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Microsoft Entra REST API: The Backbone of Scalable Identity-Aware Services

Andrios Robert

• 1 min read

The Microsoft Entra REST API is the direct line into identity and access control across Azure Active Directory and beyond. It gives you raw HTTP endpoints to manage users, groups, roles, applications, policies, and tokens at scale—without passing through layers of UI.

With the Microsoft Entra REST API, you can automate onboarding, enforce conditional access, and orchestrate security workflows from your own code. Endpoints are predictable. Methods are standard. Payloads are JSON. Authentication uses OAuth 2.0 with Azure Active Directory issuing access tokens. Every call you make is logged and governed by the same rules controlling your tenant.

Key capabilities include:

  • User and Group Management: Create, update, delete, and query accounts and memberships.
  • Application and Service Principal Control: Register apps, assign permissions, and manage secrets or certificates.
  • Role and Directory Configuration: Assign built-in or custom roles, and adjust directory settings programmatically.
  • Policy Enforcement: Define and update conditional access or identity protection policies.
  • Token and Session Handling: Verify identities, exchange tokens, and manage sign-ins programmatically.

Use case examples: Automating lifecycle events. Syncing identity data with external systems. Building CI/CD pipelines that apply least privilege before deployments. Running bulk operations that would take hours in the portal.

To start, register an application in the Azure portal, assign API permissions to Microsoft Graph or specific Entra endpoints, and fetch an OAuth token. Once you have the token, structure your HTTP request to the endpoint path, set the Authorization header to Bearer <token>, and handle responses by status code. Documentation from Microsoft lists each API path, parameters, and expected objects.

Performance depends on batching requests and handling pagination. Respect throttling rules to avoid 429 responses. For sensitive operations, verify user consent and apply multi-factor authentication policies before execution.

The Microsoft Entra REST API is the backbone for building identity-aware services at scale. If you want to skip boilerplate and wire these calls into your product fast, use hoop.dev to connect, test, and deploy secured API flows. See it live in minutes.