Azure Table storage bindings for Azure Functions

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This article explains how to work with Azure Table storage bindings in Azure Functions. Azure Functions supports input and output bindings for Azure Table storage.

This is reference information for Azure Functions developers. If you're new to Azure Functions, start with the following resources:

Packages - Functions 1.x

The Table storage bindings are provided in the Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs NuGet package, version 2.x. Source code for the package is in the azure-webjobs-sdk GitHub repository.

Support for this binding is automatically provided in all development environments. You don't have to manually install the package or register the extension.

Azure Storage SDK version in Functions 1.x

In Functions 1.x, the Storage triggers and bindings use version 7.2.1 of the Azure Storage SDK (WindowsAzure.Storage NuGet package). If you reference a different version of the Storage SDK, and you bind to a Storage SDK type in your function signature, the Functions runtime may report that it can't bind to that type. The solution is to make sure your project references WindowsAzure.Storage 7.2.1.

Packages - Functions 2.x

The Table storage bindings are provided in the Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Extensions.Storage NuGet package, version 3.x. Source code for the package is in the azure-webjobs-sdk GitHub repository.

The following table tells how to add support for this binding in each development environment.

Development environment To add support in
Functions 2.x
Local development - C# class library Install the package
Local development - C# script, JavaScript, F#, Java and Python Register the extension
Portal development Install when adding output binding

To learn how to update existing binding extensions in the portal without having to republish your function app project, see Update your extensions.

Input

Use the Azure Table storage input binding to read a table in an Azure Storage account.

Input - example

See the language-specific example:

Input - C# example - one entity

The following example shows a C# function that reads a single table row.

The row key value "{queueTrigger}" indicates that the row key comes from the queue message string.

public class TableStorage
{
    public class MyPoco
    {
        public string PartitionKey { get; set; }
        public string RowKey { get; set; }
        public string Text { get; set; }
    }

    [FunctionName("TableInput")]
    public static void TableInput(
        [QueueTrigger("table-items")] string input, 
        [Table("MyTable", "MyPartition", "{queueTrigger}")] MyPoco poco, 
        ILogger log)
    {
        log.LogInformation($"PK={poco.PartitionKey}, RK={poco.RowKey}, Text={poco.Text}");
    }
}

Input - C# example - IQueryable

The following example shows a C# function that reads multiple table rows. Note that the MyPoco class derives from TableEntity.

public class TableStorage
{
    public class MyPoco : TableEntity
    {
        public string Text { get; set; }
    }

    [FunctionName("TableInput")]
    public static void TableInput(
        [QueueTrigger("table-items")] string input, 
        [Table("MyTable", "MyPartition")] IQueryable<MyPoco> pocos, 
        ILogger log)
    {
        foreach (MyPoco poco in pocos)
        {
            log.LogInformation($"PK={poco.PartitionKey}, RK={poco.RowKey}, Text={poco.Text}");
        }
    }
}

Input - C# example - CloudTable

IQueryable isn't supported in the Functions v2 runtime. An alternative is to use a CloudTable method parameter to read the table by using the Azure Storage SDK. Here's an example of a 2.x function that queries an Azure Functions log table:

using Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs;
using Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs.Host;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;
using Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Storage.Table;
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace FunctionAppCloudTable2
{
    public class LogEntity : TableEntity
    {
        public string OriginalName { get; set; }
    }
    public static class CloudTableDemo
    {
        [FunctionName("CloudTableDemo")]
        public static async Task Run(
            [TimerTrigger("0 */1 * * * *")] TimerInfo myTimer, 
            [Table("AzureWebJobsHostLogscommon")] CloudTable cloudTable,
            ILogger log)
        {
            log.LogInformation($"C# Timer trigger function executed at: {DateTime.Now}");

            TableQuery<LogEntity> rangeQuery = new TableQuery<LogEntity>().Where(
                TableQuery.CombineFilters(
                    TableQuery.GenerateFilterCondition("PartitionKey", QueryComparisons.Equal, 
                        "FD2"),
                    TableOperators.And,
                    TableQuery.GenerateFilterCondition("RowKey", QueryComparisons.GreaterThan, 
                        "t")));

            // Execute the query and loop through the results
            foreach (LogEntity entity in 
                await cloudTable.ExecuteQuerySegmentedAsync(rangeQuery, null))
            {
                log.LogInformation(
                    $"{entity.PartitionKey}\t{entity.RowKey}\t{entity.Timestamp}\t{entity.OriginalName}");
            }
        }
    }
}

For more information about how to use CloudTable, see Get started with Azure Table storage.

