Step-by-Step Guide to Syncing Automation Runbooks with Managed Identity in Azure DevOps

Ever wondered how you could sync your Azure Automation Runbooks automatically? The straightforward method that arose involved utilizing a “Personal Access Token (PAT)” from Azure DevOps and using the New-AzAutomationSourceControl cmdlet. While this approach is effective, it requires manually providing your PAT each time. Consider an alternative, leverage a Managed Identity in Azure.

In this hands-on tutorial, you will build up an Azure Automation Account using Azure Bicep and sync your precious Runbooks using a Managed Identity.

Pre-requisites
Before you begin with the hands-on tutorial, there are some pre-requisites that you need to have in place:

• An Azure DevOps Services account
• An Azure subscription
• A code editor like Visual Studio (VSCode), or other editors you prefer
• PowerShell 5+ with the Az PowerShell module installed
• Bicep CLI, in this tutorial version 0.23.1 is used

Setting up infrastructure with Bicep
Before initiating the synchronization of your Runbooks, it’s essential to have a foundation and resources to work with. Therefore, you can set up your Azure Automation Account leveraging Bicep.

To create an Azure Automation Account, proceed with the following steps: