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Azure Policy definition structure

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Azure Policy establishes conventions for resources. Policy definitions describe resource compliance conditions and the effect to take if a condition is met. A condition compares a resource property field or a value to a required value. Resource property fields are accessed by using aliases. When a resource property field is an array, a special array alias can be used to select values from all array members and apply a condition to each one. Learn more about conditions.

By defining conventions, you can control costs and more easily manage your resources. For example, you can specify that only certain types of virtual machines are allowed. Or, you can require that resources have a particular tag. Policy assignments are inherited by child resources. If a policy assignment is applied to a resource group, it's applicable to all the resources in that resource group.

The policy definition policyRule schema is found here: https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2020-10-01/policyDefinition.json

You use JSON to create a policy definition. The policy definition contains elements for:

  • display name
  • description
  • mode
  • metadata
  • parameters
  • policy rule
    • logical evaluation
    • effect

For example, the following JSON shows a policy that limits where resources are deployed:

{
    "properties": {
        "displayName": "Allowed locations",
        "description": "This policy enables you to restrict the locations your organization can specify when deploying resources.",
        "mode": "Indexed",
        "metadata": {
            "version": "1.0.0",
            "category": "Locations"
        },
        "parameters": {
            "allowedLocations": {
                "type": "array",
                "metadata": {
                    "description": "The list of locations that can be specified when deploying resources",
                    "strongType": "location",
                    "displayName": "Allowed locations"
                },
                "defaultValue": [ "westus2" ]
            }
        },
        "policyRule": {
            "if": {
                "not": {
                    "field": "location",
                    "in": "[parameters('allowedLocations')]"
                }
            },
            "then": {
                "effect": "deny"
            }
        }
    }
}

Azure Policy built-ins and patterns are at Azure Policy samples.

Display name and description

You use displayName and description to identify the policy definition and provide context for when it's used. displayName has a maximum length of 128 characters and description a maximum length of 512 characters.

Note

During the creation or updating of a policy definition, id, type, and name are defined by properties external to the JSON and aren't necessary in the JSON file. Fetching the policy definition via SDK returns the id, type, and name properties as part of the JSON, but each are read-only information related to the policy definition.

Type

While the type property can't be set, there are three values that are returned by SDK and visible in the portal:

  • Builtin: These policy definitions are provided and maintained by Microsoft.
  • Custom: All policy definitions created by customers have this value.
  • Static: Indicates a Regulatory Compliance policy definition with Microsoft Ownership. The compliance results for these policy definitions are the results of third-party audits on Microsoft infrastructure. In the Azure portal, this value is sometimes displayed as Microsoft managed. For more information, see Shared responsibility in the cloud.

Mode

Mode is configured depending on if the policy is targeting an Azure Resource Manager property or a Resource Provider property.

Resource Manager modes

The mode determines which resource types are evaluated for a policy definition. The supported modes are:

  • all: evaluate resource groups, subscriptions, and all resource types
  • indexed: only evaluate resource types that support tags and location

For example, resource Microsoft.Network/routeTables supports tags and location and is evaluated in both modes. However, resource Microsoft.Network/routeTables/routes can't be tagged and isn't evaluated in Indexed mode.

We recommend that you set mode to all in most cases. All policy definitions created through the portal use the all mode. If you use PowerShell or Azure CLI, you can specify the mode parameter manually. If the policy definition doesn't include a mode value, it defaults to all in Azure PowerShell and to null in Azure CLI. A null mode is the same as using indexed to support backward compatibility.

indexed should be used when creating policies that enforce tags or locations. While not required, it prevents resources that don't support tags and locations from showing up as non-compliant in the compliance results. The exception is resource groups and subscriptions. Policy definitions that enforce location or tags on a resource group or subscription should set mode to all and specifically target the Microsoft.Resources/subscriptions/resourceGroups or Microsoft.Resources/subscriptions type. For an example, see Pattern: Tags - Sample #1. For a list of resources that support tags, see Tag support for Azure resources.

Resource Provider modes

The following Resource Provider modes are fully supported:

The following Resource Provider modes are currently supported as a preview:

  • Microsoft.ManagedHSM.Data for managing Managed HSM keys using Azure Policy.
  • Microsoft.DataFactory.Data for using Azure Policy to deny Azure Data Factory outbound traffic domain names not specified in an allow list.

Note

Unless explicitly stated, Resource Provider modes only support built-in policy definitions, and exemptions are not supported at the component-level.

Metadata

The optional metadata property stores information about the policy definition. Customers can define any properties and values useful to their organization in metadata. However, there are some common properties used by Azure Policy and in built-ins. Each metadata property has a limit of 1024 characters.

