Adding Azure App Configuration by using Visual Studio Connected Services

  • 2 minutes to read

In this tutorial, you will learn how to easily add everything you need to start using Azure App Configuration to manage your configuration and feature flags for web projects in Visual Studio, whether you are using ASP.NET Core or any type of ASP.NET project. By using the Connected Services feature in Visual Studio, you can have Visual Studio automatically add all the code, NuGet packages, and configuration settings you need to connect to your App Configuration resource in Azure. To use this feature, you must be using Visual Studio 2019 version 16.9 or later.

Note

This topic applies to Visual Studio on Windows. For Visual Studio for Mac, see Connected services in Visual Studio for Mac.

Prerequisites

  • Visual Studio with the Azure workload installed.
  • A project of one of the supported types

Connect to Azure App Configuration using Connected Services

  1. Open your project in Visual Studio.

  2. In Solution Explorer, right-click the Connected Services node, and, from the context menu, select Add Connected Service.

    Add Azure connected service

  3. In the Connected Services tab, select the + icon for Service Dependencies.

    Add Service Dependency

  4. In the Add Dependency page, select Azure App Configuration.

    Add App Configuration

    If you aren't signed in already, sign into your Azure account. If you don't have an Azure account, you can sign up for a free trial.

  5. In the Configure Azure App Configuration screen, select your subscription and an existing configuration store. Then select Next.

    If you need to create an App Configuration store, go to the next step. Otherwise, skip to step 6.

    Add existing configuration account to project

  6. To create an app configuration store:

    1. Select the + icon to the right of the App Configuration stores header.

    2. Fill out the Azure App Configuration: Create new dialog, and select Create. Note that the Resource Name field needs to be unique.

      New Azure app config store

    3. When the Azure App Configuration dialog is displayed, the new configuration store appears in the list. Select this new store, then select Next.

  7. Enter a connection string name, and choose whether you want the connection string stored in a local secrets file, or in Azure Key Vault.

    Specify connection string

  8. The Summary of changes screen shows all the modifications that will be made to your project if you complete the process. If the changes look OK, choose Finish.

    Summary of changes

  9. Once the Dependency configuration process has finished, Azure App Configuration now appears under the Service Dependencies node of your project.

Next steps

Learn about Azure App Configuration at Azure App Configuration documentation.

See also