Soft delete

Azure App Configuration's Soft delete feature allows recovery of your data such as key-values, feature flags, and revision history of a deleted store. It's automatically enabled for all stores in the standard tier. In this article, learn more about the soft delete feature and its functionality.

Learn how to recover Azure App Configuration stores using the soft delete feature.

Scenarios

The soft delete feature addresses the recovery of the deleted stores, whether the deletion was accidental or intentional. The soft delete feature will act as a safeguard in the following scenarios:

• Recovery of a deleted App Configuration store: A deleted app configuration store could be recovered in the retention time period.

• Permanent deletion of App Configuration store: This feature helps you to permanently delete an app configuration store.

Recover

Recover is the operation to get the stores in a soft deleted state back to an active state where one can request the store for configuration and feature management.

Retention period

A variable to specify the time period, in days, for which a soft deleted store will be retained. This value can only be set at the creation of store and once set, it can't be changed. Once the retention period elapses, the store will be permanently deleted automatically.

Purge

Purge is the operation to permanently delete the stores in a soft deleted state, provided the store doesn't have purge-protection enabled. To recreate the App Configuration store with the same name as a deleted store, you need to purge the store first if it's not already past the retention period.

Purge protection

With Purge protection enabled, soft deleted stores can't be purged in the retention period. If disabled, the soft deleted store can be purged before the retention period expires. Once purge protection is enabled on a store, it can't be disabled.

Permissions to recover a deleted store

• Microsoft.AppConfiguration/configurationStores/write

To recover a deleted App Configuration store the Microsoft.AppConfiguration/configurationStores/write permission is needed. The built-in "Owner" and "Contributor" roles contain this permission by default. The permission can be assigned at the subscription or resource group scope.

Permissions to read and purge deleted stores

• Read: Microsoft.AppConfiguration/locations/deletedConfigurationStores/read
• Purge: Microsoft.AppConfiguration/locations/deletedConfigurationStores/purge/action

To list deleted App Configuration stores, or get an individual store by name the Microsoft.AppConfiguration/locations/deletedConfigurationStores/read permission is needed. To purge a deleted App Configuration store the Microsoft.AppConfiguration/locations/deletedConfigurationStores/purge/action permission is needed. The built-in "Owner" and "Contributor" roles contain these permissions by default. Permissions for reading and purging deleted App Configuration stores must be assigned at the subscription level. This is because deleted configuration stores exist outside of individual resource groups.

Billing implications

There won't be any charges for the soft deleted stores. Once you recover a soft deleted store, the usual charges will start applying. Soft delete isn't available with free tier.

Next steps