Common metadata properties

  • version (string): Tracks details about the version of the contents of a policy definition.
  • category (string): Determines under which category in the Azure portal the policy definition is displayed.
  • preview (boolean): True or false flag for if the policy definition is preview.
  • deprecated (boolean): True or false flag for if the policy definition has been marked as deprecated.
  • portalReview (string): Determines whether parameters should be reviewed in the portal, regardless of the required input.

Note

The Azure Policy service uses version, preview, and deprecated properties to convey level of change to a built-in policy definition or initiative and state. The format of version is: {Major}.{Minor}.{Patch}. Specific states, such as deprecated or preview, are appended to the version property or in another property as a boolean. For more information about the way Azure Policy versions built-ins, see Built-in versioning. To learn more about what it means for a policy to be deprecated or in preview, see Preview and deprecated policies.

Parameters

Parameters help simplify your policy management by reducing the number of policy definitions. Think of parameters like the fields on a form - name, address, city, state. These parameters always stay the same, however their values change based on the individual filling out the form. Parameters work the same way when building policies. By including parameters in a policy definition, you can reuse that policy for different scenarios by using different values.

Parameters may be added to an existing and assigned definition. The new parameter must include the defaultValue property. This prevents existing assignments of the policy or initiative from indirectly being made invalid.

Parameters can't be removed from a policy definition because there may be an assignment that sets the parameter value, and that reference would become broken. Instead of removing, you can classify the parameter as deprecated in the parameter metadata.

Parameter properties

A parameter has the following properties that are used in the policy definition:

  • name: The name of your parameter. Used by the parameters deployment function within the policy rule. For more information, see using a parameter value.
  • type: Determines if the parameter is a string, array, object, boolean, integer, float, or datetime.
  • metadata: Defines subproperties primarily used by the Azure portal to display user-friendly information:
    • description: The explanation of what the parameter is used for. Can be used to provide examples of acceptable values.
    • displayName: The friendly name shown in the portal for the parameter.
    • strongType: (Optional) Used when assigning the policy definition through the portal. Provides a context aware list. For more information, see strongType.
    • assignPermissions: (Optional) Set as true to have Azure portal create role assignments during policy assignment. This property is useful in case you wish to assign permissions outside the assignment scope. There's one role assignment per role definition in the policy (or per role definition in all of the policies in the initiative). The parameter value must be a valid resource or scope.
  • defaultValue: (Optional) Sets the value of the parameter in an assignment if no value is given. Required when updating an existing policy definition that is assigned. For oject-type parameters, the value must match the appropriate schema.
  • allowedValues: (Optional) Provides an array of values that the parameter accepts during assignment. Allowed value comparisons are case-sensitive. For object-type parameters, the values must match the appropriate schema.
  • schema: (Optional) Provides validation of parameter inputs during assignment using a self-defined JSON schema. This property is only supported for object-type parameters and follows the Json.NET Schema 2019-09 implementation. You can learn more about using schemas at https://json-schema.org/ and test draft schemas at https://www.jsonschemavalidator.net/.

Sample Parameters

Example 1

As an example, you could define a policy definition to limit the locations where resources can be deployed. A parameter for that policy definition could be allowedLocations. This parameter would be used by each assignment of the policy definition to limit the accepted values. The use of strongType provides an enhanced experience when completing the assignment through the portal:

"parameters": {
    "allowedLocations": {
        "type": "array",
        "metadata": {
            "description": "The list of allowed locations for resources.",
            "displayName": "Allowed locations",
            "strongType": "location"
        },
        "defaultValue": [ "westus2" ],
        "allowedValues": [
            "eastus2",
            "westus2",
            "westus"
        ]
    }
}

A sample input for this array-type parameter (without strongType) at assignment time might be ["westus", "eastus2"].

Example 2

In a more advanced scenario, you could define a policy that requires Kubernetes cluster pods to use specified labels. A parameter for that policy definition could be labelSelector, which would be used by each assignment of the policy definition to specify Kubernetes resources in question based on label keys and values:

