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Assign Azure roles using Azure PowerShell

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Azure role-based access control (Azure RBAC) is the authorization system you use to manage access to Azure resources. To grant access, you assign roles to users, groups, service principals, or managed identities at a particular scope. This article describes how to assign roles using Azure PowerShell.

Note

We recommend that you use the Azure Az PowerShell module to interact with Azure. To get started, see Install Azure PowerShell. To learn how to migrate to the Az PowerShell module, see Migrate Azure PowerShell from AzureRM to Az.

Prerequisites

To assign roles, you must have:

Steps to assign an Azure role

To assign a role consists of three elements: security principal, role definition, and scope.

Step 1: Determine who needs access

You can assign a role to a user, group, service principal, or managed identity. To assign a role, you might need to specify the unique ID of the object. The ID has the format: 11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111. You can get the ID using the Azure portal or Azure PowerShell.

User

For a Microsoft Entra user, get the user principal name, such as patlong@contoso.com or the user object ID. To get the object ID, you can use Get-AzADUser.

Get-AzADUser -StartsWith <userName>
(Get-AzADUser -DisplayName <userName>).id

Group

For a Microsoft Entra group, you need the group object ID. To get the object ID, you can use Get-AzADGroup.

Get-AzADGroup -SearchString <groupName>
(Get-AzADGroup -DisplayName <groupName>).id

Service principal

For a Microsoft Entra service principal (identity used by an application), you need the service principal object ID. To get the object ID, you can use Get-AzADServicePrincipal. For a service principal, use the object ID and not the application ID.

Get-AzADServicePrincipal -SearchString <principalName>
(Get-AzADServicePrincipal -DisplayName <principalName>).id

Managed identity

For a system-assigned or a user-assigned managed identity, you need the object ID. To get the object ID, you can use Get-AzADServicePrincipal.

Get-AzADServicePrincipal -SearchString <principalName>
(Get-AzADServicePrincipal -DisplayName <principalName>).id

Step 2: Select the appropriate role

Permissions are grouped together into roles. You can select from a list of several Azure built-in roles or you can use your own custom roles. It's a best practice to grant access with the least privilege that is needed, so avoid assigning a broader role.

To list roles and get the unique role ID, you can use Get-AzRoleDefinition.

Get-AzRoleDefinition | Format-Table -Property Name, IsCustom, Id

Here's how to list the details of a particular role.

Get-AzRoleDefinition -Name <roleName>

For more information, see List Azure role definitions.

Step 3: Identify the needed scope

Azure provides four levels of scope: resource, resource group, subscription, and management group. It's a best practice to grant access with the least privilege that is needed, so avoid assigning a role at a broader scope. For more information about scope, see Understand scope.

Resource scope

For resource scope, you need the resource ID for the resource. You can find the resource ID by looking at the properties of the resource in the Azure portal. A resource ID has the following format.

/subscriptions/<subscriptionId>/resourcegroups/<resourceGroupName>/providers/<providerName>/<resourceType>/<resourceSubType>/<resourceName>

Resource group scope

For resource group scope, you need the name of the resource group. You can find the name on the Resource groups page in the Azure portal or you can use Get-AzResourceGroup.

Get-AzResourceGroup

Subscription scope

For subscription scope, you need the subscription ID. You can find the ID on the Subscriptions page in the Azure portal or you can use Get-AzSubscription.

Get-AzSubscription

Management group scope

For management group scope, you need the management group name. You can find the name on the Management groups page in the Azure portal or you can use Get-AzManagementGroup.

Get-AzManagementGroup

Step 4: Assign role

To assign a role, use the New-AzRoleAssignment command. Depending on the scope, the command typically has one of the following formats.

Resource scope

New-AzRoleAssignment -ObjectId <objectId> `
-RoleDefinitionName <roleName> `
-Scope /subscriptions/<subscriptionId>/resourcegroups/<resourceGroupName>/providers/<providerName>/<resourceType>/<resourceSubType>/<resourceName>

New-AzRoleAssignment -ObjectId <objectId> `
-RoleDefinitionId <roleId> `
-ResourceName <resourceName> `
-ResourceType <resourceType> `
-ResourceGroupName <resourceGroupName>

Resource group scope

New-AzRoleAssignment -SignInName <emailOrUserprincipalname> `
-RoleDefinitionName <roleName> `
-ResourceGroupName <resourceGroupName>

New-AzRoleAssignment -ObjectId <objectId> `
-RoleDefinitionName <roleName> `
-ResourceGroupName <resourceGroupName>

Subscription scope

New-AzRoleAssignment -SignInName <emailOrUserprincipalname> `
-RoleDefinitionName <roleName> `
-Scope /subscriptions/<subscriptionId>

New-AzRoleAssignment -ObjectId <objectId> `
-RoleDefinitionName <roleName> `
-Scope /subscriptions/<subscriptionId>

Management group scope

New-AzRoleAssignment -SignInName <emailOrUserprincipalname> `
-RoleDefinitionName <roleName> `
-Scope /providers/Microsoft.Management/managementGroups/<groupName>

New-AzRoleAssignment -ObjectId <objectId> `
-RoleDefinitionName <roleName> `
-Scope /providers/Microsoft.Management/managementGroups/<groupName>

Assign role examples

Assign a role for all blob containers in a storage account resource scope

Assigns the Storage Blob Data Contributor role to a service principal with object ID 55555555-5555-5555-5555-555555555555 and Application ID 66666666-6666-6666-6666-666666666666 at a resource scope for a storage account named storage12345.

