Azure Ad Graph Api Overview and Getting Started

The Azure AD Graph API is a powerful tool that allows you to manage users, groups, and other directory objects in Azure Active Directory.

It's a REST-based API that provides programmatic access to Azure AD data, enabling developers to build custom applications and integrations.

To get started with the Azure AD Graph API, you'll need to register your application in the Azure portal and grant the necessary permissions.

This will give you a client ID and client secret that you can use to authenticate with the API.

The Azure AD Graph API has several components that make it a powerful tool for managing user data and directory information.

You can make HTTP requests to the Azure AD Graph API using methods like GET, POST, PATCH, PUT, and DELETE. These methods can be used to retrieve, create, modify, replace, or delete resources.

The API also supports query parameters, which can be used to customize requests or responses. For example, you can use the filter parameter to return messages for a user with a specified email address only.

Here are the Azure AD Graph API methods:

The Azure AD Graph API also features differential query, which tracks changes in a directory between two durations without the need for independent queries. This can be useful for keeping your directory information up-to-date.

You can also use the Azure AD Graph API to manage employee profiles, sync personal data, and call the Security Alerts API to avoid threats.

Microsoft Graph is a powerful tool that offers a wide range of features to simplify user onboarding and automate tasks. It can assign managers, roles to users, provide permissions to documents, assign product licenses, and change users' roles.

One of the key benefits of Microsoft Graph is its ability to retrieve Excel workbook data and build powerful workflows to integrate data collection with cloud services such as SharePoint. This can be a huge time-saver for developers and users alike.

Microsoft Graph also allows you to find meeting times and provides profile information for one or more attendees. It can even get recommended meeting times by scanning your calendar containing attendees and their preferred timeslots.

Here are some of the specific actions and functions that Microsoft Graph supports:

With Microsoft Graph, you can also manage employee profiles by keeping your company Azure directory up-to-date. It can even modify user profile information stored in SharePoint via API.

The components of a Microsoft Graph API request are quite straightforward. There are five main methods to choose from.

The first one is GET, which is used to retrieve data from a resource. It's like asking for information from a friend – you don't need to provide any extra details.

Another method is POST, which is used to create a new resource. This is like sending a message to a friend – you're creating something new.

You can also use PATCH to modify an existing resource with the latest values. This is like updating your friend's contact information – you're making changes to what already exists.

If you want to replace a resource entirely, you can use PUT. This is like sending a new profile picture to a friend – you're replacing the old one with a new one.

Lastly, there's DELETE, which is used to remove a resource altogether. This is like deleting a message from a friend – it's gone for good.

The request body is required for PATCH, POST, and PUT methods, and it's returned in JSON format. This means you'll get additional information like values for properties.

Here are the details on the methods:

The request body is not needed for GET and DELETE methods.

Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) is a powerful tool for managing access to your organization's resources. You can use the Azure AD Graph API to perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations on Azure AD data and objects.

To get started with Azure AD Graph API, you'll need to register your app with Azure AD and consent your app to access Azure AD Graph API. This will give you the necessary permissions to interact with Azure AD objects.

You can use the Azure AD Graph API to create a new user in Azure AD, get properties of a user, update properties of a user, and even disable or delete the user account. These operations are supported by the Azure AD Graph API, making it a versatile tool for managing your organization's Azure AD resources.

Here are some examples of operations you can perform with the Azure AD Graph API:

The Azure AD Graph API also allows you to access other Azure objects, such as groups and applications. This makes it a powerful tool for managing your organization's Azure resources.

Microsoft Graph provides a programming model to connect Office 365, Windows 10, Azure Active Directory, and Enterprise Mobility and Security services. You can use Microsoft Graph to build apps that interact with millions of data by accessing resources using a single endpoint: Microsoft Graph.

Azure AD Graph API provides various querying and operations capabilities to access and manipulate Azure AD objects. You can use the API to perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations on Azure AD data and objects.

To query top-level resources, you can use the following URIs: https://graph.windows.net/tenantname?api-version=1.6, https://graph.windows.net/tenantname/tenantDetails?api-version=1.6, and https://graph.windows.net/tenantname/contacts?api-version=1.6.