"parameters": {
    "labelSelector": {
        "type": "Object",
        "metadata": {
            "displayName": "Kubernetes label selector",
            "description": "Label query to select Kubernetes resources for policy evaluation. An empty label selector matches all Kubernetes resources."
        },
        "defaultValue": {},
        "schema": {
            "description": "A label selector is a label query over a set of resources. The result of matchLabels and matchExpressions are ANDed. An empty label selector matches all resources.",
            "type": "object",
            "properties": {
                "matchLabels": {
                    "description": "matchLabels is a map of {key,value} pairs.",
                    "type": "object",
                    "additionalProperties": {
                        "type": "string"
                    },
                    "minProperties": 1
                },
                "matchExpressions": {
                    "description": "matchExpressions is a list of values, a key, and an operator.",
                    "type": "array",
                    "items": {
                        "type": "object",
                        "properties": {
                            "key": {
                                "description": "key is the label key that the selector applies to.",
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "operator": {
                                "description": "operator represents a key's relationship to a set of values.",
                                "type": "string",
                                "enum": [
                                    "In",
                                    "NotIn",
                                    "Exists",
                                    "DoesNotExist"
                                ]
                            },
                            "values": {
                                "description": "values is an array of string values. If the operator is In or NotIn, the values array must be non-empty. If the operator is Exists or DoesNotExist, the values array must be empty.",
                                "type": "array",
                                "items": {
                                    "type": "string"
                                }
                            }
                        },
                        "required": [
                            "key",
                            "operator"
                        ],
                        "additionalProperties": false
                    },
                    "minItems": 1
                }
            },
            "additionalProperties": false
        }
    },
}

A sample input for this object-type parameter at assignment time would be in JSON format, validated by the specified schema, and might be:

{
    "matchLabels": {
        "poolID": "abc123",
        "nodeGroup": "Group1",
        "region": "southcentralus"
    },
    "matchExpressions": [
        {
            "key": "name",
            "operator": "In",
            "values": ["payroll", "web"]
        },
        {
            "key": "environment",
            "operator": "NotIn",
            "values": ["dev"]
        }
    ]
}

Using a parameter value

In the policy rule, you reference parameters with the following parameters function syntax:

{
    "field": "location",
    "in": "[parameters('allowedLocations')]"
}

This sample references the allowedLocations parameter that was demonstrated in parameter properties.

strongType

Within the metadata property, you can use strongType to provide a multiselect list of options within the Azure portal. strongType can be a supported resource type or an allowed value. To determine whether a resource type is valid for strongType, use Get-AzResourceProvider. The format for a resource type strongType is <Resource Provider>/<Resource Type>. For example, Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets.

Some resource types not returned by Get-AzResourceProvider are supported. Those types are:

  • Microsoft.RecoveryServices/vaults/backupPolicies

The non resource type allowed values for strongType are:

  • location
  • resourceTypes
  • storageSkus
  • vmSKUs
  • existingResourceGroups

Definition location

While creating an initiative or policy, it's necessary to specify the definition location. The definition location must be a management group or a subscription. This location determines the scope to which the initiative or policy can be assigned. Resources must be direct members of or children within the hierarchy of the definition location to target for assignment.

If the definition location is a:

  • Subscription - Only resources within that subscription can be assigned the policy definition.
  • Management group - Only resources within child management groups and child subscriptions can be assigned the policy definition. If you plan to apply the policy definition to several subscriptions, the location must be a management group that contains each subscription.

For more information, see Understand scope in Azure Policy.

Policy rule

The policy rule consists of If and Then blocks. In the If block, you define one or more conditions that specify when the policy is enforced. You can apply logical operators to these conditions to precisely define the scenario for a policy.

In the Then block, you define the effect that happens when the If conditions are fulfilled.

{
    "if": {
        <condition> | <logical operator>
    },
    "then": {
        "effect": "deny | audit | modify | denyAction | append | auditIfNotExists | deployIfNotExists | disabled"
    }
}

Logical operators

Supported logical operators are:

  • "not": {condition or operator}
  • "allOf": [{condition or operator},{condition or operator}]
  • "anyOf": [{condition or operator},{condition or operator}]

The not syntax inverts the result of the condition. The allOf syntax (similar to the logical And operation) requires all conditions to be true. The anyOf syntax (similar to the logical Or operation) requires one or more conditions to be true.

You can nest logical operators. The following example shows a not operation that is nested within an allOf operation.

"if": {
    "allOf": [{
            "not": {
                "field": "tags",
                "containsKey": "application"
            }
        },
        {
            "field": "type",
            "equals": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts"
        }
    ]
},

Conditions

A condition evaluates whether a value meets certain criteria. The supported conditions are:

  • "equals": "stringValue"
  • "notEquals": "stringValue"
  • "like": "stringValue"
  • "notLike": "stringValue"
  • "match": "stringValue"
  • "matchInsensitively": "stringValue"
  • "notMatch": "stringValue"
  • "notMatchInsensitively": "stringValue"
  • "contains": "stringValue"
  • "notContains": "stringValue"
  • "in": ["stringValue1","stringValue2"]
  • "notIn": ["stringValue1","stringValue2"]
  • "containsKey": "keyName"
  • "notContainsKey": "keyName"
  • "less": "dateValue" | "less": "stringValue" | "less": intValue
  • "lessOrEquals": "dateValue" | "lessOrEquals": "stringValue" | "lessOrEquals": intValue
  • "greater": "dateValue" | "greater": "stringValue" | "greater": intValue
  • "greaterOrEquals": "dateValue" | "greaterOrEquals": "stringValue" | "greaterOrEquals": intValue
  • "exists": "bool"

For less, lessOrEquals, greater, and greaterOrEquals, if the property type doesn't match the condition type, an error is thrown. String comparisons are made using InvariantCultureIgnoreCase.

