Failed to parse string as JSON

Karthika Nair 0

Hi, I have a requirement to create a custom role with the least privileges required to start and stop a Virtual machine in Azure. I tried the below way however I am getting errors. Any Lead is appreciated.

az role definition create --role-definition'{
    "Name": "Virtual Machine Operator",
	"IsCustom": true,
    "Description": "Can start, restart and stop virtual machines.",
    "Actions": [
        "Microsoft.Compute/*/read",
        "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/start/action",
        "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/restart/action",
		"Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/deallocate/action"
    ],
    "NotDataActions": [ ],
    "AssignableScopes": ["/subscriptions/MySubscriptionId"]
}'

Error:

Failed to parse string as JSON:

{

Error detail: Expecting property name enclosed in double quotes: line 1 column 2 (char 1)

The provided JSON string may have been parsed by the shell.

vipullag-MSFT 25,121 Reputation points

2023-05-09T05:13:25.34+00:00

Hello Karthika Nair

Any update on the issue?

Just checking in to see if you got a chance to see previous response.

If the suggested response helped you resolve your issue, please 'Accept as answer', so that it can help others in the community looking for help on similar topics.
Karthika Nair 0 Reputation points

2023-05-09T08:34:57.24+00:00

Hi ,I tried the same thing as Shiva suggested unfortunately the concern persist.

I am not sure what i am missing. I tried after restarting the PowerShell also but got the same issue.

The Json file is placed in the C:\Users\Admin . Is this issue somehow related to the Powershell Console??

shiva patpi 13,146 Microsoft Employee

@Karthika Nair

Can you show me your exact json file , please attach the file

This is my local file (Exactly same as yours) , try to copy the below file .

Also try out from Azure CLI portal or in normal command window etc.


Copy
{
    "Name": "Virtual Machine Operator",
	"IsCustom": true,
    "Description": "Can start, restart and stop virtual machines.",
    "Actions": [
        "Microsoft.Compute/*/read",
        "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/start/action",
        "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/restart/action",
		"Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/deallocate/action"
    ],
    "NotDataActions": [ ],
    "AssignableScopes": ["/subscriptions/sub"]
}

Karthika Nair 0 Reputation points

2023-05-10T04:49:21.66+00:00

Hi, Due to the extension, I am not able to attach the file here. I copied your content and tried again in the Windows command, unfortunately getting the same error. It is quite strange.

Attached the screenshot of my Json File.
Karthika Nair 0 Reputation points

2023-05-12T03:41:57.81+00:00

@shiva patpi @vipullag-MSFT Hi Guys, Any idea why my json file is not getting accepted
shiva patpi 13,146 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2023-05-12T03:54:13.9866667+00:00

@Karthika Nair

Can you attach your exact file in a .txt format
Karthika Nair 0 Reputation points

2023-05-12T09:44:00.3966667+00:00

Here it is VirtualMachineOperatorRole.txt
shiva patpi 13,146 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2023-05-12T15:11:59.6333333+00:00

@Karthika Nair

I am able to create in all the environments with your file.

Can you try from Azure Portal Command Line Interface ?
Karthika Nair 0 Reputation points

2023-05-15T06:02:43.5366667+00:00

@shiva patpi Really? Not able to understand why I am not able to do so at my end with the same file.

Tried from Azure CLI, but getting the concern persists.
vipullag-MSFT 25,121 Reputation points

2023-05-16T05:47:29.7633333+00:00

Hello @Karthika Nair

Thanks for responding back and trying all the suggestions, strange to see that it is failing at your end.

This issue needs deeper investigation. Support team will be able to check and help on this. I would recommend you to open a azure support case.

If you don't have a support plan enabled on your subscription, I request you to send an email to AzCommunity@Microsoft.com with Subject as "Attn:Vikas" referencing this thread along with your subscription ID. I can then enable your subscription with a one-time free technical support.

Once the issue is resolved, request you to post the resolution here for the benefit of community.
Lakshmi, Karthika 5 Reputation points

2023-05-18T06:38:16.19+00:00

Hello @vipullag-MSFT ,

I have dropped the mail with the details.Awaiting for Team's response.

4 answers

Lakshmi, Karthika 5 Reputation points

2023-05-18T06:40:16.3033333+00:00

Hello @vipullag-MSFT

After some attempts and several tests using Azure CLI and different PowerShell modules, I am able to create the custom role using the same script.

However, couldn’t pinpoint the reason for the issue, since the script was the same all along.

Thank you Team for the support and assistance.
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shiva patpi 13,146 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2023-05-08T20:57:59.14+00:00

@Karthika Nair

Please create a json file , enter the contents and pass that json file as a parameter to the command:

I just tried that step and able to execute the command successfully:
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Karthika Nair 0 Reputation points

2023-05-09T05:19:51.1566667+00:00

Hi Shiva, Thank You for the suggestion. I tried the same thing unfortunately the concern persist.

I am not sure what i am missing. I tried after restarting the PowerShell also but got the same issue.

The Json file is placed in the C:\Users\Admin . Is this issue somehow related to the Powershell Console??

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James Jung 0 Reputation points

2024-01-09T19:34:13.7966667+00:00

I ran into the same problem with running a az vm command within the Powershell. I was able to run the command by using bash instead. I guess powershell does something wrong with parsing double quote within a JSON array.
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Vladimirs Davidovs 0 Microsoft Employee

I ran into the same problem with:

az vm extension set --name 'KeyVaultForLinux' --publisher 'Microsoft.Azure.KeyVault' ....

which has a '--settings' parameter, that expects a 'JSON' string.

After a bit of experimentation figured out that you have to escape every double quote '"' in the string with the backslash ''. So instead of:


'{"secretsManagementSettings": { "pollingIntervalInS": "3600", "certificateStoreName": "", "certificateStoreLocation": "/cert-directory", "observedCertificates": ["https://keyvault-name.vault.azure.net/secrets/certificate-name"] }}'

you need to provide:

'{\"secretsManagementSettings\": { \"pollingIntervalInS\": \"3600\", \"certificateStoreName\": \"\", \"certificateStoreLocation\": \"/cert-directory\", \"observedCertificates\": [\"https://keyvault-name.vault.azure.net/secrets/certificate-name\"] }}'

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Failed to parse string as JSON

4 answers