Azure Providers azurerm vs azapi

• AzureRM: a high-level, opinionated provider that enforces schemas, performs input validation, and provides strongly typed resources. It’s jointly maintained by HashiCorp and Microsoft and is the most commonly used provider for Azure infrastructure.
• AzAPI: a lower-level provider exposing direct access to Azure Resource Manager (ARM) APIs. It’s maintained by Microsoft and supports any ARM resource type and API version with minimal abstraction—ideal for preview or newly released features not yet available in AzureRM.

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Quick provider summaries

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AzureRM (high-level) — what you get

• Official provider for public Azure cloud.
• Maintains resource lifecycle via ARM APIs.
• Strongly typed resources with schema validation and built-in lifecycle handling.
• Best choice for stable, well-supported Azure services.
• Limitation: may lag behind Azure for preview or newly released features.

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AzAPI (low-level) — characteristics & benefits

• No predefined resource schemas: you specify the ARM resource type and API version directly.
• Support for any ARM resource or API version: use new or preview APIs immediately.
• Enables preview and newly released features without waiting for AzureRM provider schema updates.

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AzAPI use cases and trade-offs

• When a feature is not yet supported in AzureRM (new or preview capabilities).
• Advanced or edge-case configurations and platform experimentation.
• Trade-offs: you must choose API versions manually, deal with runtime errors, and perform more detailed ARM knowledge checks during development.

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Practical examples

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1) AzureRM-only provider (typical setup)

terraform {
  required_providers {
    azurerm = {
      source  = "hashicorp/azurerm"
      version = ">= 4.55.0, != 4.59.0"
    }
  }
}

provider "azurerm" {
  features {}
  subscription_id = "1b228746-75fd-46ed-a6b-6a9066d6d3a"
}

terraform init --upgrade

{
  "message": "Terraform has been successfully initialized!"
}

az account show

{
  "environmentName": "AzureCloud",
  "id": "1b228746-75fd-46ed-a6b-6a9066d6d3a",
  "name": "PenTest Lab 2",
  "isDefault": true,
  "tenantId": "1e0fa212-37dc-45f5-bb0f-b60687cac64b",
  "user": {
    "name": "rithinskaria@kodekloud.lab.onmicrosoft.com",
    "type": "user"
  }
}

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2) Adding AzAPI alongside AzureRM

terraform {
  required_providers {
    azurerm = {
      source  = "hashicorp/azurerm"
      version = ">= 4.55.0, != 4.59.0"
    }
    azapi = {
      source  = "Azure/azapi"
      version = "2.8.0"
    }
  }
}

provider "azurerm" {
  features {}
  subscription_id = "1b228746-75fd-46ed-a6b-6a9066d6d3a"
}

provider "azapi" {
  subscription_id = "1b228746-75fd-46ed-a6b-6a9066d6d3a"
}

• Terraform loads all .tf files in a directory. Many teams use providers.tf (or provider.tf) for clarity, especially when multiple providers are present.

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Creating the same resource: AzureRM vs AzAPI

resource "azurerm_resource_group" "rg" {
  name     = "kodekloud-tf-rg"
  location = "eastus"
  tags = {
    environment = "testing"
  }
}

resource "azapi_resource" "rg" {
  name     = "kodekloud-tf-rg-azapi"
  type     = "Microsoft.Resources/resourceGroups@2021-04-01"
  location = "eastus"
  tags = {
    environment = "testing"
  }
}

• type uses the format <namespace>/<resourceType>@<apiVersion>.
• For complex resources you can pass a full ARM JSON body (use jsonencode()), or set specific properties as required.
• Because AzAPI lacks a typed schema, verify the API version and property names against ARM documentation—errors will appear at apply time if mismatched.

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When to use which provider

• Use AzureRM when you want:
  • Schema validation
  • Predictable lifecycle behavior
  • Coverage for the majority of common Azure resources
• Use AzAPI when you need:
  • Immediate access to new or preview ARM features
  • Niche property control or resource types not exposed by AzureRM
• Common approach: use AzureRM for most resources and AzAPI selectively to fill gaps.

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Real-world scenario

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Wrap-up

• AzureRM = stability, validation, conventional provider behaviors.
• AzAPI = agility, immediate ARM access, and coverage for preview/new features.