When using the like and notLike conditions, you provide a wildcard * in the value. The value shouldn't have more than one wildcard *.

When using the match and notMatch conditions, provide # to match a digit, ? for a letter, . to match any character, and any other character to match that actual character. While match and notMatch are case-sensitive, all other conditions that evaluate a stringValue are case-insensitive. Case-insensitive alternatives are available in matchInsensitively and notMatchInsensitively.

Fields

Conditions that evaluate whether the values of properties in the resource request payload meet certain criteria can be formed using a field expression. The following fields are supported:

  • name
  • fullName
    • Returns the full name of the resource. The full name of a resource is the resource name prepended by any parent resource names (for example "myServer/myDatabase").
  • kind
  • type
  • location
    • Location fields are normalized to support various formats. For example, East US 2 is considered equal to eastus2.
    • Use global for resources that are location agnostic.
  • id
    • Returns the resource ID of the resource that is being evaluated.
    • Example: /subscriptions/06be863d-0996-4d56-be22-384767287aa2/resourceGroups/myRG/providers/Microsoft.KeyVault/vaults/myVault
  • identity.type
  • tags
  • tags['<tagName>']
    • This bracket syntax supports tag names that have punctuation such as a hyphen, period, or space.
    • Where <tagName> is the name of the tag to validate the condition for.
    • Examples: tags['Acct.CostCenter'] where Acct.CostCenter is the name of the tag.
  • tags['''<tagName>''']
    • This bracket syntax supports tag names that have apostrophes in it by escaping with double apostrophes.
    • Where '<tagName>' is the name of the tag to validate the condition for.
    • Example: tags['''My.Apostrophe.Tag'''] where 'My.Apostrophe.Tag' is the name of the tag.
  • property aliases - for a list, see Aliases.

Note

tags.<tagName>, tags[tagName], and tags[tag.with.dots] are still acceptable ways of declaring a tags field. However, the preferred expressions are those listed above.

Note

In field expressions referring to [*] alias, each element in the array is evaluated individually with logical and between elements. For more information, see Referencing array resource properties.

Use tags with parameters

A parameter value can be passed to a tag field. Passing a parameter to a tag field increases the flexibility of the policy definition during policy assignment.

In the following example, concat is used to create a tags field lookup for the tag named the value of the tagName parameter. If that tag doesn't exist, the modify effect is used to add the tag using the value of the same named tag set on the audited resources parent resource group by using the resourcegroup() lookup function.

{
    "if": {
        "field": "[concat('tags[', parameters('tagName'), ']')]",
        "exists": "false"
    },
    "then": {
        "effect": "modify",
        "details": {
            "operations": [{
                "operation": "add",
                "field": "[concat('tags[', parameters('tagName'), ']')]",
                "value": "[resourcegroup().tags[parameters('tagName')]]"
            }],
            "roleDefinitionIds": [
                "/providers/microsoft.authorization/roleDefinitions/4a9ae827-6dc8-4573-8ac7-8239d42aa03f"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Value

Conditions that evaluate whether a value meets certain criteria can be formed using a value expression. Values can be literals, the values of parameters, or the returned values of any supported template functions.

Warning

If the result of a template function is an error, policy evaluation fails. A failed evaluation is an implicit deny. For more information, see avoiding template failures. Use enforcementMode of DoNotEnforce to prevent impact of a failed evaluation on new or updated resources while testing and validating a new policy definition.

Value examples

This policy rule example uses value to compare the result of the resourceGroup() function and the returned name property to a like condition of *netrg. The rule denies any resource not of the Microsoft.Network/* type in any resource group whose name ends in *netrg.

{
    "if": {
        "allOf": [{
                "value": "[resourceGroup().name]",
                "like": "*netrg"
            },
            {
                "field": "type",
                "notLike": "Microsoft.Network/*"
            }
        ]
    },
    "then": {
        "effect": "deny"
    }
}

This policy rule example uses value to check if the result of multiple nested functions equals true. The rule denies any resource that doesn't have at least three tags.

