One of the most common questions Azure customers and administrators ask is:
“How do I know who created this resource?”
If you’ve ever been in charge of managing a large subscription with dozens (or even thousands) of resources, you know how important it is to answer this question quickly. Whether it’s for troubleshooting, governance, or compliance, tracking the origin of a resource can save time and reduce confusion.
The good news: Azure makes this information available. You just need to know where to look.
Step 1: Open the Resource Overview
Navigate to the Overview page of the resource in question. This gives you the usual metadata like resource group, subscription, location, login server, and provisioning state.
At first glance, however, you won’t see who created the resource. That information isn’t shown in the overview fields.
Step 2: Switch to JSON View
On the Overview page, look for the link labeled “JSON View” in the top right corner.
Clicking this opens the full resource definition in JSON format.
Step 3: Scroll to the systemData Section
Within the JSON, scroll until you find the systemData object. This is where Azure tracks metadata about the resource lifecycle.
Here’s what you’ll find:
"systemData": {
"createdBy": "someuser@domain.com",
"createdByType": "User",
"createdAt": "2025–05–20T19:50:33.1511397Z",
"lastModifiedBy": "someuser@domain.com",
"lastModifiedByType": "User",
"lastModifiedAt": "2025–05–20T19:50:33.1511397Z"
}
What This Tells You
- createdBy → The user or service principal that created the resource.
- createdByType → Whether it was created by a human user, managed identity, or another Azure service.
- createdAt → The exact timestamp of creation (UTC).
- lastModifiedBy, lastModifiedByType, and lastModifiedAt → Useful if the resource was updated after creation.
This metadata gives you clear visibility into who provisioned the resource and when.
Why It Matters
- Governance — Understand ownership and responsibility.
- Troubleshooting — Track down configuration changes.
- Compliance & Auditing — Satisfy requirements for accountability in your cloud environment.
By making the systemData object part of your standard investigation checklist, you’ll save yourself the guesswork the next time you’re wondering, “Who created this resource?”
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