PS C:\> New-AzRoleAssignment -ApplicationId 66666666-6666-6666-6666-666666666666 `
-RoleDefinitionName "Storage Blob Data Contributor" `
-Scope "/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/Example-Storage-rg/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/storage12345"

RoleAssignmentId   : /subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/Example-Storage-rg/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/storage12345/providers/Microsoft.Authorization/roleAssignments/cccccccc-cccc-cccc-cccc-cccccccccccc
Scope              : /subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/Example-Storage-rg/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/storage12345
DisplayName        : example-identity
SignInName         :
RoleDefinitionName : Storage Blob Data Contributor
RoleDefinitionId   : ba92f5b4-2d11-453d-a403-e96b0029c9fe
ObjectId           : 55555555-5555-5555-5555-555555555555
ObjectType         : ServicePrincipal
CanDelegate        : False

Assign a role for a specific blob container resource scope

Assigns the Storage Blob Data Contributor role to a service principal with object ID 55555555-5555-5555-5555-555555555555 and Application ID 66666666-6666-6666-6666-666666666666 at a resource scope for a blob container named blob-container-01.

PS C:\> New-AzRoleAssignment -ApplicationId 66666666-6666-6666-6666-666666666666 `
-RoleDefinitionName "Storage Blob Data Contributor" `
-Scope "/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/Example-Storage-rg/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/storage12345/blobServices/default/containers/blob-container-01"

RoleAssignmentId   : /subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/Example-Storage-rg/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/storage12345/blobServices/default/containers/blob-container-01/providers/Microsoft.Authorization/roleAssignm
                     ents/dddddddd-dddd-dddd-dddd-dddddddddddd
Scope              : /subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/Example-Storage-rg/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/storage12345/blobServices/default/containers/blob-container-01
DisplayName        : example-identity
SignInName         :
RoleDefinitionName : Storage Blob Data Contributor
RoleDefinitionId   : ba92f5b4-2d11-453d-a403-e96b0029c9fe
ObjectId           : 55555555-5555-5555-5555-555555555555
ObjectType         : ServicePrincipal
CanDelegate        : False

Assign a role for a group in a specific virtual network resource scope

Assigns the Virtual Machine Contributor role to the Pharma Sales Admins group with ID aaaaaaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaaaaaaaaaaa at a resource scope for a virtual network named pharma-sales-project-network.

PS C:\> New-AzRoleAssignment -ObjectId aaaaaaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaaaaaaaaaaa `
-RoleDefinitionName "Virtual Machine Contributor" `
-ResourceName pharma-sales-project-network `
-ResourceType Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks `
-ResourceGroupName MyVirtualNetworkResourceGroup

RoleAssignmentId   : /subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/MyVirtualNetworkResourceGroup
                     /providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/pharma-sales-project-network/providers/Microsoft.Authorizat
                     ion/roleAssignments/bbbbbbbb-bbbb-bbbb-bbbb-bbbbbbbbbbbb
Scope              : /subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/MyVirtualNetworkResourceGroup
                     /providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/pharma-sales-project-network
DisplayName        : Pharma Sales Admins
SignInName         :
RoleDefinitionName : Virtual Machine Contributor
RoleDefinitionId   : 9980e02c-c2be-4d73-94e8-173b1dc7cf3c
ObjectId           : aaaaaaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaaa-aaaaaaaaaaaa
ObjectType         : Group
CanDelegate        : False

Assign a role for a user at a resource group scope

Assigns the Virtual Machine Contributor role to patlong@contoso.com user at the pharma-sales resource group scope.

