Managed Identity Types Comparison

Service principals in Microsoft Entra ID provide non-interactive identities that applications use to authenticate with Azure. These identities support three main credential types: client secrets (application keys stored as secure strings), certificates (either CA-issued or self-signed, with certificates recommended for production environments), and federated identities that allow token exchange with external identity providers. Choosing the right credential type matters because it directly affects the security posture of your application and how easily you can automate credential management.