Azure Data Api Builder Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Data Api Builder. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.

How to Use This Skill

IMPORTANT for Agent: This file may be large. Use the Category Index below to locate relevant sections, then use read_file with specific line ranges (e.g., L136-L144) to read the sections needed for the user's question

IMPORTANT for Agent: If metadata.generated_at is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If mcp_microsoftdocs tools are not available, suggest the user install it: Installation Guide

This skill requires network access to fetch documentation content:

• Preferred: Use mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch with query string from=learn-agent-skill. Returns Markdown.
• Fallback: Use fetch_webpage with query string from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown. Returns Markdown.

Category Index

Category	Lines	Description
Troubleshooting	L36-L40	FAQ-style fixes for common Data API builder problems: config and connection errors, auth/authorization issues, deployment/runtime failures, and tips to diagnose and resolve them.
Best Practices	L41-L47	Configuring DAB for reliability and performance, securing and connecting it to data sources, and adding semantic metadata to SQL MCP entities for AI consumption.
Decision Making	L48-L52	Guidance on selecting Azure hosting options for Data API builder, comparing services (e.g., App Service, Functions, Container Apps) and trade-offs like cost, scalability, and management.
Limits & Quotas	L53-L58	Configuring and enforcing page size limits for GraphQL and REST queries in Data API builder using the first/$first parameters.
Security	L59-L70	Configuring auth and authorization in DAB: roles/permissions, EasyAuth, custom JWT and Entra ID, simulator auth, row-level security policies, and SQL MCP Server/database authentication.
Configuration	L71-L123	Configuring DAB: CLI-based config management, entities and relationships, data sources (incl. Cosmos DB), caching, secrets, env-specific configs, monitoring, logging, and full schema reference.
Integrations & Coding Patterns	L124-L134	Patterns for using DAB REST/GraphQL: upserts with If-Match, Location headers, $filter and select/projection, GraphQL filters, and SQL MCP DML tools for CRUD integration.
Deployment	L135-L149	Deploying and running Data API builder and SQL MCP Server on Azure (Container Apps/Instances, Cosmos DB, Azure SQL, AZD/CLI), plus platform support, local dev, and Azure AI Foundry integration.

Troubleshooting

Topic	URL
Resolve common issues with Data API builder (FAQ)	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/faq

Best Practices

Topic	URL
Apply configuration best practices for Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/deployment/best-practices-configuration
Apply security and connectivity best practices for DAB	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/deployment/best-practices-security
Add semantic descriptions to SQL MCP entities for AI	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/mcp/how-to-add-descriptions

Decision Making

Topic	URL
Choose Azure hosting options for Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/deployment/hosting-options

Limits & Quotas

Topic	URL
Control GraphQL page size with first in DAB	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/keywords/first-graphql
Limit REST page size with $first in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/keywords/first-rest

Security

Topic	URL
Configure roles and permissions for authorization in DAB	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/security/authorization
Use Azure App Service EasyAuth with Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/security/how-to-authenticate-app-service
Configure custom JWT authentication providers in DAB	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/security/how-to-authenticate-custom
Configure Microsoft Entra ID auth and managed identity for DAB	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/security/how-to-authenticate-entra
Use Simulator authentication for local DAB permission testing	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/security/how-to-authenticate-simulator
Configure database policies for row-level filtering in DAB	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/security/how-to-configure-database-policies
Implement SQL row-level security with DAB session context	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/security/row-level-security
Configure authentication for SQL MCP Server and database	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/mcp/how-to-configure-authentication

