Azure Metadata Reader

The Azure Metadata Reader component retrieves and outputs metadata from Azure Blob Storage resources. It supports multiple authentication methods, enabling secure access to container, directory, or blob-level metadata.

Configuration Sections

The Azure Metadata Reader component configurations are organized into the following sections:

• Basic Information

• Meta Information

• Resource Configuration

• Connection Validation

Prerequisites

Before configuring the component, obtain valid Azure credentials using one of the following methods from the Azure Portal:

• Shared Access Signature (SAS)

• Storage Account Secret Key

• Service Principal (Client Secret)

Best Practice: Use SAS tokens where possible, as they are temporary and revocable. Avoid embedding Secret Keys or Principal Secrets directly in scripts; store them securely in Azure Key Vault.

Authentication Methods

1. Shared Access Signature (SAS)

Parameter	Description	Example
Shared Access Signature	SAS URI granting restricted access to resources.	?sv=2025-01-01&ss=b&srt=...
Account Name	Name of the Azure storage account.	myazureaccount
Container	Container containing the blobs.	logs
Path Type	Options: Null, Directory Path, Blob Name.	Directory Path
Directory Path	Path to filter blobs (optional).	employee/joining_year=2010/department=BI/
Blob Name	Specific blob name to fetch metadata for (optional).	report.csv

2. Secret Key (Shared Key Authorization)

Parameter	Description	Example
Account Key	Full access key for the storage account.	xxxx12345...
Account Name	Name of the Azure storage account.	myazureaccount
Container	Container containing the blobs.	finance-data
Path Type	Options: Null, Directory Path, Blob Name.	Blob Name
Directory Path	Path to filter blobs (optional).	finance/2025/
Blob Name	Specific blob to fetch metadata for.	q1_results.json

3. Principal Secret (Service Principal)

Parameter	Description	Example
Client ID	Application (client) ID assigned by Azure AD.	2c76b0a9-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-abcdef
Tenant ID	Directory (tenant) ID of your Azure AD instance.	72f988bf-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-abcdef
Client Secret	Password/secret of the service principal.	********
Account Name	Name of the Azure storage account.	myazureaccount
Container	Container containing the blobs.	backups
Path Type	Options: Null, Directory Path, Blob Name.	Null
Directory Path	Path to filter blobs (optional).	archive/2024/
Blob Name	Specific blob to fetch metadata for.	daily.zip

Path Type Options

• Null: Reads metadata of all blobs within the container.

• Directory Path: Reads metadata of blobs within a specific directory.

• Blob Name: Reads metadata of a single specified blob.

Output Metadata

When executed successfully, the component outputs metadata for each blob that matches the configuration.

Field	Description	Example
Container	Name of the container.	finance-data
Blob	Name of the blob.	transactions.csv
blobLastModifiedDateAndTime	Date and time the blob was last modified.	2025-09-20T14:45:12Z
blobLength	Size of the blob (in bytes).	2048

Example Configurations

Example 1: Using SAS to Read All Metadata

Authentication: SAS
Shared Access Signature: ?sv=2025-01-01&ss=b&srt=...
Account Name: myazureaccount
Container: logs
Path Type: Null

Reads metadata for all blobs in the logs container.

Example 2: Using Secret Key for a Specific Blob

Authentication: Secret Key
Account Name: myazureaccount
Account Key: ********
Container: finance-data
Path Type: Blob Name
Blob Name: 2025_report.csv

Reads metadata for 2025_report.csv only.

Example 3: Using Principal Secret for Directory Metadata

Authentication: Principal Secret
Client ID: 2c76b0a9-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-abcdef
Tenant ID: 72f988bf-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-abcdef
Client Secret: ********
Account Name: myazureaccount
Container: archive
Path Type: Directory Path
Directory Path: 2024/quarter1/

Reads metadata for all blobs in the archive/2024/quarter1/ directory.

Notes

• Prefer SAS tokens for temporary, granular access control.

• Use Secret Keys only in secure environments and avoid embedding them in pipelines.

• For enterprise applications, configure Principal Secret authentication via Azure AD.