Create Key - Create Key

Service:: Key Vault

API Version:: 2025-07-01

Creates a new key, stores it, then returns key parameters and attributes to the client.
The create key operation can be used to create any key type in Azure Key Vault. If the named key already exists, Azure Key Vault creates a new version of the key. It requires the keys/create permission.

POST {vaultBaseUrl}/keys/{key-name}/create?api-version=2025-07-01

URI Parameters

Name	In	Required	Type	Description
key-name	path	True	string pattern: ^[0-9a-zA-Z-]+$	The name for the new key. The system will generate the version name for the new key. The value you provide may be copied globally for the purpose of running the service. The value provided should not include personally identifiable or sensitive information.
vaultBaseUrl	path	True	string (uri)
api-version	query	True	string minLength: 1	The API version to use for this operation.

Request Body

Name	Required	Type	Description
kty	True	JsonWebKeyType	The type of key to create. For valid values, see JsonWebKeyType.
attributes		KeyAttributes	The attributes of a key managed by the key vault service.
crv		JsonWebKeyCurveName	Elliptic curve name. For valid values, see JsonWebKeyCurveName.
key_ops		JsonWebKeyOperation[]	Json web key operations. For more information on possible key operations, see JsonWebKeyOperation.
key_size		integer (int32)	The key size in bits. For example: 2048, 3072, or 4096 for RSA.
public_exponent		integer (int32)	The public exponent for a RSA key.
release_policy		KeyReleasePolicy	The policy rules under which the key can be exported.
tags		object	Application specific metadata in the form of key-value pairs.

Responses

Name	Type	Description
200 OK	KeyBundle	The request has succeeded.
Other Status Codes	KeyVaultError	An unexpected error response.

Security

OAuth2Auth

Type: oauth2
Flow: implicit
Authorization URL: https://login.microsoftonline.com/common/oauth2/authorize

Scopes

Name	Description
https://vault.azure.net/.default

Examples

Create key

Sample request

HTTP

POST https://myvault.vault.azure.net//keys/CreateSoftKeyTest/create?api-version=2025-07-01

{
  "kty": "RSA",
  "key_size": 2048,
  "key_ops": [
    "encrypt",
    "decrypt",
    "sign",
    "verify",
    "wrapKey",
    "unwrapKey"
  ],
  "attributes": {},
  "tags": {
    "purpose": "unit test",
    "test name ": "CreateGetDeleteKeyTest"
  }
}

Sample response

Status code:: 200

{
  "key": {
    "kid": "https://myvault.vault.azure.net/keys/CreateSoftKeyTest/78deebed173b48e48f55abf87ed4cf71",
    "kty": "RSA",
    "key_ops": [
      "encrypt",
      "decrypt",
      "sign",
      "verify",
      "wrapKey",
      "unwrapKey"
    ],
    "n": "2HJAE5fU3Cw2Rt9hEuq-F6XjINKGa-zskfISVqopqUy60GOs2eyhxbWbJBeUXNor_gf-tXtNeuqeBgitLeVa640UDvnEjYTKWjCniTxZRaU7ewY8BfTSk-7KxoDdLsPSpX_MX4rwlAx-_1UGk5t4sQgTbm9T6Fm2oqFd37dsz5-Gj27UP2GTAShfJPFD7MqU_zIgOI0pfqsbNL5xTQVM29K6rX4jSPtylZV3uWJtkoQIQnrIHhk1d0SC0KwlBV3V7R_LVYjiXLyIXsFzSNYgQ68ZjAwt8iL7I8Osa-ehQLM13DVvLASaf7Jnu3sC3CWl3Gyirgded6cfMmswJzY87w",
    "e": "AQAB"
  },
  "attributes": {
    "enabled": true,
    "created": 1493942451,
    "updated": 1493942451,
    "recoveryLevel": "Recoverable+Purgeable"
  },
  "tags": {
    "purpose": "unit test",
    "test name ": "CreateGetDeleteKeyTest"
  }
}

Definitions

Name	Description
DeletionRecoveryLevel	Reflects the deletion recovery level currently in effect for certificates in the current vault. If it contains 'Purgeable', the certificate can be permanently deleted by a privileged user; otherwise, only the system can purge the certificate, at the end of the retention interval.
Error
JsonWebKey	As of http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-jose-json-web-key-18
JsonWebKeyCurveName	Elliptic curve name. For valid values, see JsonWebKeyCurveName.
JsonWebKeyOperation	JSON web key operations. For more information, see JsonWebKeyOperation.
JsonWebKeyType	JsonWebKey Key Type (kty), as defined in https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-jose-json-web-algorithms-40.
KeyAttestation	The key attestation information.
KeyAttributes	The attributes of a key managed by the key vault service.
KeyBundle	A KeyBundle consisting of a WebKey plus its attributes.
KeyCreateParameters	The key create parameters.
KeyReleasePolicy	The policy rules under which the key can be exported.
KeyVaultError	The key vault error exception.

