The Entra Exporter is a PowerShell module that allows you to export your Entra and Azure AD B2C configuration settings to local .json files.
This module can be run as a nightly scheduled task or a DevOps component (Azure DevOps, GitHub, Jenkins) and the exported files can be version controlled in Git or SharePoint.
This will provide tenant administrators with a historical view of all the settings in the tenant including the change history over the years.
[!IMPORTANT] The AzureADExporter module in the PowerShell Gallery is now deprecated. Please install the new EntraExporter module.
Install-Module EntraExporter
Connect-EntraExporter
Export-Entra -Path 'C:\EntraBackup\'
While Connect-EntraExporter is available for convenience you can alternatively use Connect-MgGraph with the following scopes to authenticate.
Connect-MgGraph -Scopes 'Directory.Read.All', 'Policy.Read.All', 'IdentityProvider.Read.All', 'Organization.Read.All', 'User.Read.All', 'EntitlementManagement.Read.All', 'UserAuthenticationMethod.Read.All', 'IdentityUserFlow.Read.All', 'APIConnectors.Read.All', 'AccessReview.Read.All', 'Agreement.Read.All', 'Policy.Read.PermissionGrant', 'PrivilegedAccess.Read.AzureResources', 'PrivilegedAccess.Read.AzureAD', 'Application.Read.All'
To export object and settings use the following command:
Export-Entra -Path 'C:\EntraBackup\'
This default method exports the most common set of objects and settings.
[!NOTE] We recommend using PowerShell 7+ to create a consistent output. While PowerShell 5.1 can be used the output generated is not optimal.
The following objects and settings are not exported by default:
Use the -All parameter to perform a full export:
Export-Entra -Path 'C:\EntraBackup\' -All
The -Type
parameter can be used to select specific objects and settings to export. The default type is "Config":
# export default all users as well as default objects and settings
Export-Entra -Path 'C:\EntraBackup\' -Type "Config","Users"
# export applications only
Export-Entra -Path 'C:\EntraBackup\' -Type "Applications"
# export B2C specific properties only
Export-Entra -Path 'C:\EntraBackup\' -Type "B2C"
# export B2B properties along with AD properties
Export-Entra -Path 'C:\EntraBackup\' -Type "B2B","Config"
The currently valid types are: All (all elements), Config (default configuration), AccessReviews, ConditionalAccess, Users, Groups, Applications, ServicePrincipals, B2C, B2B, PIM, PIMAzure, PIMAAD, AppProxy, Organization, Domains, EntitlementManagement, Policies, AdministrativeUnits, SKUs, Identity, Roles, Governance
This list can also be retrieved via:
(Get-Command Export-Entra | Select-Object -Expand Parameters)['Type'].Attributes.ValidValues
Additional filters can be applied:
Export-Entra -Path 'C:\EntraBackup\' -All -CloudUsersAndGroupsOnly
[!NOTE] This module exports all settings that are available through the Microsoft Graph API. Entra settings and objects that are not yet available in the Graph API are not included.
Users
Groups
Devices
External Identities
Roles and Administrators
Administrative Units
Applications
Identity Governance
Application Proxy
Licenses
Connect sync settings
Custom domain names
Company branding
User settings
Tenant Properties
Security
Tenant Policies and Settings
Hybrid Authentication
B2C Settings
Exporting Entra settings to json files makes them useful to integrate with DevOps pipelines.
Note: Delegated authentication will require a dedicated agent where the authentication has been pre-configured.
Below is an sample of exporting in two steps
To export the configuration (replace variables with <>
with the values suited to your situation):
$tenantPath = './<tenant export path>'
$tenantId = '<tenant id>'
Write-Host 'git checkout main...'
git config --global core.longpaths true #needed for Windows
git checkout main
Write-Host 'Clean git folder...'
Remove-Item $tenantPath -Force -Recurse
Write-Host 'Installing modules...'
Install-Module Microsoft.Graph.Authentication -Scope CurrentUser -Force
Install-Module EntraExporter -Scope CurrentUser -Force
Write-Host 'Connecting...'
Connect-EntraExporter -TenantId $tenantId
Write-Host 'Starting backup...'
Export-Entra $tenantPath -All
To update the git repository with the generated files:
Write-Host 'Updating repo...'
git config user.email "<email>"
git config user.name "<name>"
git add -u
git add -A
git commit -m "ADO Update"
git push origin
BTW Here is a really good step by step guide from Ondrej Sebela that includes illustrations as well.
How to easily backup your Azure environment using EntraExporter and Azure DevOps Pipeline
A workaround to this is to enable long paths via the Windows registry or a GPO setting. Run the following from an elevated PowerShell session and then close PowerShell before trying your export again:
New-ItemProperty `
-Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem" `
-Name "LongPathsEnabled" `
-Value 1 `
-PropertyType DWORD `
-Force
Credit: @shaunluttin via https://bigfont.ca/enable-long-paths-in-windows-with-powershell/ and https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/maximum-file-path-limitation?tabs=powershell.
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