Find Auto Generated ASP.NET Machine Key in Azure Web Apps

Written by Ken Dale

What is a machine key?

According to https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.web.security.machinekey?view=netframework-4.7.2 a machine key “Provides a way to encrypt or hash data (or both) by using the same algorithms and key values that are used for ASP.NET forms authentication and view state.”

Where can I find it on Azure Web Apps?

It’s on the file system at D:\local\Config\rootweb.config. One way to get there is navigate to https://YOUR_APPLICATION_NAME.scm.azurewebsites.net, click Debug Console on the top navigation, and choose CMD or PowerShell (whichever you prefer). Open the rootweb.config file and look for machineKey.

Hope you found this short post helpful!

Published April 02, 2019 by

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Ken Dale Github Senior Application Developer (Former)

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