If you try to bind to CloudTable and get an error message, make sure that you have a reference to the correct Storage SDK version.

Input - C# script example - one entity

The following example shows a table input binding in a function.json file and C# script code that uses the binding. The function uses a queue trigger to read a single table row.

The function.json file specifies a partitionKey and a rowKey. The rowKey value "{queueTrigger}" indicates that the row key comes from the queue message string.

{
  "bindings": [
    {
      "queueName": "myqueue-items",
      "connection": "MyStorageConnectionAppSetting",
      "name": "myQueueItem",
      "type": "queueTrigger",
      "direction": "in"
    },
    {
      "name": "personEntity",
      "type": "table",
      "tableName": "Person",
      "partitionKey": "Test",
      "rowKey": "{queueTrigger}",
      "connection": "MyStorageConnectionAppSetting",
      "direction": "in"
    }
  ],
  "disabled": false
}

The configuration section explains these properties.

Here's the C# script code:

public static void Run(string myQueueItem, Person personEntity, ILogger log)
{
    log.LogInformation($"C# Queue trigger function processed: {myQueueItem}");
    log.LogInformation($"Name in Person entity: {personEntity.Name}");
}

public class Person
{
    public string PartitionKey { get; set; }
    public string RowKey { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
}

Input - C# script example - IQueryable

The following example shows a table input binding in a function.json file and C# script code that uses the binding. The function reads entities for a partition key that is specified in a queue message.

Here's the function.json file:

{
  "bindings": [
    {
      "queueName": "myqueue-items",
      "connection": "MyStorageConnectionAppSetting",
      "name": "myQueueItem",
      "type": "queueTrigger",
      "direction": "in"
    },
    {
      "name": "tableBinding",
      "type": "table",
      "connection": "MyStorageConnectionAppSetting",
      "tableName": "Person",
      "direction": "in"
    }
  ],
  "disabled": false
}

The configuration section explains these properties.

The C# script code adds a reference to the Azure Storage SDK so that the entity type can derive from TableEntity:

#r "Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Storage"
using Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Storage.Table;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;

public static void Run(string myQueueItem, IQueryable<Person> tableBinding, ILogger log)
{
    log.LogInformation($"C# Queue trigger function processed: {myQueueItem}");
    foreach (Person person in tableBinding.Where(p => p.PartitionKey == myQueueItem).ToList())
    {
        log.LogInformation($"Name: {person.Name}");
    }
}

public class Person : TableEntity
{
    public string Name { get; set; }
}

Input - C# script example - CloudTable

IQueryable isn't supported in the Functions v2 runtime. An alternative is to use a CloudTable method parameter to read the table by using the Azure Storage SDK. Here's an example of a 2.x function that queries an Azure Functions log table:

{
  "bindings": [
    {
      "name": "myTimer",
      "type": "timerTrigger",
      "direction": "in",
      "schedule": "0 */1 * * * *"
    },
    {
      "name": "cloudTable",
      "type": "table",
      "connection": "AzureWebJobsStorage",
      "tableName": "AzureWebJobsHostLogscommon",
      "direction": "in"
    }
  ],
  "disabled": false
}

#r "Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Storage"
using Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Storage.Table;
using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Logging;

public static async Task Run(TimerInfo myTimer, CloudTable cloudTable, ILogger log)
{
    log.LogInformation($"C# Timer trigger function executed at: {DateTime.Now}");

    TableQuery<LogEntity> rangeQuery = new TableQuery<LogEntity>().Where(
    TableQuery.CombineFilters(
        TableQuery.GenerateFilterCondition("PartitionKey", QueryComparisons.Equal, 
            "FD2"),
        TableOperators.And,
        TableQuery.GenerateFilterCondition("RowKey", QueryComparisons.GreaterThan, 
            "a")));

    // Execute the query and loop through the results
    foreach (LogEntity entity in 
    await cloudTable.ExecuteQuerySegmentedAsync(rangeQuery, null))
    {
        log.LogInformation(
            $"{entity.PartitionKey}\t{entity.RowKey}\t{entity.Timestamp}\t{entity.OriginalName}");
    }
}

public class LogEntity : TableEntity
{
    public string OriginalName { get; set; }
}

For more information about how to use CloudTable, see Get started with Azure Table storage.

If you try to bind to CloudTable and get an error message, make sure that you have a reference to the correct Storage SDK version.

Input - F# example

The following example shows a table input binding in a function.json file and F# script code that uses the binding. The function uses a queue trigger to read a single table row.

The function.json file specifies a partitionKey and a rowKey. The rowKey value "{queueTrigger}" indicates that the row key comes from the queue message string.