{
    "mode": "indexed",
    "policyRule": {
        "if": {
            "value": "[less(length(field('tags')), 3)]",
            "equals": "true"
        },
        "then": {
            "effect": "deny"
        }
    }
}

Avoiding template failures

The use of template functions in value allows for many complex nested functions. If the result of a template function is an error, policy evaluation fails. A failed evaluation is an implicit deny. An example of a value that fails in certain scenarios:

{
    "policyRule": {
        "if": {
            "value": "[substring(field('name'), 0, 3)]",
            "equals": "abc"
        },
        "then": {
            "effect": "audit"
        }
    }
}

The example policy rule above uses substring() to compare the first three characters of name to abc. If name is shorter than three characters, the substring() function results in an error. This error causes the policy to become a deny effect.

Instead, use the if() function to check if the first three characters of name equal abc without allowing a name shorter than three characters to cause an error:

{
    "policyRule": {
        "if": {
            "value": "[if(greaterOrEquals(length(field('name')), 3), substring(field('name'), 0, 3), 'not starting with abc')]",
            "equals": "abc"
        },
        "then": {
            "effect": "audit"
        }
    }
}

With the revised policy rule, if() checks the length of name before trying to get a substring() on a value with fewer than three characters. If name is too short, the value "not starting with abc" is returned instead and compared to abc. A resource with a short name that doesn't begin with abc still fails the policy rule, but no longer causes an error during evaluation.

Count

Conditions that count how many members of an array meet certain criteria can be formed using a count expression. Common scenarios are checking whether 'at least one of', 'exactly one of', 'all of', or 'none of' the array members satisfy a condition. Count evaluates each array member for a condition expression and sums the true results, which is then compared to the expression operator.

Field count

Count how many members of an array in the request payload satisfy a condition expression. The structure of field count expressions is:

{
    "count": {
        "field": "<[*] alias>",
        "where": {
            /* condition expression */
        }
    },
    "<condition>": "<compare the count of true condition expression array members to this value>"
}

The following properties are used with field count:

  • count.field (required): Contains the path to the array and must be an array alias.
  • count.where (optional): The condition expression to individually evaluate for each [*] alias array member of count.field. If this property isn't provided, all array members with the path of 'field' are evaluated to true. Any condition can be used inside this property. Logical operators can be used inside this property to create complex evaluation requirements.
  • <condition> (required): The value is compared to the number of items that met the count.where condition expression. A numeric condition should be used.

For more details on how to work with array properties in Azure Policy, including detailed explanation on how the field count expression is evaluated, see Referencing array resource properties.

Value count

Count how many members of an array satisfy a condition. The array can be a literal array or a reference to array parameter. The structure of value count expressions is:

{
    "count": {
        "value": "<literal array | array parameter reference>",
        "name": "<index name>",
        "where": {
            /* condition expression */
        }
    },
    "<condition>": "<compare the count of true condition expression array members to this value>"
}

The following properties are used with value count:

  • count.value (required): The array to evaluate.
  • count.name (required): The index name, composed of English letters and digits. Defines a name for the value of the array member evaluated in the current iteration. The name is used for referencing the current value inside the count.where condition. Optional when the count expression isn't in a child of another count expression. When not provided, the index name is implicitly set to "default".
  • count.where (optional): The condition expression to individually evaluate for each array member of count.value. If this property isn't provided, all array members are evaluated to true. Any condition can be used inside this property. Logical operators can be used inside this property to create complex evaluation requirements. The value of the currently enumerated array member can be accessed by calling the current function.
  • <condition> (required): The value is compared to the number of items that met the count.where condition expression. A numeric condition should be used.

The current function

The current() function is only available inside the count.where condition. It returns the value of the array member that is currently enumerated by the count expression evaluation.

Value count usage

  • current(<index name defined in count.name>). For example: current('arrayMember').
  • current(). Allowed only when the value count expression isn't a child of another count expression. Returns the same value as above.

If the value returned by the call is an object, property accessors are supported. For example: current('objectArrayMember').property.

Field count usage

  • current(<the array alias defined in count.field>). For example, current('Microsoft.Test/resource/enumeratedArray[*]').
  • current(). Allowed only when the field count expression isn't a child of another count expression. Returns the same value as above.
  • current(<alias of a property of the array member>). For example, current('Microsoft.Test/resource/enumeratedArray[*].property').

