Azure Security Keyvault Keys Dotnet

by microsoft354361d83247MITListed Oct 8, 2026Updated Oct 8, 2026

Azure Key Vault Keys SDK for .NET. Client library for managing cryptographic keys in Azure Key Vault and Managed HSM. Use for key creation, rotation, encryption, decryption, signing, and verification. Triggers: "Key Vault keys", "KeyClient", "CryptographyClient", "RSA key", "EC key", "encrypt decrypt .NET", "key rotation", "HSM".

FeaturedInstructions onlySoftware DevelopmentSecurity
AI-generated overview

Reference guide for using the Azure Key Vault Keys .NET SDK to manage and use cryptographic keys.

What it does
This skill provides instructions and code examples for the Azure.Security.KeyVault.Keys .NET client library. It covers creating, retrieving, updating, deleting, backing up and rotating RSA, EC and symmetric keys, and performing cryptographic operations such as encrypt, decrypt, wrap, unwrap, sign and verify. It also documents authentication options, key types, algorithms, RBAC roles and error handling.
When to use it
Use it when writing .NET code that manages keys in Azure Key Vault or Managed HSM, or that performs cryptographic operations through KeyClient, CryptographyClient or KeyResolver. It is suited to tasks involving key creation, rotation, encryption, signing or verification.
Requirements
Requires the .NET SDK and the Azure.Security.KeyVault.Keys and Azure.Identity NuGet packages. Needs an Azure Key Vault or Managed HSM instance, network access, and credentials such as DefaultAzureCredential, managed identity or a service principal, plus appropriate RBAC roles. It ships no scripts; it is instructions and code examples only.

Azure.Security.KeyVault.Keys (.NET)

Client library for managing cryptographic keys in Azure Key Vault and Managed HSM.

Installation

bash
dotnet add package Azure.Security.KeyVault.Keysdotnet add package Azure.Identity

Current Version: 4.7.0 (stable)

Environment Variables

bash
KEY_VAULT_NAME=<your-key-vault-name>  # Required: Key Vault nameAZURE_KEYVAULT_URL=https://<vault-name>.vault.azure.net  # Optional: full Key Vault URLAZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod  # Required only if DefaultAzureCredential is used in production

Client Hierarchy

KeyClient (key management)├── CreateKey / CreateRsaKey / CreateEcKey├── GetKey / GetKeys├── UpdateKeyProperties├── DeleteKey / PurgeDeletedKey├── BackupKey / RestoreKey└── GetCryptographyClient() → CryptographyClient
CryptographyClient (cryptographic operations)├── Encrypt / Decrypt├── WrapKey / UnwrapKey├── Sign / Verify└── SignData / VerifyData
KeyResolver (key resolution)└── Resolve(keyId) → CryptographyClient

Authentication

Microsoft Entra Token Credential

csharp
using Azure.Identity;using Azure.Security.KeyVault.Keys;
var keyVaultName = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("KEY_VAULT_NAME");var kvUri = $"https://{keyVaultName}.vault.azure.net";
// Local dev: DefaultAzureCredential. Production: set AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod or AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=<specific_credential>var credential = new DefaultAzureCredential(    DefaultAzureCredential.DefaultEnvironmentVariableName);// Or use a specific credential directly in production:// See https://learn.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/overview/azure/identity-readme?view=azure-dotnet#credential-classes// var credential = new ManagedIdentityCredential();var client = new KeyClient(new Uri(kvUri), credential);

Service Principal

csharp
var credential = new ClientSecretCredential(    tenantId: "<tenant-id>",    clientId: "<client-id>",    clientSecret: "<client-secret>");
var client = new KeyClient(new Uri(kvUri), credential);

Key Management

Create Keys

csharp
// Create RSA keyKeyVaultKey rsaKey = await client.CreateKeyAsync("my-rsa-key", KeyType.Rsa);Console.WriteLine($"Created key: {rsaKey.Name}, Type: {rsaKey.KeyType}");
// Create RSA key with optionsvar rsaOptions = new CreateRsaKeyOptions("my-rsa-key-2048"){    KeySize = 2048,    HardwareProtected = false, // true for HSM-backed    ExpiresOn = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow.AddYears(1),    NotBefore = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow,    Enabled = true};rsaOptions.KeyOperations.Add(KeyOperation.Encrypt);rsaOptions.KeyOperations.Add(KeyOperation.Decrypt);
KeyVaultKey rsaKey2 = await client.CreateRsaKeyAsync(rsaOptions);
// Create EC keyvar ecOptions = new CreateEcKeyOptions("my-ec-key"){    CurveName = KeyCurveName.P256,    HardwareProtected = true // HSM-backed};KeyVaultKey ecKey = await client.CreateEcKeyAsync(ecOptions);
// Create Oct (symmetric) key for wrap/unwrapvar octOptions = new CreateOctKeyOptions("my-oct-key"){    KeySize = 256,    HardwareProtected = true};KeyVaultKey octKey = await client.CreateOctKeyAsync(octOptions);

