Azure API Management SDK for Python

Manage Azure API Management services, APIs, products, and policies.

Installation

pip install azure-mgmt-apimanagement
pip install azure-identity

Environment Variables

AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID=your-subscription-id  # Required for all auth methods
AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod # Required only if DefaultAzureCredential is used in production

Authentication & Lifecycle

🔑 Two rules apply to every code sample below:

1. Prefer DefaultAzureCredential. It works locally (Azure CLI / VS Code / Developer CLI) and in Azure (managed identity, workload identity) with no code change. Avoid connection strings, account/API keys — they bypass Entra audit and rotation.
   • Local dev: DefaultAzureCredential works as-is.
   • Production: set AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod (or AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=<specific_credential>) to constrain the credential chain to production-safe credentials.
2. Wrap every client in a context manager so HTTP transports, sockets, and token caches are released deterministically:
   • Sync: with <Client>(...) as client:
   • Async: async with <Client>(...) as client: and async with DefaultAzureCredential() as credential: (from azure.identity.aio)

Snippets may abbreviate this setup, but production code should always follow both rules.

from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
from azure.mgmt.apimanagement import ApiManagementClient
import os

with ApiManagementClient(
    credential=DefaultAzureCredential(),
    subscription_id=os.environ["AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID"]
) as client:
    # Use `client` for all subsequent operations (see examples below)
    ...

Create APIM Service

from azure.mgmt.apimanagement.models import (
    ApiManagementServiceResource,
    ApiManagementServiceSkuProperties,
    SkuType
)

service = client.api_management_service.begin_create_or_update(
    resource_group_name="my-resource-group",
    service_name="my-apim",
    parameters=ApiManagementServiceResource(
        location="eastus",
        publisher_email="admin@example.com",
        publisher_name="My Organization",
        sku=ApiManagementServiceSkuProperties(
            name=SkuType.DEVELOPER,
            capacity=1
        )
    )
).result()

print(f"Created APIM: {service.name}")

Import API from OpenAPI

from azure.mgmt.apimanagement.models import (
    ApiCreateOrUpdateParameter,
    ContentFormat,
    Protocol
)

api = client.api.begin_create_or_update(
    resource_group_name="my-resource-group",
    service_name="my-apim",
    api_id="my-api",
    parameters=ApiCreateOrUpdateParameter(
        display_name="My API",
        path="myapi",
        protocols=[Protocol.HTTPS],
        format=ContentFormat.OPENAPI_JSON,
        value='{"openapi": "3.0.0", "info": {"title": "My API", "version": "1.0"}, "paths": {"/health": {"get": {"responses": {"200": {"description": "OK"}}}}}}'
    )
).result()

print(f"Imported API: {api.display_name}")

Import API from URL

api = client.api.begin_create_or_update(
    resource_group_name="my-resource-group",
    service_name="my-apim",
    api_id="petstore",
    parameters=ApiCreateOrUpdateParameter(
        display_name="Petstore API",
        path="petstore",
        protocols=[Protocol.HTTPS],
        format=ContentFormat.OPENAPI_LINK,
        value="https://petstore.swagger.io/v2/swagger.json"
    )
).result()

List APIs

apis = client.api.list_by_service(
    resource_group_name="my-resource-group",
    service_name="my-apim"
)

for api in apis:
    print(f"{api.name}: {api.display_name} - {api.path}")

Create Product

from azure.mgmt.apimanagement.models import ProductContract

product = client.product.create_or_update(
    resource_group_name="my-resource-group",
    service_name="my-apim",
    product_id="premium",
    parameters=ProductContract(
        display_name="Premium",
        description="Premium tier with unlimited access",
        subscription_required=True,
        approval_required=False,
        state="published"
    )
)

print(f"Created product: {product.display_name}")

Add API to Product

client.product_api.create_or_update(
    resource_group_name="my-resource-group",
    service_name="my-apim",
    product_id="premium",
    api_id="my-api"
)

Create Subscription

from azure.mgmt.apimanagement.models import SubscriptionCreateParameters

subscription = client.subscription.create_or_update(
    resource_group_name="my-resource-group",
    service_name="my-apim",
    sid="my-subscription",
    parameters=SubscriptionCreateParameters(
        display_name="My Subscription",
        scope=f"/products/premium",
        state="active"
    )
)

print(f"Subscription key: {subscription.primary_key}")

Set API Policy

from azure.mgmt.apimanagement.models import PolicyContract

policy_xml = """
<policies>
    <inbound>
        <rate-limit calls="100" renewal-period="60" />
        <set-header name="X-Custom-Header" exists-action="override">
            <value>CustomValue</value>
        </set-header>
    </inbound>
    <backend>
        <forward-request />
    </backend>
    <outbound />
    <on-error />
</policies>
"""

client.api_policy.create_or_update(
    resource_group_name="my-resource-group",
    service_name="my-apim",
    api_id="my-api",
    policy_id="policy",
    parameters=PolicyContract(
        value=policy_xml,
        format="xml"
    )
)

Create Named Value (Secret)

from azure.mgmt.apimanagement.models import NamedValueCreateContract

named_value = client.named_value.begin_create_or_update(
    resource_group_name="my-resource-group",
    service_name="my-apim",
    named_value_id="backend-api-key",
    parameters=NamedValueCreateContract(
        display_name="Backend API Key",
        value="secret-key-value",
        secret=True
    )
).result()

Create Backend

from azure.mgmt.apimanagement.models import BackendContract

backend = client.backend.create_or_update(
    resource_group_name="my-resource-group",
    service_name="my-apim",
    backend_id="my-backend",
    parameters=BackendContract(
        url="https://api.backend.example.com",
        protocol="http",
        description="My backend service"
    )
)

Create User

from azure.mgmt.apimanagement.models import UserCreateParameters

user = client.user.create_or_update(
    resource_group_name="my-resource-group",
    service_name="my-apim",
    user_id="newuser",
    parameters=UserCreateParameters(
        email="user@example.com",
        first_name="John",
        last_name="Doe"
    )
)

Operation Groups

Group	Purpose
api_management_service	APIM instance management
api	API operations
api_operation	API operation details
api_policy	API-level policies
product	Product management
product_api	Product-API associations
subscription	Subscription management
user	User management
named_value	Named values/secrets
backend	Backend services
certificate	Certificates
gateway	Self-hosted gateways

Best Practices

1. Pick sync OR async and stay consistent. Do not mix azure.xxx sync clients with azure.xxx.aio async clients in the same call path. Choose one mode per module.
2. Always use context managers for clients and async credentials. Wrap every client in with Client(...) as client: (sync) or async with Client(...) as client: (async). For async DefaultAzureCredential from azure.identity.aio, also use async with credential: so tokens and transports are cleaned up.
3. Use named values for secrets and configuration
4. Apply policies at appropriate scopes (global, product, API, operation)
5. Use products to bundle APIs and manage access
6. Enable Application Insights for monitoring
7. Use backends to abstract backend services
8. Version your APIs using APIM's versioning features

Reference Files

File	Contents
references/capabilities.md	Additional non-hero capabilities, operation-group coverage, and production checklists.
references/non-hero-scenarios.md	Dedicated non-hero examples for secondary/advanced scenarios.