{
  "bindings": [
    {
      "queueName": "myqueue-items",
      "connection": "MyStorageConnectionAppSetting",
      "name": "myQueueItem",
      "type": "queueTrigger",
      "direction": "in"
    },
    {
      "name": "personEntity",
      "type": "table",
      "tableName": "Person",
      "partitionKey": "Test",
      "rowKey": "{queueTrigger}",
      "connection": "MyStorageConnectionAppSetting",
      "direction": "in"
    }
  ],
  "disabled": false
}

The configuration section explains these properties.

Here's the F# code:

[<CLIMutable>]
type Person = {
  PartitionKey: string
  RowKey: string
  Name: string
}

let Run(myQueueItem: string, personEntity: Person) =
    log.LogInformation(sprintf "F# Queue trigger function processed: %s" myQueueItem)
    log.LogInformation(sprintf "Name in Person entity: %s" personEntity.Name)

Input - JavaScript example

The following example shows a table input binding in a function.json file and JavaScript code that uses the binding. The function uses a queue trigger to read a single table row.

The function.json file specifies a partitionKey and a rowKey. The rowKey value "{queueTrigger}" indicates that the row key comes from the queue message string.

{
  "bindings": [
    {
      "queueName": "myqueue-items",
      "connection": "MyStorageConnectionAppSetting",
      "name": "myQueueItem",
      "type": "queueTrigger",
      "direction": "in"
    },
    {
      "name": "personEntity",
      "type": "table",
      "tableName": "Person",
      "partitionKey": "Test",
      "rowKey": "{queueTrigger}",
      "connection": "MyStorageConnectionAppSetting",
      "direction": "in"
    }
  ],
  "disabled": false
}

The configuration section explains these properties.

Here's the JavaScript code:

module.exports = function (context, myQueueItem) {
    context.log('Node.js queue trigger function processed work item', myQueueItem);
    context.log('Person entity name: ' + context.bindings.personEntity.Name);
    context.done();
};

Input - Java example

The following example shows an HTTP triggered function which returns the total count of the items in a specified partition in Table storage.

@FunctionName("getallcount")
public int run(
   @HttpTrigger(name = "req",
                 methods = {"get"},
                 authLevel = AuthorizationLevel.ANONYMOUS) Object dummyShouldNotBeUsed,
   @TableInput(name = "items",
                tableName = "mytablename",  partitionKey = "myparkey",
                connection = "myconnvarname") MyItem[] items
) {
    return items.length;
}

Input - attributes

In C# class libraries, use the following attributes to configure a table input binding:

  • TableAttribute

    The attribute's constructor takes the table name, partition key, and row key. It can be used on an out parameter or on the return value of the function, as shown in the following example:

    [FunctionName("TableInput")]
public static void Run(
    [QueueTrigger("table-items")] string input, 
    [Table("MyTable", "Http", "{queueTrigger}")] MyPoco poco, 
    ILogger log)
{
    ...
}

    You can set the Connection property to specify the storage account to use, as shown in the following example:

    [FunctionName("TableInput")]
public static void Run(
    [QueueTrigger("table-items")] string input, 
    [Table("MyTable", "Http", "{queueTrigger}", Connection = "StorageConnectionAppSetting")] MyPoco poco, 
    ILogger log)
{
    ...
}

    For a complete example, see Input - C# example.

  • StorageAccountAttribute

    Provides another way to specify the storage account to use. The constructor takes the name of an app setting that contains a storage connection string. The attribute can be applied at the parameter, method, or class level. The following example shows class level and method level:

    [StorageAccount("ClassLevelStorageAppSetting")]
public static class AzureFunctions
{
    [FunctionName("TableInput")]
    [StorageAccount("FunctionLevelStorageAppSetting")]
    public static void Run( //...
{
    ...
}

The storage account to use is determined in the following order:

  • The Table attribute's Connection property.
  • The StorageAccount attribute applied to the same parameter as the Table attribute.
  • The StorageAccount attribute applied to the function.
  • The StorageAccount attribute applied to the class.
  • The default storage account for the function app ("AzureWebJobsStorage" app setting).

Input - Java annotations

In the Java functions runtime library, use the @TableInput annotation on parameters whose value would come from Table storage. This annotation can be used with native Java types, POJOs, or nullable values using Optional.

