Import or export configuration data

Azure App Configuration supports data import and export operations. Use these operations to work with configuration data in bulk and exchange data between your App Configuration store and code project. For example, you can set up one App Configuration store for testing and another one for production. You can copy application settings between them so that you don't have to enter data twice.

This article provides a guide for importing and exporting data with App Configuration. If you’d like to set up an ongoing sync with your GitHub repo, take a look at GitHub Actions and Azure Pipeline tasks.

You can import or export data using either the Azure portal or the Azure CLI.

Import data

Import brings configuration data into an App Configuration store from an existing source. Use the import function to migrate data into an App Configuration store or aggregate data from multiple sources. App Configuration supports importing from another App Configuration store, an App Service resource or a configuration file in JSON, YAML or .properties.

Portal

From the Azure portal, follow these steps:

1. Browse to your App Configuration store, and select Import/export from the Operations menu.

   

2. On the Import tab, select Configuration file under Source service. Other options are App Configuration and App Services.

3. Fill out the form with the following parameters:

   Parameter	Description	Examples
   For language	Choose the language of the file you're importing between .NET, Java (Spring) and Other.	.NET
   File type	Select the type of file you're importing between YAML, properties or JSON.	JSON

4. Select the Folder icon, and browse to the file to import.

5. Fill out the next part of the form:

   Parameter	Description	Example
   Separator	The separator is the character parsed in your imported configuration file to separate key-values which will be added to your configuration store. Select one of the following options: ., ,,:, ;, /, -.	:
   Prefix	Optional. A key prefix is the beginning part of a key. Prefixes can be used to manage groups of keys in a configuration store.	TestApp:Settings:Backgroundcolor
   Label	Optional. Select an existing label or enter a new label that will be assigned to your imported key-values.	prod
   Content type	Optional. Indicate if the file you're importing is a Key Vault reference or a JSON file. For more information about Key Vault references, go to Use Key Vault references in an ASP.NET Core app.	JSON (application/json)

6. Select Apply to proceed with the import.

Azure CLI

Use the Azure CLI as explained below to import App Configuration data. If you don't have the Azure CLI installed locally, you can optionally use Azure Cloud Shell. Specify the source of the data: appconfig, appservice or file. Optionally specify a source label with --src-label and a label to apply with --label.

Import all keys and feature flags from a file and apply test label.

az appconfig kv import --name <your-app-config-store-name> --label test --source file --path D:/abc.json --format json

Import all keys with label test and apply test2 label.

az appconfig kv import --name <your-app-config-store-name> --source appconfig --src-label test --label test2 --src-name <another-app-config-store-name>

Import all keys and apply null label from an App Service application.

For --appservice-account use the ARM ID for AppService or use the name of the AppService, assuming it's in the same subscription and resource group as the App Configuration.

az appconfig kv import --name <your-app-config-store-name> --source appservice --appservice-account <your-app-service>

For more details and examples, go to az appconfig kv import.

Export data

Export writes configuration data stored in App Configuration to another destination. Use the export function, for example, to save data from an App Configuration store to a file that can be embedded in your application code during deployment. You can export data from an App Configuration store, an App Service resource or a configuration file in JSON, YAML or .properties.

Portal

From the Azure portal, follow these steps:

1. Browse to your App Configuration store, and select Import/export.

2. On the Export tab, select Target service > Configuration file.

3. Fill out the form with the following parameters:

   Parameter	Description	Example
   Prefix	Optional. A key prefix is the beginning part of a key. Enter a prefix to restrict your export to key-values with the specified prefix.	TestApp:Settings:Backgroundcolor
   From label	Optional. Select an existing label to restrict your export to key-values with a specific label. If you don't select a label, only key-values without a label will be exported. See note below.	prod
   At a specific time	Optional. Fill out to export key-values from a specific point in time.	01/28/2021 12:00:00 AM
   File type	Select the type of file you're importing between YAML, properties or JSON.	JSON
   Separator	The separator is the character that will be used in the configuration file to separate the exported key-values from one another. Select one of the following options: ., ,,:, ;, /, -.	;

   Important

   If you don't select a label, only keys without labels will be exported. To export a key-value with a label, you must select its label. Note that you can only select one label per export, so to export keys with multiple labels, you may need to export multiple times, once per label you select.

4. Select Export to finish the export.

   

Azure CLI

Use the Azure CLI as explained below to export configurations from App Configuration to another place. If you don't have the Azure CLI installed locally, you can optionally use Azure Cloud Shell. Specify the destination of the data: appconfig, appservice or file. Specify a label for the data you want to export with --label or export data with no label by not entering a label.

Important

If the keys you want to export have labels, do select the corresponding labels. If you don't select a label, only keys without labels will be exported.

Export all keys and feature flags with label test to a json file.

az appconfig kv export --name <your-app-config-store-name> --label test --destination file --path D:/abc.json --format json

Export all keys with null label excluding feature flags to a json file.

az appconfig kv export --name <your-app-config-store-name> --destination file --path D:/abc.json --format json --skip-features

Export all keys and feature flags with all labels to another App Configuration.

az appconfig kv export --name <your-app-config-store-name> --destination appconfig --dest-name <another-app-config-store-name> --key * --label * --preserve-labels

Export all keys and feature flags with all labels to another App Configuration and overwrite destination labels.

az appconfig kv export --name <your-app-config-store-name> --destination appconfig --dest-name <another-app-config-store-name> --key * --label * --dest-label ExportedKeys

For more details and examples, go to az appconfig kv export.

Next steps

Create an ASP.NET Core web app