DeletionRecoveryLevel

Enumeration

Reflects the deletion recovery level currently in effect for certificates in the current vault. If it contains 'Purgeable', the certificate can be permanently deleted by a privileged user; otherwise, only the system can purge the certificate, at the end of the retention interval.

Value	Description
Purgeable	Denotes a vault state in which deletion is an irreversible operation, without the possibility for recovery. This level corresponds to no protection being available against a Delete operation; the data is irretrievably lost upon accepting a Delete operation at the entity level or higher (vault, resource group, subscription etc.)
Recoverable+Purgeable	Denotes a vault state in which deletion is recoverable, and which also permits immediate and permanent deletion (i.e. purge). This level guarantees the recoverability of the deleted entity during the retention interval (90 days), unless a Purge operation is requested, or the subscription is cancelled. System wil permanently delete it after 90 days, if not recovered
Recoverable	Denotes a vault state in which deletion is recoverable without the possibility for immediate and permanent deletion (i.e. purge). This level guarantees the recoverability of the deleted entity during the retention interval(90 days) and while the subscription is still available. System wil permanently delete it after 90 days, if not recovered
Recoverable+ProtectedSubscription	Denotes a vault and subscription state in which deletion is recoverable within retention interval (90 days), immediate and permanent deletion (i.e. purge) is not permitted, and in which the subscription itself cannot be permanently canceled. System wil permanently delete it after 90 days, if not recovered
CustomizedRecoverable+Purgeable	Denotes a vault state in which deletion is recoverable, and which also permits immediate and permanent deletion (i.e. purge when 7 <= SoftDeleteRetentionInDays < 90). This level guarantees the recoverability of the deleted entity during the retention interval, unless a Purge operation is requested, or the subscription is cancelled.
CustomizedRecoverable	Denotes a vault state in which deletion is recoverable without the possibility for immediate and permanent deletion (i.e. purge when 7 <= SoftDeleteRetentionInDays < 90).This level guarantees the recoverability of the deleted entity during the retention interval and while the subscription is still available.
CustomizedRecoverable+ProtectedSubscription	Denotes a vault and subscription state in which deletion is recoverable, immediate and permanent deletion (i.e. purge) is not permitted, and in which the subscription itself cannot be permanently canceled when 7 <= SoftDeleteRetentionInDays < 90. This level guarantees the recoverability of the deleted entity during the retention interval, and also reflects the fact that the subscription itself cannot be cancelled.

Error

Object

Name	Type	Description
code	string	The error code.
innererror	Error	The key vault server error.
message	string	The error message.

JsonWebKey

Object

As of http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-jose-json-web-key-18

Name	Type	Description
crv	JsonWebKeyCurveName	Elliptic curve name. For valid values, see JsonWebKeyCurveName.
d	string (base64url)	RSA private exponent, or the D component of an EC private key.
dp	string (base64url)	RSA private key parameter.
dq	string (base64url)	RSA private key parameter.
e	string (base64url)	RSA public exponent.
k	string (base64url)	Symmetric key.
key_hsm	string (base64url)	Protected Key, used with 'Bring Your Own Key'.
key_ops	string[]	Json web key operations. For more information on possible key operations, see JsonWebKeyOperation.
kid	string	Key identifier.
kty	JsonWebKeyType	JsonWebKey Key Type (kty), as defined in https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-jose-json-web-algorithms-40.
n	string (base64url)	RSA modulus.
p	string (base64url)	RSA secret prime.
q	string (base64url)	RSA secret prime, with p < q.
qi	string (base64url)	RSA private key parameter.
x	string (base64url)	X component of an EC public key.
y	string (base64url)	Y component of an EC public key.

JsonWebKeyCurveName

Enumeration

Elliptic curve name. For valid values, see JsonWebKeyCurveName.

Value	Description
P-256	The NIST P-256 elliptic curve, AKA SECG curve SECP256R1.
P-384	The NIST P-384 elliptic curve, AKA SECG curve SECP384R1.
P-521	The NIST P-521 elliptic curve, AKA SECG curve SECP521R1.
P-256K	The SECG SECP256K1 elliptic curve.

JsonWebKeyOperation

Enumeration

JSON web key operations. For more information, see JsonWebKeyOperation.