Input - configuration

The following table explains the binding configuration properties that you set in the function.json file and the Table attribute.

function.json property Attribute property Description
type n/a Must be set to table. This property is set automatically when you create the binding in the Azure portal.
direction n/a Must be set to in. This property is set automatically when you create the binding in the Azure portal.
name n/a The name of the variable that represents the table or entity in function code.
tableName TableName The name of the table.
partitionKey PartitionKey Optional. The partition key of the table entity to read. See the usage section for guidance on how to use this property.
rowKey RowKey Optional. The row key of the table entity to read. See the usage section for guidance on how to use this property.
take Take Optional. The maximum number of entities to read in JavaScript. See the usage section for guidance on how to use this property.
filter Filter Optional. An OData filter expression for table input in JavaScript. See the usage section for guidance on how to use this property.
connection Connection The name of an app setting that contains the Storage connection string to use for this binding. If the app setting name begins with "AzureWebJobs", you can specify only the remainder of the name here. For example, if you set connection to "MyStorage", the Functions runtime looks for an app setting that is named "AzureWebJobsMyStorage." If you leave connection empty, the Functions runtime uses the default Storage connection string in the app setting that is named AzureWebJobsStorage.

When you're developing locally, app settings go into the local.settings.json file.

Input - usage

The Table storage input binding supports the following scenarios:

  • Read one row in C# or C# script

    Set partitionKey and rowKey. Access the table data by using a method parameter T <paramName>. In C# script, paramName is the value specified in the name property of function.json. T is typically a type that implements ITableEntity or derives from TableEntity. The filter and take properties are not used in this scenario.

  • Read one or more rows in C# or C# script

    Access the table data by using a method parameter IQueryable<T> <paramName>. In C# script, paramName is the value specified in the name property of function.json. T must be a type that implements ITableEntity or derives from TableEntity. You can use IQueryable methods to do any filtering required. The partitionKey, rowKey, filter, and take properties are not used in this scenario.

    Note

    IQueryable isn't supported in the Functions v2 runtime. An alternative is to use a CloudTable paramName method parameter to read the table by using the Azure Storage SDK. If you try to bind to CloudTable and get an error message, make sure that you have a reference to the correct Storage SDK version.

  • Read one or more rows in JavaScript

    Set the filter and take properties. Don't set partitionKey or rowKey. Access the input table entity (or entities) using context.bindings.<name>. The deserialized objects have RowKey and PartitionKey properties.

Output

Use an Azure Table storage output binding to write entities to a table in an Azure Storage account.

Note

This output binding does not support updating existing entities. Use the TableOperation.Replace operation from the Azure Storage SDK to update an existing entity.

Output - example

See the language-specific example:

Output - C# example

The following example shows a C# function that uses an HTTP trigger to write a single table row. 

public class TableStorage
{
    public class MyPoco
    {
        public string PartitionKey { get; set; }
        public string RowKey { get; set; }
        public string Text { get; set; }
    }

    [FunctionName("TableOutput")]
    [return: Table("MyTable")]
    public static MyPoco TableOutput([HttpTrigger] dynamic input, ILogger log)
    {
        log.LogInformation($"C# http trigger function processed: {input.Text}");
        return new MyPoco { PartitionKey = "Http", RowKey = Guid.NewGuid().ToString(), Text = input.Text };
    }
}

Output - C# script example

The following example shows a table output binding in a function.json file and C# script code that uses the binding. The function writes multiple table entities.

Here's the function.json file:

{
  "bindings": [
    {
      "name": "input",
      "type": "manualTrigger",
      "direction": "in"
    },
    {
      "tableName": "Person",
      "connection": "MyStorageConnectionAppSetting",
      "name": "tableBinding",
      "type": "table",
      "direction": "out"
    }
  ],
  "disabled": false
}

The configuration section explains these properties.

Here's the C# script code:

public static void Run(string input, ICollector<Person> tableBinding, ILogger log)
{
    for (int i = 1; i < 10; i++)
        {
            log.LogInformation($"Adding Person entity {i}");
            tableBinding.Add(
                new Person() { 
                    PartitionKey = "Test", 
                    RowKey = i.ToString(), 
                    Name = "Name" + i.ToString() }
                );
        }

}

public class Person
{
    public string PartitionKey { get; set; }
    public string RowKey { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
}

Output - F# example

The following example shows a table output binding in a function.json file and F# script code that uses the binding. The function writes multiple table entities.

Here's the function.json file:

{
  "bindings": [
    {
      "name": "input",
      "type": "manualTrigger",
      "direction": "in"
    },
    {
      "tableName": "Person",
      "connection": "MyStorageConnectionAppSetting",
      "name": "tableBinding",
      "type": "table",
      "direction": "out"
    }
  ],
  "disabled": false
}

The configuration section explains these properties.

