The Microsoft Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204) is the certification for software engineers who build, test, and maintain cloud applications on Azure. It sits alongside AZ-104 (Administrator) and AZ-305 (Architect) in Microsoft's Azure track, but the focus is squarely on writing code: deploying apps, configuring services, wiring up identities, and keeping systems observable in production.
If you're a developer who already works with Azure or wants to make Azure development a core skill, AZ-204 is the right credential. It validates that you can deliver production-grade solutions across compute, storage, security, observability, and integration.
Exam Overview
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Exam code | AZ-204 |
| Full name | Microsoft Azure Developer Associate |
| Questions | 40-60 |
| Time limit | 120 minutes |
| Passing score | 700 / 1000 (scaled) |
| Format | Multiple choice, case studies, drag-and-drop, build list |
| Cost | $165 USD |
| Prerequisites | 1-2 years development experience, Azure familiarity |
Microsoft uses scaled scoring, so questions vary in weight. The exam includes several item formats beyond standard multiple choice. Get comfortable with build-list and drag-and-drop questions during your practice sessions.
Exam Domains
| Domain | Weight |
|---|---|
| Develop Azure compute solutions | 25-30% |
| Implement Azure security | 20-25% |
| Develop for Azure storage | 15-20% |
| Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize Azure solutions | 15-20% |
| Connect to and consume Azure services and third-party services | 15-20% |
Compute and security together account for roughly half the exam. Don't let the lower-weighted domains fool you. The remaining 50% still contains material that catches unprepared candidates.
Core Services to Master
Azure App Service and Functions
App Service is the most frequently tested compute service on AZ-204. You need to understand plan types (Free, Basic, Standard, Premium, Isolated), deployment slots, and how slot swap warm-up works. Know how to configure autoscaling rules based on metrics vs. schedules.
Azure Functions tests your knowledge of triggers and bindings. Timer, HTTP, Blob, Queue, and Service Bus triggers all appear. Know the difference between consumption, premium, and dedicated hosting plans. Durable Functions adds orchestration on top, and the exam tests orchestrator vs. activity function patterns and fan-out/fan-in scenarios.
Container Apps and Container Instances
Azure Container Apps runs microservices and event-driven workloads. Know how to configure scaling rules (KEDA-based), mount Azure Files volumes, and set ingress. Azure Container Instances (ACI) is simpler: direct container deployment without orchestration. The exam distinguishes which service fits which use case.
Cosmos DB
Cosmos DB is a major storage topic. Focus on consistency levels (strong, bounded staleness, session, consistent prefix, eventual) and when to use each. Understand multi-region writes and conflict resolution via LastWriterWins or a custom resolver. Know the partition key design principles and when a poor key choice causes hot partitions. The SQL API and the change feed pattern appear frequently.
Azure Blob Storage
Know the access tier options: hot, cool, cold, and archive. Understand lifecycle management policies to automate tier transitions. SAS tokens (service, account, user delegation) are tested heavily. Know how to set CORS, configure immutable storage policies, and use object replication.
Azure Key Vault
Key Vault is central to the security domain. You need to understand the difference between vaults and managed HSMs, and secrets vs. keys vs. certificates. The biggest topic is how applications authenticate to Key Vault without embedding credentials. Managed identities are the preferred approach. Know both system-assigned and user-assigned identities and when each fits.
Microsoft Entra ID and MSAL
The security domain also covers identity flows. The OAuth 2.0 authorization code flow, client credentials flow, and device code flow appear. MSAL (Microsoft Authentication Library) is the SDK layer on top. Know how to acquire tokens silently vs. interactively and how to handle token caching. Entra ID app registrations, scopes, and consent are all tested.
Service Bus, Event Grid, and Event Hubs
These three services are frequently confused. Service Bus is a message broker for guaranteed delivery and ordering. Event Grid is a routing service for discrete events across Azure and custom sources. Event Hubs is a high-throughput data streaming platform, closer to Kafka. The exam presents scenarios and asks which service fits. Knowing the difference between messages (Service Bus) and events (Event Grid/Event Hubs) clarifies most questions.
API Management
API Management (APIM) sits in front of backend APIs and applies policies. The exam tests inbound and outbound policy expressions, rate limiting, JWT validation, and transformation policies written in XML. Know how to configure subscriptions and products to control API access.
Application Insights
Application Insights provides distributed tracing, metrics, and log data for applications. Know how to use the SDK to track custom events and dependencies. The exam tests sampling configuration, retention settings, and availability tests. Log Analytics with KQL (Kusto Query Language) is required for writing queries against the data.
Common Exam Traps
Managed identity vs. service principal: Managed identities are for Azure resources authenticating to other Azure services. Service principals are for external applications or automation pipelines. Always reach for managed identities when the client is an Azure service.
Durable Functions terminology: The orchestrator function is deterministic and cannot perform I/O directly. Activity functions do the actual work. Candidates mix these up under time pressure.
Cosmos DB consistency levels: Session consistency is the default and usually the right answer for single-user scenarios. Bounded staleness is for multi-region reads with an acceptable lag. Strong consistency sacrifices performance and doesn't work across regions with multi-write enabled.
Event Grid vs. Service Bus: Event Grid is for reactive, event-driven architectures where many subscribers react to state changes. Service Bus is for point-to-point or pub/sub messaging with guaranteed delivery. If the question mentions ordering or dead-lettering, it's Service Bus.
APIM policy execution order: Inbound policies run before the request reaches the backend. Outbound policies run after the backend responds. Backend policies run during the call to the backend. Mix these up and your policy logic will be wrong.
Study Plan
| Week | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Compute: App Service, Azure Functions, Durable Functions, Container Apps |
| 3 | Security: Key Vault, managed identities, Entra ID, MSAL, OAuth flows |
| 4 | Storage: Blob, Cosmos DB consistency, Table storage, Queue storage |
| 5 | Monitoring: Application Insights, Log Analytics, KQL basics |
| 6 | Integration: Service Bus, Event Grid, Event Hubs, API Management |
| 7-8 | Practice exams, weak areas, case study practice |
Adjust based on your experience. If you work with Azure daily, weeks 1-4 may go faster and you can dedicate more time to the integration domain and case study scenarios.
Recommended Resources
- Microsoft Learn: The AZ-204 learning path covers all domains with sandbox labs. It's free.
- Official study guide: Microsoft publishes an AZ-204 study guide that maps topics to exam objectives.
- Azure free account: Sign up for a free Azure account ($200 credit) and actually deploy the services you're studying. AZ-204 tests applied knowledge.
- Azure documentation: Bookmark the Azure developer docs and get comfortable navigating service-specific reference pages.
- Practice exams: Work through multiple question sets to surface gaps in lesser-tested areas like APIM policies and Durable Functions.
Final Thoughts
AZ-204 rewards developers who've actually used Azure in production. If you've only read about services, the exam will find your gaps quickly with code-level questions about bindings, SDK calls, and configuration values.
Plan for 4-8 weeks of study depending on your background. Spend real time in the Azure portal and CLI. The difference between a confident pass and a borderline fail often comes down to having seen the actual service behavior, not just read about it.
Ready to test your knowledge? Try our AZ-204 practice exams and see which domains need more work before exam day.