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Resource details

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Overview

Resource details is a document type in Azure Documenter that provides resource information grouped by resource type, without billing or other cost data.

Business value

  • Audit resource configuration and properties across subscriptions in a single report, without cost data adding noise
  • Include optional network diagrams for selected resource types to document topology alongside resource data
  • Use at any time to maintain an up-to-date record of what's deployed, for handovers, reviews, or change management

Prerequisites

To generate this document, the app registration must have the following Application permission configured in Microsoft Entra ID:

  • Application.Read.All: required to read app registration data from Microsoft Entra ID for the App Registrations section of the document
Note:

This must be granted as an Application permission (not delegated), and a tenant administrator must grant tenant-wide admin consent before it takes effect. For the complete list of permissions required across all document types, see Managing service principals in Azure Documenter.

Required permissions

Role Permission level Access
Account owner, Owner, Contributor — Full access to the Documentation section
Custom role Read View documents generated under Documentation
Custom role Manage View, generate, and manage documents under Documentation

How it works

The Resource details document is organized into two main parts: an App Registrations section at the tenant level, and per-subscription resource sections.

App Registrations

The document begins with a tenant-level App Registrations section listing all app registrations in the Microsoft Entra ID tenant. For each app registration, the document shows:

  • Display Name: the app registration's display name
  • App Id: the application (client) ID
  • Created Datetime: when the registration was created
  • Description: the registration description, if set
  • Tags: any tags applied to the registration
  • Secrets: a table of configured secrets with Display name and Expiry date

Per-subscription resource data

For each selected subscription, the document provides:

  • Resource Type Details: a summary table of resource types present in the subscription, with the count of resources per type
  • Resource Group Details: a summary table of resource groups, with the count of resources per group
  • Location Details: a summary table of Azure regions in use, with the count of resources per location

Following the summary tables, the document lists each resource type with its individual resources. For each resource, the document shows: Id, Kind, Location, Name, Plan, Resource Group, Pricing Tier, Type, Zones, and Identity.

When Include resource level properties is enabled, each resource entry also includes a comprehensive Properties section containing all available Azure resource configuration properties.

Resource network diagram

The Resource details document can include built-in network diagrams that visualize how different components are connected to a specific Azure resource. Network diagrams are supported for the following resource types:

  • API Management Service
  • App Service Plan
  • Azure Cosmos DB
  • Azure Function App
  • Data Factory
  • Kubernetes Service
  • SQL Servers
  • Service Bus Namespace
  • Storage Account
  • Traffic Manager Profile
  • Virtual Networks
  • Virtual Machines
  • Web App

Steps

Use the following steps to generate a Resource details document. Navigate to Azure Documenter to get started.

  1. Click New configuration. The Configure your document wizard opens.
  2. In Step 1 — Basics, enter a configuration name. Under Choose document type, select Resource details. Optionally enable Include resource level properties to include a full Properties section for each resource in the output. Click Next.
  3. In Step 2 — Service principal, select the service principal and configure the subscription scope. Click Next.
  4. Complete Steps 3–6 (Branding, Publish settings, Schedule, Notifications) as required. Click Next after each step.
  5. In Step 7 — Review, confirm your configuration and click Finish.

Once generation is complete, a URL is created for the document, and you can download it using the Download link.

Configuration

Network diagram selections are only available when editing an existing configuration; the Diagrams checklist does not appear during initial configuration creation.

Use the following steps to add or modify network diagrams for a Resource details configuration.

  1. Click the Actions menu next to the configuration in the Documentation tab.
  2. Select Edit. The Edit configuration wizard opens.
  3. In Step 1 — Basics, under Resource properties, enable Include resource level properties if required. Under Diagrams, select the resource types to include network diagrams for.
  4. Click Next and complete the remaining steps.
  5. Regenerate the document to apply the changes.

Sample resource network diagram of Virtual machines:

VM resource diagram.png

Example scenario

An infrastructure architect at Contoso needs to audit resource configuration across the Networking subscription ahead of a compliance review. They create a Resource details configuration for the subscription, then edit it to select Virtual Machines and Storage Accounts in the Diagrams checklist, giving reviewers resource properties and connectivity in a single report.

Troubleshooting

  1. Document is very large or takes a long time to generate
    Cause: Include resource level properties is enabled for a subscription with many resources. The full Properties section for each resource adds significant volume to the output.
    Fix: disable Include resource level properties if only a summary of resource types and counts is needed, or scope the document to a smaller subscription.

  2. App Registrations section is missing or shows no registrations
    Cause: the app registration is missing the Application.Read.All permission, or tenant-wide admin consent has not been granted.
    Fix: grant Application.Read.All as an Application permission in Microsoft Entra ID and ensure a tenant administrator provides admin consent. See Managing service principals in Azure Documenter for the full permissions reference.

  3. Network diagram is missing for a selected resource type
    Cause: no resources of the selected type exist in the subscription, or the resources have no connectable components.
    Fix: verify that resources of the selected type exist in the subscription and regenerate.

FAQs

  1. Who can access the Documentation section by default?
    Account owner, Owner, and Contributor roles have full access by default; no additional configuration is required.

  2. What's the difference between Read and Manage for Documentation?
    Read lets a user view documents generated under Document Types. Manage lets a user view, generate, and manage them.

  3. Can I configure which resource types include network diagrams?
    Yes. Edit an existing configuration using the Actions menu next to the configuration in the Documentation tab. The Diagrams checklist is available in Step 1 — Basics of the Edit configuration wizard.

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