Here's the F# code:

[<CLIMutable>]
type Person = {
  PartitionKey: string
  RowKey: string
  Name: string
}

let Run(input: string, tableBinding: ICollector<Person>, log: ILogger) =
    for i = 1 to 10 do
        log.LogInformation(sprintf "Adding Person entity %d" i)
        tableBinding.Add(
            { PartitionKey = "Test"
              RowKey = i.ToString()
              Name = "Name" + i.ToString() })

Output - JavaScript example

The following example shows a table output binding in a function.json file and a JavaScript function that uses the binding. The function writes multiple table entities.

Here's the function.json file:

{
  "bindings": [
    {
      "name": "input",
      "type": "manualTrigger",
      "direction": "in"
    },
    {
      "tableName": "Person",
      "connection": "MyStorageConnectionAppSetting",
      "name": "tableBinding",
      "type": "table",
      "direction": "out"
    }
  ],
  "disabled": false
}

The configuration section explains these properties.

Here's the JavaScript code:

module.exports = function (context) {

    context.bindings.tableBinding = [];

    for (var i = 1; i < 10; i++) {
        context.bindings.tableBinding.push({
            PartitionKey: "Test",
            RowKey: i.toString(),
            Name: "Name " + i
        });
    }

    context.done();
};

Output - attributes

In C# class libraries, use the TableAttribute.

The attribute's constructor takes the table name. It can be used on an out parameter or on the return value of the function, as shown in the following example:

[FunctionName("TableOutput")]
[return: Table("MyTable")]
public static MyPoco TableOutput(
    [HttpTrigger] dynamic input, 
    ILogger log)
{
    ...
}

You can set the Connection property to specify the storage account to use, as shown in the following example:

[FunctionName("TableOutput")]
[return: Table("MyTable", Connection = "StorageConnectionAppSetting")]
public static MyPoco TableOutput(
    [HttpTrigger] dynamic input, 
    ILogger log)
{
    ...
}

For a complete example, see Output - C# example.

You can use the StorageAccount attribute to specify the storage account at class, method, or parameter level. For more information, see Input - attributes.

Output - configuration

The following table explains the binding configuration properties that you set in the function.json file and the Table attribute.

function.json property Attribute property Description
type n/a Must be set to table. This property is set automatically when you create the binding in the Azure portal.
direction n/a Must be set to out. This property is set automatically when you create the binding in the Azure portal.
name n/a The variable name used in function code that represents the table or entity. Set to $return to reference the function return value.
tableName TableName The name of the table.
partitionKey PartitionKey The partition key of the table entity to write. See the usage section for guidance on how to use this property.
rowKey RowKey The row key of the table entity to write. See the usage section for guidance on how to use this property.
connection Connection The name of an app setting that contains the Storage connection string to use for this binding. If the app setting name begins with "AzureWebJobs", you can specify only the remainder of the name here. For example, if you set connection to "MyStorage", the Functions runtime looks for an app setting that is named "AzureWebJobsMyStorage." If you leave connection empty, the Functions runtime uses the default Storage connection string in the app setting that is named AzureWebJobsStorage.

When you're developing locally, app settings go into the local.settings.json file.

Output - usage

The Table storage output binding supports the following scenarios:

  • Write one row in any language

    In C# and C# script, access the output table entity by using a method parameter such as out T paramName or the function return value. In C# script, paramName is the value specified in the name property of function.json. T can be any serializable type if the partition key and row key are provided by the function.json file or the Table attribute. Otherwise, T must be a type that includes PartitionKey and RowKey properties. In this scenario, T typically implements ITableEntity or derives from TableEntity, but it doesn't have to.

  • Write one or more rows in C# or C# script

    In C# and C# script, access the output table entity by using a method parameter ICollector<T> paramName or IAsyncCollector<T> paramName. In C# script, paramName is the value specified in the name property of function.json. T specifies the schema of the entities you want to add. Typically, T derives from TableEntity or implements ITableEntity, but it doesn't have to. The partition key and row key values in function.json or the Table attribute constructor are not used in this scenario.

    An alternative is to use a CloudTable method parameter to write to the table by using the Azure Storage SDK. If you try to bind to CloudTable and get an error message, make sure that you have a reference to the correct Storage SDK version. For an example of code that binds to CloudTable, see the input binding examples for C# or C# script earlier in this article.

  • Write one or more rows in JavaScript

    In JavaScript functions, access the table output using context.bindings.<name>.

Exceptions and return codes

Binding Reference
Table Table Error Codes
Blob, Table, Queue Storage Error Codes
Blob, Table, Queue Troubleshooting

Next steps

Learn more about Azure functions triggers and bindings