Importing updates into Device Update for IoT Hub: schema and other information

If you want to import an update into Device Update for IoT Hub, be sure you've reviewed the concepts and how-to guide first. If you're interested in the details of import manifest schema, or information about API permissions, see below.

The import manifest JSON schema is hosted at SchemaStore.org.

Schema

Property	Type	Description	Required
$schema	string	JSON schema reference.	No
updateId	updateId	Unique update identifier.	Yes
description	string	Optional update description. Maximum length: 512 characters	No
compatibility	compatibility	List of device property sets this update is compatible with.	Yes
instructions	instructions	Update installation instructions.	Yes
files	file [0-10]	List of update payload files. Sum of all file sizes may not exceed 2 GB. May be empty or null if all instruction steps are reference steps.	No
manifestVersion	string	Import manifest schema version. Must be 4.0.	Yes
createdDateTime	string	Date & time import manifest was created in ISO 8601 format. Example: "2020-10-02T22:18:04.9446744Z"	Yes

Additional properties aren't allowed.

updateId object

The updateID object is a unique identifier for each update.

Property	Type	Description	Required
provider	string	Entity who is creating or directly responsible for the update. It can be a company name. Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+$ Maximum length: 64 characters	Yes
name	string	Identifier for a class of update. It can be a device class or model name. Pattern: ^[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+$ Maximum length: 64 characters	Yes
version	string	Two- to four-part dot-separated numerical version numbers. Each part must be a number between 0 and 2147483647 and leading zeroes will be dropped. Pattern: ^\d+(?:\.\d+)+$ Examples: "1.0", "2021.11.8"	Yes

Additional properties aren't allowed.

For example:

{
  "updateId": {
    "provider": "Contoso",
    "name": "Toaster",
    "version": "1.0"
  }
}

compatibility object

The compatibility object describes the properties of a device that this update is compatible with.

• Type: object
• Minimum Properties: 1
• Maximum Properties: 5

Each property is a name-value pair of type string.

• Minimum Property Name Length: 1
• Maximum Property Name Length: 32
• Minimum Property Value Length: 1
• Maximum Property Value Length: 64

The same exact set of compatibility properties can't be used with more than one update provider and name combination.

For example:

{
  "compatibility": [
    {
      "deviceManufacturer": "Contoso",
      "deviceModel": "Toaster"
    }
  ]
}

instructions object

The instructions object provides the update installation instructions. The instructions object contains a list of steps to be performed. Steps can either be code to execute or a pointer to another update.

Property	Type	Description	Required
steps	array[1-10]	Each element in the array must be either an inlineStep object or a referenceStep object.	Yes

Additional properties aren't allowed.

For example:

{
  "instructions": {
    "steps": [
      {
        "type": "inline",
        ...
      },
      {
        "type": "reference",
        ...
      }
    ]
  }
}

inlineStep object

An inline step object is an installation instruction step that performs code execution.

Property	Type	Description	Required
type	string	Instruction step type that performs code execution. Must be inline. Defaults to inline if no value is provided.	No
description	string	Optional instruction step description. Maximum length: 64 characters	No
handler	string	Identity of the handler on the device that can execute this step. Pattern: ^\S+/\S+:\d{1,5}$ Minimum length: 5 characters Maximum length: 32 characters Examples: microsoft/script:1, microsoft/swupdate:1, microsoft/apt:1	Yes
files	string [1-10]	Names of update files defined as file objects that the agent will pass to the handler. Each element in the array must have length between 1 and 255 characters.	Yes
handlerProperties	inlineStepHandlerProperties	JSON object that agent will pass to handler as arguments.	No

Additional properties aren't allowed.

For example:

{
  "steps": [
    {
      "description": "pre-install script",
      "handler": "microsoft/script:1",
      "handlerProperties": {
        "arguments": "--pre-install"
      },
      "files": [
        "configure.sh"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

referenceStep object

A reference step object is an installation instruction step that installs another update.

Property	Type	Description	Required
type	referenceStepType	Instruction step type that installs another update. Must be reference.	Yes
description	stepDescription	Optional instruction step description. Maximum length: 64 characters	No
updateId	updateId	Unique update identifier.	Yes

Additional properties aren't allowed.

For example:

{
  "steps": [
    {
      "type": "reference",
      "updateId": {
        "provider": "Contoso",
        "name": "Toaster.HeatingElement",
        "version": "1.0"
      }
    }
  ]
}

file object

A file object is an update payload file, for example, binary, firmware, script, etc. Each file object must be unique within an update.

Property	Type	Description	Required
filename	string	Update payload file name. Maximum length: 255 characters	Yes
sizeInBytes	number	File size in number of bytes. Maximum size: 2147483648 bytes	Yes
hashes	fileHashes	Base64-encoded file hashes with algorithm name as key. At least SHA-256 algorithm must be specified, and additional algorithm may be specified if supported by agent. See below for details on how to calculate the hash.	Yes

Additional properties aren't allowed.

For example:

{
  "files": [
    {
      "filename": "configure.sh",
      "sizeInBytes": 7558,
      "hashes": {...}
    }
  ]
}

fileHashes object

Base64-encoded file hashes with the algorithm name as key. At least the SHA-256 algorithm must be specified, and other algorithms may be specified if supported by the agent. For an example of how to calculate the hash correctly, see the Get-AduFileHashes function in AduUpdate.psm1 script.

Property	Type	Description	Required
sha256	string	Base64-encoded file hash value using SHA-256 algorithm.	Yes

Additional properties are allowed.

For example:

{
  "hashes": {
    "sha256": "/CD7Sn6fiknWa3NgcFjGlJ+ccA81s1QAXX4oo5GHiFA="
  }
}

Next steps

Learn more about import concepts.

If you're ready, try out the Import How-To guide, which will walk you through the import process step by step.