Set up preview features in Azure subscription

This article shows you how to manage preview features in your Azure subscription. Preview features let you opt in to new functionality before it's released. Some preview features are available to anyone who wants to opt in. Other preview features require approval from the product team.

Azure Feature Exposure Control (AFEC) is available through the Microsoft.Features namespace. Preview features have the following format for the resource ID:

Microsoft.Features/providers/{resourceProviderNamespace}/features/{featureName}

Required access

To list, register, or unregister preview features in your Azure subscription, you need access to the Microsoft.Features/* actions. This permission is granted through the Contributor and Owner built-in roles. You can also specify the required access through a custom role.

List preview features

You can list all the preview features and their registration states for an Azure subscription.

The portal only shows a preview feature when the service that owns the feature has explicitly opted in to the preview features management experience.

  1. Sign in to the Azure portal.

  2. In the search box, enter subscriptions and select Subscriptions.

    Screenshot of Azure portal search box with 'subscriptions' entered.

  3. Select the link for your subscription's name.

    Screenshot of Azure portal with subscription selection highlighted.

  4. From the left menu, under Settings select Preview features.

    Screenshot of Azure portal with Preview features menu option highlighted.

  5. You see a list of available preview features and your current registration status.

    Screenshot of Azure portal displaying a list of preview features.

  6. From Preview features you can filter the list by name, State, or Type:

    • Filter by name: Must contain text from a preview feature's name, not the Display name.
    • State: Select the drop-down menu and choose a state. The portal doesn't filter by Unregistered.
    • Type: Select the drop-down menu and choose a type.

    Screenshot of Azure portal with filter options for preview features.

Register preview feature

Register a preview feature in your Azure subscription to expose more functionality for a resource provider. Some preview features require approval.

After a preview feature is registered in your subscription, you'll see one of two states: Registered or Pending.

  • For a preview feature that doesn't require approval, the state is Registered.
  • If a preview feature requires approval, the registration state is Pending. You must request approval from the Azure service offering the preview feature. Usually, you request access through a support ticket.
    • To request approval, submit an Azure support request.
    • After the registration is approved, the preview feature's state changes to Registered.

Some services require other methods, such as email, to get approval for pending request. Check announcements about the preview feature for information about how to get access.

  1. Sign in to the Azure portal.

  2. In the search box, enter subscriptions and select Subscriptions.

  3. Select the link for your subscription's name.

  4. From the left menu, under Settings select Preview features.

  5. Select the link for the preview feature you want to register.

  6. Select Register.

    Screenshot of Azure portal with Register button for a preview feature.

  7. Select OK.

The Preview features screen refreshes and the preview feature's State is displayed.

Unregister preview feature

When you've finished using a preview feature, unregister it from your Azure subscription. You may notice two different statuses after unregistering the feature. If you unregister through the portal, the status is set to Not registered. If you unregister through Azure CLI, PowerShell, or REST API, the status is set to Unregistered. The status is different because the portal deletes the feature registration, but the commands unregister the feature. In both cases, the feature is no longer available in your subscription. In both cases, you can opt in to the feature again by re-registering it.

You can unregister preview features from Preview features. The State changes to Not registered.

  1. Sign in to the Azure portal.

  2. In the search box, enter subscriptions and select Subscriptions.

  3. Select the link for your subscription's name.

  4. From the left menu, under Settings select Preview features.

  5. Select the link for the preview feature you want to unregister.

  6. Select Unregister.

    Screenshot of Azure portal with Unregister button for a preview feature.

  7. Select OK.

Configuring preview features using Azure Policy

Subscriptions can be remediated to register to a preview feature if not already registered using a built-in policy definition. Note that new subscriptions added to an existing tenant won't be automatically registered.

Next steps