Some common queries include fetching users and groups, retrieving user information using objectId or userPrincipalName, and filtering users based on displayName, givenName, or surname.

Here are some examples of query operations:

These are just a few examples of the many querying and operations capabilities available in Azure AD Graph API.

You can query top-level resources using the Azure AD Graph API to retrieve information about your Azure AD tenant. The top-level resources include company information, contacts, users, groups, directory roles, subscribed Skus, and directory metadata.

To query top-level resources, you can use the following URI: https://graph.windows.net/tenantname?api-version=1.6. This will return a list of URIs for top-level resources for Azure AD.

Here's a list of top-level resources and their corresponding URIs:

Group operations are a crucial part of querying and managing Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) objects. You can use the Azure AD Graph API to perform various group operations.

To get groups, you can use the URI https://graph.windows.net/tenantname/groups?api-version=1.6. This will return all the groups in your Azure AD.

You can also get a specific group by its object ID using the URI https://graph.windows.net/tenantname/groups/164c55e3-2b44-4429-aac1-0f538e75ac05?api-version=1.6.

To get members of a group, you can use the URI https://graph.windows.net/tenantname/groups/bc439c50-abf6-4946-9307-b0061b73ab5b/members?api-version=1.6.

Here's a summary of some common group operations:

By using these group operations, you can effectively manage and query your Azure AD groups.

Contact operations are a crucial part of any system, and understanding how they work is essential for effective management.

You can get a comprehensive overview of contact operations through a specific section of the system. This section provides a detailed breakdown of the various operations you can perform on contacts.

To retrieve a list of all contacts, you can use the "Get contacts" function. This will give you a list of all contacts in the system.

Getting a single contact's information is also straightforward, thanks to the "Get a contact" function. This function allows you to retrieve a specific contact's details.

If you need to update a contact's information, you can use the "Update contact" function. This will allow you to modify the contact's details as needed.

Sometimes, you may need to delete a contact from the system. The "Delete contact" function makes this process easy and efficient.

You can also use the "Get manager" function to retrieve a contact's manager's information. This is useful for understanding a contact's reporting structure.

Assigning a manager to a contact is also possible, thanks to the "Assign manager" function. This allows you to designate a new manager for a contact.

If you need to retrieve a list of a contact's direct reports, you can use the "Get direct reports" function. This will give you a list of all contacts reporting directly to the specified contact.

In addition to getting a contact's direct reports, you can also use the "Get memberships" function to retrieve a list of a contact's memberships. This is useful for understanding a contact's roles and responsibilities within the system.

Contact functions and actions are an essential part of contact operations. These functions enable you to perform various actions on contacts, such as creating, updating, and deleting them.

You can manage policies with ease, thanks to the various policy operations available.

To get started, you can retrieve a policy overview, which provides a summary of the policy's details. This is useful for understanding the policy's configuration.

You can also retrieve a specific policy by its ID or name. This is helpful when you need to access a policy's details quickly.

To create a new policy, you can use the create policy operation. This is useful when you need to set up a new policy from scratch.

Listing all policies is also possible, which can be helpful when you need to see an overview of all policies in your system.

Updating an existing policy is also an option, which allows you to modify the policy's configuration as needed.

Deleting a policy is another operation available, which should be used with caution to avoid unintended consequences.

Assigning a policy to an application or service principal is also possible, which allows you to control access to resources.

You can also list applications and service principals that have a specific policy assigned to them. This is useful for auditing or troubleshooting purposes.

Finally, you can list all policies assigned to a specific application or service principal, which helps you understand their access control configuration.

Reverting back to Azure AD Graph API is a straightforward process that requires following the same steps as upgrading to Microsoft Graph API, but with a crucial difference: you need to select Azure AD Graph API instead of Microsoft Graph API on the first screen of the profile source configuration wizard.

To ensure a smooth rollback, you should also verify that the Azure AD Graph API permission scopes are still present in the Azure App Registration in the Azure Portal.

The process of reverting back to Azure AD Graph API is identical to upgrading to Microsoft Graph API, with the only difference being the selection of Azure AD Graph API.