Field count examples

Example 1: Check if an array is empty

{
    "count": {
        "field": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules[*]"
    },
    "equals": 0
}

Example 2: Check for only one array member to meet the condition expression

{
    "count": {
        "field": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules[*]",
        "where": {
            "field": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules[*].description",
            "equals": "My unique description"
        }
    },
    "equals": 1
}

Example 3: Check for at least one array member to meet the condition expression

{
    "count": {
        "field": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules[*]",
        "where": {
            "field": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules[*].description",
            "equals": "My common description"
        }
    },
    "greaterOrEquals": 1
}

Example 4: Check that all object array members meet the condition expression

{
    "count": {
        "field": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules[*]",
        "where": {
            "field": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules[*].description",
            "equals": "description"
        }
    },
    "equals": "[length(field('Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules[*]'))]"
}

Example 5: Check that at least one array member matches multiple properties in the condition expression

{
    "count": {
        "field": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules[*]",
        "where": {
            "allOf": [
                {
                    "field": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules[*].direction",
                    "equals": "Inbound"
                },
                {
                    "field": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules[*].access",
                    "equals": "Allow"
                },
                {
                    "field": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules[*].destinationPortRange",
                    "equals": "3389"
                }
            ]
        }
    },
    "greater": 0
}

Example 6: Use current() function inside the where conditions to access the value of the currently enumerated array member in a template function. This condition checks whether a virtual network contains an address prefix that isn't under the 10.0.0.0/24 CIDR range.

{
    "count": {
        "field": "Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/addressSpace.addressPrefixes[*]",
        "where": {
          "value": "[ipRangeContains('10.0.0.0/24', current('Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/addressSpace.addressPrefixes[*]'))]",
          "equals": false
        }
    },
    "greater": 0
}

Example 7: Use field() function inside the where conditions to access the value of the currently enumerated array member. This condition checks whether a virtual network contains an address prefix that isn't under the 10.0.0.0/24 CIDR range.

{
    "count": {
        "field": "Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/addressSpace.addressPrefixes[*]",
        "where": {
          "value": "[ipRangeContains('10.0.0.0/24', first(field(('Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/addressSpace.addressPrefixes[*]')))]",
          "equals": false
        }
    },
    "greater": 0
}

Value count examples

Example 1: Check if resource name matches any of the given name patterns.

{
    "count": {
        "value": [ "prefix1_*", "prefix2_*" ],
        "name": "pattern",
        "where": {
            "field": "name",
            "like": "[current('pattern')]"
        }
    },
    "greater": 0
}

Example 2: Check if resource name matches any of the given name patterns. The current() function doesn't specify an index name. The outcome is the same as the previous example.

{
    "count": {
        "value": [ "prefix1_*", "prefix2_*" ],
        "where": {
            "field": "name",
            "like": "[current()]"
        }
    },
    "greater": 0
}

Example 3: Check if resource name matches any of the given name patterns provided by an array parameter.

{
    "count": {
        "value": "[parameters('namePatterns')]",
        "name": "pattern",
        "where": {
            "field": "name",
            "like": "[current('pattern')]"
        }
    },
    "greater": 0
}

Example 4: Check if any of the virtual network address prefixes isn't under the list of approved prefixes.

{
    "count": {
        "field": "Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/addressSpace.addressPrefixes[*]",
        "where": {
            "count": {
                "value": "[parameters('approvedPrefixes')]",
                "name": "approvedPrefix",
                "where": {
                    "value": "[ipRangeContains(current('approvedPrefix'), current('Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/addressSpace.addressPrefixes[*]'))]",
                    "equals": true
                },
            },
            "equals": 0
        }
    },
    "greater": 0
}

Example 5: Check that all the reserved NSG rules are defined in an NSG. The properties of the reserved NSG rules are defined in an array parameter containing objects.

Parameter value:

[
    {
        "priority": 101,
        "access": "deny",
        "direction": "inbound",
        "destinationPortRange": 22
    },
    {
        "priority": 102,
        "access": "deny",
        "direction": "inbound",
        "destinationPortRange": 3389
    }
]

Policy:

{
    "count": {
        "value": "[parameters('reservedNsgRules')]",
        "name": "reservedNsgRule",
        "where": {
            "count": {
                "field": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules[*]",
                "where": {
                    "allOf": [
                        {
                            "field": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules[*].priority",
                            "equals": "[current('reservedNsgRule').priority]"
                        },
                        {
                            "field": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules[*].access",
                            "equals": "[current('reservedNsgRule').access]"
                        },
                        {
                            "field": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules[*].direction",
                            "equals": "[current('reservedNsgRule').direction]"
                        },
                        {
                            "field": "Microsoft.Network/networkSecurityGroups/securityRules[*].destinationPortRange",
                            "equals": "[current('reservedNsgRule').destinationPortRange]"
                        }
                    ]
                }
            },
            "equals": 1
        }
    },
    "equals": "[length(parameters('reservedNsgRules'))]"
}

Policy functions

Functions can be used to introduce additional logic into a policy rule. They are resolved within the policy rule of a policy definition and within parameter values assigned to policy definitions in an initiative.

