list_configuration_settings(
    key_filter="app:*",
    label_filter="production"
)

3.7 Anti-Patterns (ERRORS)

❌ INCORRECT: Wrong parameter names

# WRONG - parameters are 'key_filter' and 'label_filter'
settings = client.list_configuration_settings(key="app:*", label="prod")

Instead: Use the correct parameter names key_filter and label_filter when filtering configuration settings in a list operation.

❌ INCORRECT: Setting without required fields

# WRONG - must have key and value
setting = ConfigurationSetting(label="prod")

Instead: ConfigurationSetting requires both key and value fields. The label parameter is optional and used for environment-specific configurations.

---

4. Feature Flag Patterns

4.1 ✅ CORRECT: Set Feature Flag

from azure.appconfiguration import ConfigurationSetting
import json

feature_flag = ConfigurationSetting(
    key=".appconfig.featureflag/beta-feature",
    value=json.dumps({
        "id": "beta-feature",
        "enabled": True,
        "conditions": {
            "client_filters": []
        }
    }),
    content_type="application/vnd.microsoft.appconfig.ff+json;charset=utf-8"
)

client.set_configuration_setting(feature_flag)

4.2 ✅ CORRECT: Get Feature Flag

setting = client.get_configuration_setting(
    key=".appconfig.featureflag/beta-feature"
)
flag_data = json.loads(setting.value)
print(f"Feature enabled: {flag_data['enabled']}")

4.3 ✅ CORRECT: List Feature Flags

flags = client.list_configuration_settings(
    key_filter=".appconfig.featureflag/*"
)

for flag in flags:
    data = json.loads(flag.value)
    status = "enabled" if data.get("enabled") else "disabled"
    print(f"{data['id']}: {status}")

4.4 Anti-Patterns (ERRORS)

❌ INCORRECT: Wrong content type

# WRONG - content type must be specific for feature flags
feature_flag = ConfigurationSetting(
    key=".appconfig.featureflag/beta-feature",
    value=json.dumps({"id": "beta-feature", "enabled": True}),
    content_type="application/json"  # WRONG format
)

Instead: Feature flags must use the specific content type "application/vnd.microsoft.appconfig.ff+json;charset=utf-8". This tells the Azure App Configuration service to recognize and handle this setting as a feature flag, enabling proper feature management capabilities.

❌ INCORRECT: Not using json.dumps for feature flag value

# WRONG - value must be JSON string
feature_flag = ConfigurationSetting(
    key=".appconfig.featureflag/beta-feature",
    value={"id": "beta-feature", "enabled": True},  # Should be string
)

Instead: The value parameter must be a JSON string, not a Python dict. Use json.dumps() to serialize the dictionary to a JSON string before passing it to ConfigurationSetting.

---

5. Read-Only Settings Patterns

5.1 ✅ CORRECT: Make Setting Read-Only

# Make setting read-only to prevent accidental changes
client.set_read_only(
    configuration_setting=setting,
    read_only=True
)

5.2 ✅ CORRECT: Remove Read-Only

# Remove read-only to allow modifications
client.set_read_only(
    configuration_setting=setting,
    read_only=False
)

---

6. Snapshot Patterns

6.1 ✅ CORRECT: Create Snapshot

from azure.appconfiguration import ConfigurationSnapshot, ConfigurationSettingFilter

snapshot = ConfigurationSnapshot(
    name="v1-snapshot",
    filters=[
        ConfigurationSettingFilter(key="app:*", label="production")
    ]
)

created = client.begin_create_snapshot(
    name="v1-snapshot",
    snapshot=snapshot
).result()

6.2 ✅ CORRECT: List Snapshot Settings

settings = client.list_configuration_settings(
    snapshot_name="v1-snapshot"
)

for setting in settings:
    print(f"{setting.key} = {setting.value}")

6.3 ✅ CORRECT: List Snapshots

snapshots = client.list_snapshots()
for snapshot in snapshots:
    print(f"Snapshot: {snapshot.name}, Status: {snapshot.status}")

---

7. Async Client Patterns

7.1 ✅ CORRECT: Full Async Example

import asyncio
from azure.appconfiguration.aio import AzureAppConfigurationClient
from azure.identity.aio import DefaultAzureCredential

async def main():
    credential = DefaultAzureCredential()
    
    async with AzureAppConfigurationClient(
        base_url=os.environ["AZURE_APPCONFIGURATION_ENDPOINT"],
        credential=credential
    ) as client:
        setting = await client.get_configuration_setting(key="app:message")
        print(setting.value)
        
        # Async iteration
        async for setting in await client.list_configuration_settings():
            print(f"{setting.key} = {setting.value}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

7.2 Anti-Patterns (ERRORS)

❌ INCORRECT: Missing await

# WRONG - missing await for async operations
async def bad_example():
    setting = client.get_configuration_setting(key="app:message")  # Missing await
    return setting

Instead: All async method calls must be preceded by the await keyword. Without await, the coroutine object is returned instead of the actual result, causing type errors and logic failures.

❌ INCORRECT: Wrong credential type

# WRONG - using sync credential with async client
from azure.appconfiguration.aio import AzureAppConfigurationClient
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential  # Should be from .aio

Instead: When using async clients, always import credentials from azure.identity.aio. Sync credentials are not compatible with async clients and will cause runtime errors.

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8. Environment Variables

Required Variables

# For connection string auth
AZURE_APPCONFIGURATION_CONNECTION_STRING=Endpoint=https://<name>.azconfig.io;Id=...;Secret=...

# For Entra ID auth
AZURE_APPCONFIGURATION_ENDPOINT=https://<name>.azconfig.io

---

9. Best Practices Checklist

✅ Do

• [ ] Use DefaultAzureCredential for production (not connection strings)
• [ ] Use context managers (with statement) for client cleanup
• [ ] Use labels for environment separation (dev, staging, prod)
• [ ] Use key prefixes for logical grouping (app:database:, app:cache:)
• [ ] Make production settings read-only to prevent accidental changes
• [ ] Use snapshots before deployments for rollback capability
• [ ] Use async client when building async applications
• [ ] Properly format feature flag keys (.appconfig.featureflag/*)

❌ Don't

• [ ] Don't hardcode credentials or endpoints
• [ ] Don't use sync client in async code
• [ ] Don't forget await in async methods
• [ ] Don't mix sync and async credentials
• [ ] Don't use wrong parameter names (endpoint vs base_url)
• [ ] Don't forget context manager for resource cleanup
• [ ] Don't use wrong content type for feature flags
• [ ] Don't pass dict instead of JSON string for feature flags

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10. Common Errors and Fixes

Error	Cause	Fix
AttributeError: 'ConfigurationSetting' object has no attribute 'content'	Accessing wrong attribute	Use setting.value, not setting.content
TypeError: unsupported operand type(s)	Trying to parse non-JSON value	Use json.loads() only on feature flags
Missing credentials	No auth configured	Use DefaultAzureCredential() or connection string
Connection refused	Wrong endpoint	Check AZURE_APPCONFIGURATION_ENDPOINT format
Feature flag not found	Wrong key format	Use .appconfig.featureflag/name prefix
Async operation not awaited	Missing await	Add await to async method calls
Wrong credential type	Using sync with async	Import from azure.identity.aio for async