Req: Add-AzAccount add flags to open URL & flag to include code

[CHDAFNI-MSFT]

Today, adding 'Add-AzAccount' outputs a requirement for the end user to open a browser and manually navigate to a URL (based on the Azure environment) and manually entering a code. This is a bit tedious in terms of repetition and copy/paste. This method is different from the previous mechanism (Add-AzureRMAccount) which popped up a built-in web prompt.

Some thoughts on feature ideas:

The request is to add optional flags to 'Add-AzAccount' which can stipulate:
1a. Auto opening the URL (meaning it would open the local workstation's default browser)
Add-AzAccount -Envrionment 'AzureUSGovernment' -OpenURL
1b. Appending the code to the URL string that gets opened as part of request #1a
Add-AzAccount -Envrionment 'AzureUSGovernment' -AppendCode
1c. Add flag to include code in workstation's clipboard
Add-AzAccount -Envrionment 'AzureUSGovernment' -CopyCode

Default output request:
2a. Change the default output of the cmdlet to include the code as a pre-filled in string within URL (once the URL endpoint supports the flag):
It would look like this:

Add-AzAccount -Environment 'AzureUSGovernment'

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[cormacpayne]

@CHDAFNI-MSFT Hey Chase, thanks for the suggestions -- these are definitely features that we are interested in implementing for an easier authentication experience. Just for some quick background information, AzureRM and Az use different versions of the ADAL.NET library due to the different target frameworks of the modules. One downside of Az targeting .NET Standard rather than .NET Framework is the lack of UI code, which means the ADAL.NET library has no default call to pop-up the web prompt (like AzureRM does). As a result, the Az module uses the device code authentication by default.

Constructing the URL you mentioned above is something we've looked at recently, but, currently, adding the code query at the end of the URL is not a supported feature for authentication. I believe it is something that the authentication team is taking a look at in the future (CC: @jmprieur, please correct me if I'm wrong).

Our plan for Connect-AzAccount is to add a better interactive mechanism for authentication (you can track the issue here) that is separate from device code login in the near future, and this plan may change based on our migration from ADAL to MSAL. I'll keep this issue open to track any notes or updates from our migration to MSAL and if we are able to adopt some form of the feature request that you mention above.

[teresaritorto]

This issue has been marked as stale and is being closed due to inactivity. Please reference the latest version of the Azure PowerShell tool. This helps us ensure that we address current scenarios and provide accurate support. Thank you for your understanding!