Configuration

Topic	URL
Use Data API builder CLI commands to manage configs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/command-line/
Add entities to Data API builder configuration with CLI	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/command-line/dab-add
Configure Data API builder runtime and data source via CLI	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/command-line/dab-configure
Export or generate GraphQL schema with DAB CLI	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/command-line/dab-export
Initialize Data API builder configuration files with CLI	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/command-line/dab-init
Update Data API builder entity definitions with CLI	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/command-line/dab-update
Validate Data API builder configuration files in CI/CD	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/command-line/dab-validate
Configure OpenAPI and Swagger for DAB REST APIs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/api/openapi
Control Data API builder caching via HTTP headers	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/cache/http-headers
Configure internal level 1 cache in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/cache/level-1
Configure external Redis level 2 cache in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/cache/level-2
Load secrets from Azure Key Vault with @akv in DAB	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/config/akv-function
Reference environment variables with @env in DAB config	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/config/env-function
Use environment-specific config files in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/config/environments
Configure multiple data sources and hybrid endpoints in DAB	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/config/multi-data-source
Configure entity relationships for GraphQL in DAB	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/database/relationships
Expose stored procedures as endpoints in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/database/stored-procedures
Expose database views as DAB REST/GraphQL endpoints	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/database/views
Configure Azure Application Insights monitoring for DAB	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/monitor/application-insights
Configure and use the /health endpoint in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/monitor/health-checks
Configure Azure Log Analytics integration for DAB	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/monitor/log-analytics
Set filtered log levels in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/monitor/log-levels
Enable OpenTelemetry tracing and metrics in DAB	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/monitor/open-telemetry
Full configuration schema for Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/
Reference schema for Data API builder configuration file	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/
Configure Data API builder data source section	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/data-source
Configure entities section in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/entities
Configure entities section in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/entities
Configure entities section in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/entities
Configure entities section in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/entities
Configure entities section in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/entities
Configure entities section in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/entities
Configure entities section in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/entities
Configure entities section in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/entities
Configure entities section in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/entities
Configure entities section in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/entities
Configure entities section in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/entities
Configure entities section in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/entities
Configure runtime settings for Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/runtime
Configure runtime settings for Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/runtime
Configure runtime settings for Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/runtime
Configure runtime settings for Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/runtime
Configure Data API builder runtime behavior	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/runtime
Configure Data API builder runtime behavior	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/runtime
Configure runtime settings for Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/runtime
Configure runtime settings for Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/runtime
Configure Data API builder runtime behavior	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/runtime
Configure Data API builder runtime behavior	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/configuration/runtime
Configure DAB with Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/how-to/set-up-cosmosdb

Integrations & Coding Patterns

Topic	URL
Control upsert behavior with If-Match in DAB REST	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/api/http-if-match
Use Location header for created resources in DAB	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/concept/api/http-location
Use GraphQL filter argument in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/keywords/filter-graphql
Use $filter in REST queries for Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/keywords/filter-rest
Shape REST and GraphQL payloads with select	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/keywords/select-graphql
Project REST responses with $select in Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/keywords/select-rest
Use SQL MCP Server DML tools for CRUD operations	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/mcp/data-manipulation-language-tools

Deployment

Topic	URL
Start the Data API builder runtime from configuration	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/command-line/dab-start
Use the pre-deployment checklist for Data API builder	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/deployment/checklist
Deploy Data API builder to Azure Container Apps	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/deployment/how-to-publish-container-apps
Deploy Data API builder to Azure Container Instances	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/deployment/how-to-publish-container-instances
Review Data API builder feature availability by platform	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/feature-availability
Connect SQL MCP Server to Azure AI Foundry agents	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/mcp/quickstart-azure-ai-foundry
Deploy SQL MCP Server to Azure Container Apps	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/mcp/quickstart-azure-container-apps
Run SQL MCP Server with .NET Aspire containers	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/mcp/quickstart-dotnet-aspire
Start SQL MCP Server locally with VS Code	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/mcp/quickstart-visual-studio-code
Deploy Data API builder with Azure Cosmos DB NoSQL	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/quickstart/azure-cosmos-db-nosql
Deploy Data API builder with Azure SQL using AZD	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/quickstart/azure-sql
Deploy Data API builder to Container Apps using Azure CLI	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-api-builder/tutorial-deploy-container-app-cli