Retrieve Keys

csharp
// Get specific key (latest version)KeyVaultKey key = await client.GetKeyAsync("my-rsa-key");Console.WriteLine($"Key ID: {key.Id}");Console.WriteLine($"Key Type: {key.KeyType}");Console.WriteLine($"Version: {key.Properties.Version}");
// Get specific versionKeyVaultKey keyVersion = await client.GetKeyAsync("my-rsa-key", "version-id");
// List all keysawait foreach (KeyProperties keyProps in client.GetPropertiesOfKeysAsync()){    Console.WriteLine($"Key: {keyProps.Name}, Enabled: {keyProps.Enabled}");}
// List key versionsawait foreach (KeyProperties version in client.GetPropertiesOfKeyVersionsAsync("my-rsa-key")){    Console.WriteLine($"Version: {version.Version}, Created: {version.CreatedOn}");}

Update Key Properties

csharp
KeyVaultKey key = await client.GetKeyAsync("my-rsa-key");
key.Properties.ExpiresOn = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow.AddYears(2);key.Properties.Tags["environment"] = "production";
KeyVaultKey updatedKey = await client.UpdateKeyPropertiesAsync(key.Properties);

Delete and Purge Keys

csharp
// Start delete operationDeleteKeyOperation operation = await client.StartDeleteKeyAsync("my-rsa-key");
// Wait for deletion to complete (required before purge)await operation.WaitForCompletionAsync();Console.WriteLine($"Deleted key scheduled purge date: {operation.Value.ScheduledPurgeDate}");
// Purge immediately (if soft-delete is enabled)await client.PurgeDeletedKeyAsync("my-rsa-key");
// Or recover deleted keyKeyVaultKey recoveredKey = await client.StartRecoverDeletedKeyAsync("my-rsa-key");

Backup and Restore

csharp
// Backup keybyte[] backup = await client.BackupKeyAsync("my-rsa-key");await File.WriteAllBytesAsync("key-backup.bin", backup);
// Restore keybyte[] backupData = await File.ReadAllBytesAsync("key-backup.bin");KeyVaultKey restoredKey = await client.RestoreKeyBackupAsync(backupData);

Cryptographic Operations

Get CryptographyClient

csharp
// From KeyClientKeyVaultKey key = await client.GetKeyAsync("my-rsa-key");CryptographyClient cryptoClient = client.GetCryptographyClient(    key.Name,     key.Properties.Version);
// Or create directly with key IDCryptographyClient cryptoClient = new CryptographyClient(    new Uri("https://myvault.vault.azure.net/keys/my-rsa-key/version"),    new DefaultAzureCredential());

Encrypt and Decrypt

csharp
byte[] plaintext = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("Secret message to encrypt");
// EncryptEncryptResult encryptResult = await cryptoClient.EncryptAsync(    EncryptionAlgorithm.RsaOaep256,     plaintext);Console.WriteLine($"Encrypted: {Convert.ToBase64String(encryptResult.Ciphertext)}");
// DecryptDecryptResult decryptResult = await cryptoClient.DecryptAsync(    EncryptionAlgorithm.RsaOaep256,     encryptResult.Ciphertext);string decrypted = Encoding.UTF8.GetString(decryptResult.Plaintext);Console.WriteLine($"Decrypted: {decrypted}");

Wrap and Unwrap Keys

csharp
// Key to wrap (e.g., AES key)byte[] keyToWrap = new byte[32]; // 256-bit keyRandomNumberGenerator.Fill(keyToWrap);
// Wrap keyWrapResult wrapResult = await cryptoClient.WrapKeyAsync(    KeyWrapAlgorithm.RsaOaep256,     keyToWrap);
// Unwrap keyUnwrapResult unwrapResult = await cryptoClient.UnwrapKeyAsync(    KeyWrapAlgorithm.RsaOaep256,     wrapResult.EncryptedKey);

Sign and Verify

csharp
// Data to signbyte[] data = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("Data to sign");
// Sign data (computes hash internally)SignResult signResult = await cryptoClient.SignDataAsync(    SignatureAlgorithm.RS256,     data);
// Verify signatureVerifyResult verifyResult = await cryptoClient.VerifyDataAsync(    SignatureAlgorithm.RS256,     data,     signResult.Signature);Console.WriteLine($"Signature valid: {verifyResult.IsValid}");
// Or sign pre-computed hashusing var sha256 = SHA256.Create();byte[] hash = sha256.ComputeHash(data);
SignResult signHashResult = await cryptoClient.SignAsync(    SignatureAlgorithm.RS256,     hash);

