AZ-204 Azure Developer Associate Study Guide 2026

What Does the AZ-204 Exam Test?

The Microsoft Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204) certification validates your ability to design, build, test, and maintain cloud applications and services on Azure. Unlike the AZ-104 administrator exam, AZ-204 assumes you write code. Expect questions that include C# or Python snippets, SDK method calls, and Azure CLI commands that you must read, complete, or debug.

The exam consists of 40 to 60 questions with a passing score of 700/1000 and a 150-minute time limit. Question types include multiple choice, code completion, ordering steps, and multi-select. Microsoft updates the skills measured document regularly — as of 2026, authentication and authorization (Microsoft Identity Platform) carries increased weight.

Key Azure Services You Must Know

Azure App Service

App Service is the most exam-heavy service in AZ-204. Know how to deploy web apps via ZIP deploy, GitHub Actions, and Azure DevOps pipelines. Understand deployment slots, swap operations, and how slot-specific app settings work. Be able to configure custom domains, SSL bindings, scaling rules, and App Service plans.

Azure Functions

Azure Functions questions focus on trigger and binding types (HTTP, Timer, Queue, Blob, Event Hub, Service Bus), Durable Functions orchestration patterns (chaining, fan-out/fan-in, human interaction), and hosting plans (Consumption vs. Premium vs. Dedicated). You should be able to write a basic function signature and identify which trigger type matches a given scenario.

Azure Blob Storage and Table Storage

Storage questions cover the SDK (BlobServiceClient, BlobContainerClient, BlobClient), SAS token generation, access policies, lifecycle management, and static website hosting. Table Storage questions test partition key and row key design, entity CRUD operations, and when to use Table Storage versus Cosmos DB.

Azure Cosmos DB

Cosmos DB is tested heavily on consistency levels (Strong, Bounded Staleness, Session, Consistent Prefix, Eventual), partition key selection, request units (RU/s), and the SDK (CosmosClient, Container.UpsertItemAsync). Know when to use each consistency level and the performance trade-offs involved.

Microsoft Identity Platform and MSAL

Authentication questions require you to understand OAuth 2.0 flows (authorization code, client credentials, device code, implicit), Microsoft Entra ID app registrations, scopes, and the MSAL library for acquiring tokens in C# and Python. Managed identities for Azure resources appear frequently — know when to use system-assigned versus user-assigned managed identities.

What Coding Knowledge Is Required?

AZ-204 does not require you to write code from scratch on the exam, but you must be able to read code fluently and complete partial code snippets. The expected level is intermediate: you should understand method signatures, async/await patterns, dependency injection in .NET, and basic Python syntax. You do not need to memorize entire SDK namespaces, but you do need to recognize correct SDK usage patterns versus incorrect ones.

• Know the core Azure SDK client class names for Blob Storage, Cosmos DB, Service Bus, and Key Vault
• Understand how to read connection strings and configure SDK clients from environment variables
• Recognize async method patterns (await client.GetBlobAsync(), await container.CreateItemAsync())
• Be familiar with Azure CLI commands for creating App Service plans, Function Apps, and container registries

For context on how AZ-204 relates to other Azure certifications, see our Azure certification prep guide.

Best AZ-204 Study Resources in 2026

• Microsoft Learn AZ-204 path: The official learning path covers every exam objective with hands-on labs in an Azure sandbox. The lab exercises are especially valuable for App Service, Functions, and Cosmos DB sections.
• Alan Rodrigues on Udemy: Alan's AZ-204 course is detailed and code-focused. He walks through actual SDK code for every major service, making it ideal for developers who learn better from code examples than from architecture diagrams.
• GitHub AZ-204 labs: Microsoft maintains the official lab repository at github.com/MicrosoftLearning/AZ-204-DevelopingASolutionsforMicrosoftAzure. Completing all 11 lab modules provides hands-on experience with every major exam topic.
• Whizlabs or ExamTopics practice tests: Practice question banks specific to AZ-204. Prioritize questions about Functions bindings, Cosmos DB consistency, and MSAL flows — these are the highest-frequency exam areas.

AZ-204 Study Plan: 6 Weeks

• Week 1: Microsoft Learn modules for App Service and Azure Functions. Complete the corresponding GitHub labs.
• Week 2: Blob Storage, Cosmos DB, and Redis Cache modules. Build a small demo app that reads and writes to both services.
• Week 3: Authentication (MSAL, Managed Identity), API Management, and Event Grid/Service Bus/Event Hubs.
• Week 4: Container solutions (Azure Container Registry, ACI, AKS basics), Azure Key Vault, and App Configuration.
• Weeks 5-6: Daily practice exams (40 questions/day). Use Certify Copilot AI to get real-time explanations of code-completion questions where the rationale in static answer keys is often insufficient.