PS C:\> New-AzRoleAssignment -SignInName patlong@contoso.com `
-RoleDefinitionName "Virtual Machine Contributor" `
-ResourceGroupName pharma-sales

RoleAssignmentId   : /subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/pharma-sales/pr
                     oviders/Microsoft.Authorization/roleAssignments/55555555-5555-5555-5555-555555555555
Scope              : /subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/pharma-sales
DisplayName        : Pat Long
SignInName         : patlong@contoso.com
RoleDefinitionName : Virtual Machine Contributor
RoleDefinitionId   : 9980e02c-c2be-4d73-94e8-173b1dc7cf3c
ObjectId           : 44444444-4444-4444-4444-444444444444
ObjectType         : User
CanDelegate        : False

Alternately, you can specify the fully qualified resource group with the -Scope parameter:

PS C:\> New-AzRoleAssignment -SignInName patlong@contoso.com `
-RoleDefinitionName "Virtual Machine Contributor" `
-Scope "/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/pharma-sales"

RoleAssignmentId   : /subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/pharma-sales/providers/Microsoft.Authorization/roleAssignments/55555555-5555-5555-5555-555555555555
Scope              : /subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/pharma-sales
DisplayName        : Pat Long
SignInName         : patlong@contoso.com
RoleDefinitionName : Virtual Machine Contributor
RoleDefinitionId   : 9980e02c-c2be-4d73-94e8-173b1dc7cf3c
ObjectId           : 44444444-4444-4444-4444-444444444444
ObjectType         : User
CanDelegate        : False

Assign a role for a user using the unique role ID at a resource group scope

There are a couple of times when a role name might change, for example:

  • You are using your own custom role and you decide to change the name.
  • You are using a preview role that has (Preview) in the name. When the role is released, the role is renamed.

Even if a role is renamed, the role ID does not change. If you are using scripts or automation to create your role assignments, it's a best practice to use the unique role ID instead of the role name. Therefore, if a role is renamed, your scripts are more likely to work.

The following example assigns the Virtual Machine Contributor role to the patlong@contoso.com user at the pharma-sales resource group scope.

PS C:\> New-AzRoleAssignment -ObjectId 44444444-4444-4444-4444-444444444444 `
-RoleDefinitionId 9980e02c-c2be-4d73-94e8-173b1dc7cf3c `
-Scope "/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/pharma-sales"

RoleAssignmentId   : /subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/pharma-sales/providers/Microsoft.Authorization/roleAssignments/55555555-5555-5555-5555-555555555555
Scope              : /subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/pharma-sales
DisplayName        : Pat Long
SignInName         : patlong@contoso.com
RoleDefinitionName : Virtual Machine Contributor
RoleDefinitionId   : 9980e02c-c2be-4d73-94e8-173b1dc7cf3c
ObjectId           : 44444444-4444-4444-4444-444444444444
ObjectType         : User
CanDelegate        : False

Assign a role for an application at a resource group scope

Assigns the Virtual Machine Contributor role to an application with service principal object ID 77777777-7777-7777-7777-777777777777 at the pharma-sales resource group scope.

PS C:\> New-AzRoleAssignment -ObjectId 77777777-7777-7777-7777-777777777777 `
-RoleDefinitionName "Virtual Machine Contributor" `
-ResourceGroupName pharma-sales

RoleAssignmentId   : /subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/providers/Microsoft.Authorization/roleAssignments/66666666-6666-6666-6666-666666666666
Scope              : /subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/pharma-sales
DisplayName        : MyApp1
SignInName         :
RoleDefinitionName : Virtual Machine Contributor
RoleDefinitionId   : 9980e02c-c2be-4d73-94e8-173b1dc7cf3c
ObjectId           : 77777777-7777-7777-7777-777777777777
ObjectType         : ServicePrincipal
CanDelegate        : False

Assign a role for a user at a subscription scope

Assigns the Reader role to the annm@example.com user at a subscription scope.

PS C:\> New-AzRoleAssignment -SignInName annm@example.com `
-RoleDefinitionName "Reader" `
-Scope "/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000"

RoleAssignmentId   : /subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/providers/Microsoft.Authorization/roleAssignments/66666666-6666-6666-6666-666666666666
Scope              : /subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
DisplayName        : Ann M
SignInName         : annm@example.com
RoleDefinitionName : Reader
RoleDefinitionId   : acdd72a7-3385-48ef-bd42-f606fba81ae7
ObjectId           : 77777777-7777-7777-7777-777777777777
ObjectType         : ServicePrincipal
CanDelegate        : False

Assign a role for a user at a management group scope

Assigns the Billing Reader role to the alain@example.com user at a management group scope.

PS C:\> New-AzRoleAssignment -SignInName alain@example.com `
-RoleDefinitionName "Billing Reader" `
-Scope "/providers/Microsoft.Management/managementGroups/marketing-group"

RoleAssignmentId   : /providers/Microsoft.Management/managementGroups/marketing-group/providers/Microsoft.Authorization/roleAssignments/22222222-2222-2222-2222-222222222222
Scope              : /providers/Microsoft.Management/managementGroups/marketing-group
DisplayName        : Alain Charon
SignInName         : alain@example.com
RoleDefinitionName : Billing Reader
RoleDefinitionId   : fa23ad8b-c56e-40d8-ac0c-ce449e1d2c64
ObjectId           : 44444444-4444-4444-4444-444444444444
ObjectType         : User
CanDelegate        : False

Next steps