Value	Description
encrypt	Indicates that the key can be used to encrypt.
decrypt	Indicates that the key can be used to decrypt.
sign	Indicates that the key can be used to sign.
verify	Indicates that the key can be used to verify.
wrapKey	Indicates that the key can be used to wrap another key.
unwrapKey	Indicates that the key can be used to unwrap another key.
import	Indicates that the key can be imported during creation.
export	Indicates that the private component of the key can be exported.

JsonWebKeyType

Enumeration

JsonWebKey Key Type (kty), as defined in https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-jose-json-web-algorithms-40.

Value	Description
EC	Elliptic Curve.
EC-HSM	Elliptic Curve with a private key which is stored in the HSM.
RSA	RSA (https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3447)
RSA-HSM	RSA with a private key which is stored in the HSM.
oct	Octet sequence (used to represent symmetric keys)
oct-HSM	Octet sequence (used to represent symmetric keys) which is stored the HSM.

KeyAttestation

Object

The key attestation information.

Name	Type	Description
certificatePemFile	string (base64url)	A base64url-encoded string containing certificates in PEM format, used for attestation validation.
privateKeyAttestation	string (base64url)	The attestation blob bytes encoded as base64url string corresponding to a private key.
publicKeyAttestation	string (base64url)	The attestation blob bytes encoded as base64url string corresponding to a public key in case of asymmetric key.
version	string	The version of the attestation.

KeyAttributes

Object

The attributes of a key managed by the key vault service.

Name	Type	Description
attestation	KeyAttestation	The key or key version attestation information.
created	integer (unixtime)	Creation time in UTC.
enabled	boolean	Determines whether the object is enabled.
exp	integer (unixtime)	Expiry date in UTC.
exportable	boolean	Indicates if the private key can be exported. Release policy must be provided when creating the first version of an exportable key.
hsmPlatform	string	The underlying HSM Platform.
nbf	integer (unixtime)	Not before date in UTC.
recoverableDays	integer (int32)	softDelete data retention days. Value should be >=7 and <=90 when softDelete enabled, otherwise 0.
recoveryLevel	DeletionRecoveryLevel	Reflects the deletion recovery level currently in effect for keys in the current vault. If it contains 'Purgeable' the key can be permanently deleted by a privileged user; otherwise, only the system can purge the key, at the end of the retention interval.
updated	integer (unixtime)	Last updated time in UTC.

KeyBundle

Object

A KeyBundle consisting of a WebKey plus its attributes.

Name	Type	Description
attributes	KeyAttributes	The key management attributes.
key	JsonWebKey	The Json web key.
managed	boolean	True if the key's lifetime is managed by key vault. If this is a key backing a certificate, then managed will be true.
release_policy	KeyReleasePolicy	The policy rules under which the key can be exported.
tags	object	Application specific metadata in the form of key-value pairs.

KeyCreateParameters

Object

The key create parameters.

Name	Type	Description
attributes	KeyAttributes	The attributes of a key managed by the key vault service.
crv	JsonWebKeyCurveName	Elliptic curve name. For valid values, see JsonWebKeyCurveName.
key_ops	JsonWebKeyOperation[]	Json web key operations. For more information on possible key operations, see JsonWebKeyOperation.
key_size	integer (int32)	The key size in bits. For example: 2048, 3072, or 4096 for RSA.
kty	JsonWebKeyType	The type of key to create. For valid values, see JsonWebKeyType.
public_exponent	integer (int32)	The public exponent for a RSA key.
release_policy	KeyReleasePolicy	The policy rules under which the key can be exported.
tags	object	Application specific metadata in the form of key-value pairs.

KeyReleasePolicy

Object

The policy rules under which the key can be exported.

Name	Type	Default value	Description
contentType	string	application/json; charset=utf-8	Content type and version of key release policy
data	string (base64url)		Blob encoding the policy rules under which the key can be released. Blob must be base64 URL encoded.
immutable	boolean		Defines the mutability state of the policy. Once marked immutable, this flag cannot be reset and the policy cannot be changed under any circumstances.

KeyVaultError

Object

The key vault error exception.

Name	Type	Description
error	Error	The key vault server error.

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Create Key - Create Key

URI Parameters

Request Body

Responses

Security

OAuth2Auth

Scopes

Examples

Create key

Sample request

Sample response

Definitions

DeletionRecoveryLevel

Error

JsonWebKey

JsonWebKeyCurveName

JsonWebKeyOperation

JsonWebKeyType

KeyAttestation

KeyAttributes

KeyBundle

KeyCreateParameters

KeyReleasePolicy

KeyVaultError