All Resource Manager template functions are available to use within a policy rule, except the following functions and user-defined functions:

  • copyIndex()
  • dateTimeAdd()
  • deployment()
  • environment()
  • extensionResourceId()
  • lambda()
  • listAccountSas()
  • listKeys()
  • listSecrets()
  • list*
  • managementGroup()
  • newGuid()
  • pickZones()
  • providers()
  • reference()
  • resourceId()
  • subscriptionResourceId()
  • tenantResourceId()
  • tenant()
  • utcNow(format)
  • variables()

Note

These functions are still available within the details.deployment.properties.template portion of the template deployment in a deployIfNotExists policy definition.

The following function is available to use in a policy rule, but differs from use in an Azure Resource Manager template (ARM template):

  • utcNow() - Unlike an ARM template, this property can be used outside defaultValue.
    • Returns a string that is set to the current date and time in Universal ISO 8601 DateTime format yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffffffZ.

The following functions are only available in policy rules:

  • addDays(dateTime, numberOfDaysToAdd)

    • dateTime: [Required] string - String in the Universal ISO 8601 DateTime format 'yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.FFFFFFFZ'
    • numberOfDaysToAdd: [Required] integer - Number of days to add

  • field(fieldName)

    • fieldName: [Required] string - Name of the field to retrieve
    • Returns the value of that field from the resource that is being evaluated by the If condition.
    • field is primarily used with AuditIfNotExists and DeployIfNotExists to reference fields on the resource that are being evaluated. An example of this use can be seen in the DeployIfNotExists example.

  • requestContext().apiVersion

    • Returns the API version of the request that triggered policy evaluation (example: 2021-09-01). This value is the API version that was used in the PUT/PATCH request for evaluations on resource creation/update. The latest API version is always used during compliance evaluation on existing resources.

  • policy()

    • Returns the following information about the policy that is being evaluated. Properties can be accessed from the returned object (example: [policy().assignmentId]).

      {
  "assignmentId": "/subscriptions/ad404ddd-36a5-4ea8-b3e3-681e77487a63/providers/Microsoft.Authorization/policyAssignments/myAssignment",
  "definitionId": "/providers/Microsoft.Authorization/policyDefinitions/34c877ad-507e-4c82-993e-3452a6e0ad3c",
  "setDefinitionId": "/providers/Microsoft.Authorization/policySetDefinitions/42a694ed-f65e-42b2-aa9e-8052e9740a92",
  "definitionReferenceId": "StorageAccountNetworkACLs"
}

  • ipRangeContains(range, targetRange)

    • range: [Required] string - String specifying a range of IP addresses to check if the targetRange is within.
    • targetRange: [Required] string - String specifying a range of IP addresses to validate as included within the range.
    • Returns a boolean for whether the range IP address range contains the targetRange IP address range. Empty ranges, or mixing between IP families isn't allowed and results in evaluation failure.

    Supported formats:

    • Single IP address (examples: 10.0.0.0, 2001:0DB8::3:FFFE)
    • CIDR range (examples: 10.0.0.0/24, 2001:0DB8::/110)
    • Range defined by start and end IP addresses (examples: 192.168.0.1-192.168.0.9, 2001:0DB8::-2001:0DB8::3:FFFF)

  • current(indexName)

Policy function example

This policy rule example uses the resourceGroup resource function to get the name property, combined with the concat array and object function to build a like condition that enforces the resource name to start with the resource group name.

{
    "if": {
        "not": {
            "field": "name",
            "like": "[concat(resourceGroup().name,'*')]"
        }
    },
    "then": {
        "effect": "deny"
    }
}

Policy rule limits

Limits enforced during authoring

Limits to the structure of policy rules are enforced during the authoring or assignment of a policy. Attempts to create or assign policy definitions that exceed these limits will fail.

Limit Value Additional details
Condition expressions in the if condition 4096
Condition expressions in the then block 128 Applies to the existenceCondition of AuditIfNotExists and DeployIfNotExists policies
Policy functions per policy rule 2048
Policy function number of parameters 128 Example: [function('parameter1', 'parameter2', ...)]
Nested policy functions depth 64 Example: [function(nested1(nested2(...)))]
Policy functions expression string length 81920 Example: the length of "[function(....)]"
Field count expressions per array 5
Value count expressions per policy rule 10
Value count expression iteration count 100 For nested Value count expressions, this also includes the iteration count of the parent expression

Limits enforced during evaluation

Limits to the size of objects that are processed by policy functions during policy evaluation. These limits can't always be enforced during authoring since they depend on the evaluated content. For example:

{
    "field": "name",
    "equals": "[concat(field('stringPropertyA'), field('stringPropertyB'))]"
}

The length of the string created by the concat() function depends on the value of properties in the evaluated resource.