Key Resolver

csharp
using Azure.Security.KeyVault.Keys.Cryptography;
var resolver = new KeyResolver(new DefaultAzureCredential());
// Resolve key by ID to get CryptographyClientCryptographyClient cryptoClient = await resolver.ResolveAsync(    new Uri("https://myvault.vault.azure.net/keys/my-key/version"));
// Use for encryptionEncryptResult result = await cryptoClient.EncryptAsync(    EncryptionAlgorithm.RsaOaep256,     plaintext);

Key Rotation

csharp
// Rotate key (creates new version)KeyVaultKey rotatedKey = await client.RotateKeyAsync("my-rsa-key");Console.WriteLine($"New version: {rotatedKey.Properties.Version}");
// Get rotation policyKeyRotationPolicy policy = await client.GetKeyRotationPolicyAsync("my-rsa-key");
// Update rotation policypolicy.ExpiresIn = "P90D"; // 90 dayspolicy.LifetimeActions.Add(new KeyRotationLifetimeAction{    Action = KeyRotationPolicyAction.Rotate,    TimeBeforeExpiry = "P30D" // Rotate 30 days before expiry});
await client.UpdateKeyRotationPolicyAsync("my-rsa-key", policy);

Key Types Reference

TypePurpose
KeyClientKey management operations
CryptographyClientCryptographic operations
KeyResolverResolve key ID to CryptographyClient
KeyVaultKeyKey with cryptographic material
KeyPropertiesKey metadata (no crypto material)
CreateRsaKeyOptionsRSA key creation options
CreateEcKeyOptionsEC key creation options
CreateOctKeyOptionsSymmetric key options
EncryptResultEncryption result
DecryptResultDecryption result
SignResultSigning result
VerifyResultVerification result
WrapResultKey wrap result
UnwrapResultKey unwrap result

Algorithms Reference

Encryption Algorithms

AlgorithmKey TypeDescription
RsaOaepRSARSA-OAEP
RsaOaep256RSARSA-OAEP-256
Rsa15RSARSA 1.5 (legacy)
A128GcmOctAES-128-GCM
A256GcmOctAES-256-GCM

Signature Algorithms

AlgorithmKey TypeDescription
RS256RSARSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5 SHA-256
RS384RSARSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5 SHA-384
RS512RSARSASSA-PKCS1-v1_5 SHA-512
PS256RSARSASSA-PSS SHA-256
ES256ECECDSA P-256 SHA-256
ES384ECECDSA P-384 SHA-384
ES512ECECDSA P-521 SHA-512

Key Wrap Algorithms

AlgorithmKey TypeDescription
RsaOaepRSARSA-OAEP
RsaOaep256RSARSA-OAEP-256
A128KWOctAES-128 Key Wrap
A256KWOctAES-256 Key Wrap

Best Practices

  1. Use Managed Identity — Prefer DefaultAzureCredential over secrets
  2. Enable soft-delete — Protect against accidental deletion
  3. Use HSM-backed keys — Set HardwareProtected = true for sensitive keys
  4. Implement key rotation — Use automatic rotation policies
  5. Limit key operations — Only enable required KeyOperations
  6. Set expiration dates — Always set ExpiresOn for keys
  7. Use specific versions — Pin to versions in production
  8. Cache CryptographyClient — Reuse for multiple operations

Error Handling

csharp
using Azure;
try{    KeyVaultKey key = await client.GetKeyAsync("my-key");}catch (RequestFailedException ex) when (ex.Status == 404){    Console.WriteLine("Key not found");}catch (RequestFailedException ex) when (ex.Status == 403){    Console.WriteLine("Access denied - check RBAC permissions");}catch (RequestFailedException ex){    Console.WriteLine($"Key Vault error: {ex.Status} - {ex.Message}");}

Required RBAC Roles

RolePermissions
Key Vault Crypto OfficerFull key management
Key Vault Crypto UserUse keys for crypto operations
Key Vault ReaderRead key metadata

Related SDKs

SDKPurposeInstall
Azure.Security.KeyVault.KeysKeys (this SDK)dotnet add package Azure.Security.KeyVault.Keys
Azure.Security.KeyVault.SecretsSecretsdotnet add package Azure.Security.KeyVault.Secrets
Azure.Security.KeyVault.CertificatesCertificatesdotnet add package Azure.Security.KeyVault.Certificates
Azure.IdentityAuthenticationdotnet add package Azure.Identity

Reference Links

Source and attribution

Source:microsoft/skillsin.github/plugins/azure-sdk-dotnet/skills/azure-security-keyvault-keys-dotnetat commit354361d

License: MIT

Content belongs to its original authors. SourceWeft indexes it from a public repository.

Report or request removal