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Azure Data Tables Py

microsoft/azure-data-tables-py

| Azure Tables SDK for Python (Storage and Cosmos DB). Use for NoSQL key-value storage, entity CRUD, and batch operations.

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Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository
npx skills add https://github.com/microsoft/skills --skill azure-data-tables-py

What comes with it

3 144 bytes besides the instruction
references/capabilities.md
references/non-hero-scenarios.md

The instruction itself

21 sections, as written by the author

Azure Tables SDK for Python

NoSQL key-value store for structured data (Azure Storage Tables or Cosmos DB Table API).

Installation

pip install azure-data-tables azure-identity

Environment Variables

# Azure Storage Tables
AZURE_STORAGE_ACCOUNT_URL=https://<account>.table.core.windows.net  # Required for Azure Storage Tables

# Cosmos DB Table API
COSMOS_TABLE_ENDPOINT=https://<account>.table.cosmos.azure.com  # Required for Cosmos DB Table API
AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod # Required only if DefaultAzureCredential is used in production

Authentication & Lifecycle

> 🔑 Two rules apply to every code sample below:

>

> 1. Prefer DefaultAzureCredential. It works locally (Azure CLI / VS Code / Developer CLI) and in Azure (managed identity, workload identity) with no code change. Avoid connection strings, account/API keys — they bypass Entra audit and rotation.

> - Local dev: DefaultAzureCredential works as-is.

> - Production: set AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod (or AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=<specific_credential>) to constrain the credential chain to production-safe credentials.

> 2. Wrap every client in a context manager so HTTP transports, sockets, and token caches are released deterministically:

> - Sync: with <Client>(...) as client:

> - Async: async with <Client>(...) as client: and async with DefaultAzureCredential() as credential: (from azure.identity.aio)

>

> Snippets may abbreviate this setup, but production code should always follow both rules.

import os
from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential, ManagedIdentityCredential
from azure.data.tables import TableServiceClient, TableClient

# Local dev: DefaultAzureCredential. Production: set AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=prod or AZURE_TOKEN_CREDENTIALS=<specific_credential>
credential = DefaultAzureCredential(require_envvar=True)
# Or use a specific credential directly in production:
# See https://learn.microsoft.com/python/api/overview/azure/identity-readme?view=azure-python#credential-classes
# credential = ManagedIdentityCredential()

endpoint = "https://<account>.table.core.windows.net"

# Service client (manage tables)
with TableServiceClient(endpoint=endpoint, credential=credential) as service_client:
    # Use service_client here (see following sections for operations)
    ...

# Table client (work with entities)
with TableClient(endpoint=endpoint, table_name="mytable", credential=credential) as table_client:
    # Use table_client here (see following sections for operations)
    ...

Client Types

| Client | Purpose |

|--------|---------|

| TableServiceClient | Create/delete tables, list tables |

| TableClient | Entity CRUD, queries |

Table Operations

# Create table
service_client.create_table("mytable")

# Create if not exists
service_client.create_table_if_not_exists("mytable")

# Delete table
service_client.delete_table("mytable")

# List tables
for table in service_client.list_tables():
    print(table.name)

# Get table client
table_client = service_client.get_table_client("mytable")

Entity Operations

Important: Every entity requires PartitionKey and RowKey (together form unique ID).

Create Entity

entity = {
    "PartitionKey": "sales",
    "RowKey": "order-001",
    "product": "Widget",
    "quantity": 5,
    "price": 9.99,
    "shipped": False
}

# Create (fails if exists)
table_client.create_entity(entity=entity)

# Upsert (create or replace)
table_client.upsert_entity(entity=entity)

Get Entity

# Get by key (fastest)
entity = table_client.get_entity(
    partition_key="sales",
    row_key="order-001"
)
print(f"Product: {entity['product']}")

Update Entity

# Replace entire entity
entity["quantity"] = 10
table_client.update_entity(entity=entity, mode="replace")

# Merge (update specific fields only)
update = {
    "PartitionKey": "sales",
    "RowKey": "order-001",
    "shipped": True
}
table_client.update_entity(entity=update, mode="merge")

Delete Entity

table_client.delete_entity(
    partition_key="sales",
    row_key="order-001"
)

Query Entities

Query Within Partition

# Query by partition (efficient)
entities = table_client.query_entities(
    query_filter="PartitionKey eq 'sales'"
)
for entity in entities:
    print(entity)

Query with Filters

# Filter by properties
entities = table_client.query_entities(
    query_filter="PartitionKey eq 'sales' and quantity gt 3"
)

# With parameters (safer)
entities = table_client.query_entities(
    query_filter="PartitionKey eq @pk and price lt @max_price",
    parameters={"pk": "sales", "max_price": 50.0}
)

Select Specific Properties

entities = table_client.query_entities(
    query_filter="PartitionKey eq 'sales'",
    select=["RowKey", "product", "price"]
)

List All Entities

# List all (cross-partition - use sparingly)
for entity in table_client.list_entities():
    print(entity)

Batch Operations

from azure.data.tables import TableTransactionError

# Batch operations (same partition only!)
operations = [
    ("create", {"PartitionKey": "batch", "RowKey": "1", "data": "first"}),
    ("create", {"PartitionKey": "batch", "RowKey": "2", "data": "second"}),
    ("upsert", {"PartitionKey": "batch", "RowKey": "3", "data": "third"}),
]

try:
    table_client.submit_transaction(operations)
except TableTransactionError as e:
    print(f"Transaction failed: {e}")

Async Client

from azure.data.tables.aio import TableServiceClient, TableClient
from azure.identity.aio import DefaultAzureCredential

async def table_operations():
    async with DefaultAzureCredential() as credential:
        async with TableClient(
            endpoint="https://<account>.table.core.windows.net",
            table_name="mytable",
            credential=credential
        ) as client:
            # Create
            await client.create_entity(entity={
                "PartitionKey": "async",
                "RowKey": "1",
                "data": "test"
            })
            
            # Query
            async for entity in client.query_entities("PartitionKey eq 'async'"):
                print(entity)

import asyncio
asyncio.run(table_operations())

Data Types

| Python Type | Table Storage Type |

|-------------|-------------------|

| str | String |

| int | Int64 |

| float | Double |

| bool | Boolean |

| datetime | DateTime |

| bytes | Binary |

| UUID | Guid |

Best Practices

  • Pick sync OR async and stay consistent. Do not mix azure.data.tables sync clients with azure.data.tables.aio async clients in the same call path. Choose one mode per module.
  • Always use context managers for clients and async credentials. Wrap every client in with TableClient(...) as client: (sync) or async with TableClient(...) as client: (async). For async DefaultAzureCredential from azure.identity.aio, also use async with credential: so tokens and transports are cleaned up.
  • Use DefaultAzureCredential for portable auth across local dev and Azure (avoid connection strings / API keys when possible).
  • Design partition keys for query patterns and even distribution
  • Query within partitions whenever possible (cross-partition is expensive)
  • Use batch operations for multiple entities in same partition
  • Use upsert_entity for idempotent writes
  • Use parameterized queries to prevent injection
  • Keep entities small — max 1MB per entity

10. Use async client for high-throughput scenarios

Reference Files

| File | Contents |

|------|----------|

| references/capabilities.md | Additional non-hero capabilities, operation-group coverage, and production checklists. |

| references/non-hero-scenarios.md | Dedicated non-hero examples for secondary/advanced scenarios. |

How to use it

Copy the folder

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Install what it needs

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