Limit Value Example
Length of string returned by a function 131072 [concat(field('longString1'), field('longString2'))]
Depth of complex objects provided as a parameter to, or returned by a function 128 [union(field('largeObject1'), field('largeObject2'))]
Number of nodes of complex objects provided as a parameter to, or returned by a function 32768 [concat(field('largeArray1'), field('largeArray2'))]

Warning

Policy that exceed the above limits during evaluation will effectively become a deny policy and can block incoming requests. When writing policies with complex functions, be mindful of these limits and test your policies against resources that have the potential to exceed them.

Aliases

You use property aliases to access specific properties for a resource type. Aliases enable you to restrict what values or conditions are allowed for a property on a resource. Each alias maps to paths in different API versions for a given resource type. During policy evaluation, the policy engine gets the property path for that API version.

The list of aliases is always growing. To find what aliases are currently supported by Azure Policy, use one of the following methods:

  • Azure Policy extension for Visual Studio Code (recommended)

    Use the Azure Policy extension for Visual Studio Code to view and discover aliases for resource properties.

    Screenshot of the Azure Policy extension for Visual Studio Code hovering a property to display the alias names.

  • Azure PowerShell

    # Login first with Connect-AzAccount if not using Cloud Shell

# Use Get-AzPolicyAlias to list available providers
Get-AzPolicyAlias -ListAvailable

# Use Get-AzPolicyAlias to list aliases for a Namespace (such as Azure Compute -- Microsoft.Compute)
(Get-AzPolicyAlias -NamespaceMatch 'compute').Aliases

    Note

    To find aliases that can be used with the modify effect, use the following command in Azure PowerShell 4.6.0 or higher:

    Get-AzPolicyAlias | Select-Object -ExpandProperty 'Aliases' | Where-Object { $_.DefaultMetadata.Attributes -eq 'Modifiable' }

  • Azure CLI

    # Login first with az login if not using Cloud Shell

# List namespaces
az provider list --query [*].namespace

# Get Azure Policy aliases for a specific Namespace (such as Azure Compute -- Microsoft.Compute)
az provider show --namespace Microsoft.Compute --expand "resourceTypes/aliases" --query "resourceTypes[].aliases[].name"

  • REST API / ARMClient

    GET https://management.azure.com/providers/?api-version=2019-10-01&$expand=resourceTypes/aliases

Understanding the [*] alias

Several of the aliases that are available have a version that appears as a 'normal' name and another that has [*] attached to it. For example:

  • Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/networkAcls.ipRules
  • Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/networkAcls.ipRules[*]

The 'normal' alias represents the field as a single value. This field is for exact match comparison scenarios when the entire set of values must be exactly as defined, no more and no less.

The [*] alias represents a collection of values selected from the elements of an array resource property. For example:

Alias Selected values
Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/networkAcls.ipRules[*] The elements of the ipRules array.
Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/networkAcls.ipRules[*].action The values of the action property from each element of the ipRules array.

When used in a field condition, array aliases make it possible to compare each individual array element to a target value. When used with count expression, it's possible to:

  • Check the size of an array
  • Check if all\any\none of the array elements meet a complex condition
  • Check if exactly n array elements meet a complex condition

For more information and examples, see Referencing array resource properties.

Effect

Azure Policy supports the following types of effect:

  • Append: adds the defined set of fields to the request
  • Audit: generates a warning event in activity log but doesn't fail the request
  • AuditIfNotExists: generates a warning event in activity log if a related resource doesn't exist
  • Deny: generates an event in the activity log and fails the request based on requested resource configuration
  • DenyAction: generates an event in the activity log and fails the request based on requested action
  • DeployIfNotExists: deploys a related resource if it doesn't already exist
  • Disabled: doesn't evaluate resources for compliance to the policy rule
  • Modify: adds, updates, or removes the defined set of fields in the request
  • EnforceOPAConstraint (deprecated): configures the Open Policy Agent admissions controller with Gatekeeper v3 for self-managed Kubernetes clusters on Azure
  • EnforceRegoPolicy (deprecated): configures the Open Policy Agent admissions controller with Gatekeeper v2 in Azure Kubernetes Service

For complete details on each effect, order of evaluation, properties, and examples, see Understanding Azure Policy Effects.

Next steps