Microsoft Azure PolicyMetadataClient
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For Agents
Look up regulatory mappings and descriptive metadata for Azure Policy definitions and initiatives through 2 read endpoints under Microsoft.PolicyInsights.
Use for: I need to find which CIS controls our assigned Azure policies map to, List all policy metadata entries to build a compliance reference table, Get metadata for a specific built-in policy initiative, Retrieve the regulatory description for the 'NIST SP 800-53' initiative
Not supported: Does not author policies, evaluate compliance, or query non-compliant resources — use for retrieving descriptive and regulatory metadata about built-in policies and initiatives only.
Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI specification for PolicyMetadataClient, keeping it validated and agent-ready. The Azure Policy Insights metadata API exposes 2 read endpoints under Microsoft.PolicyInsights for retrieving regulatory and descriptive metadata about policy definitions and initiatives. Use it to look up the regulatory standards a built-in policy maps to (CIS, ISO 27001, NIST, PCI DSS, HIPAA), the rationale behind a policy, and additional context that helps governance teams justify and document policy choices in audits.
Install Jentic One Beta
Connect the PolicyMetadataClient to your agent
Jentic One is a self-hosted execution layer for AI agents. It lets your agent call the PolicyMetadataClient, or any other public or private API you need. You set the rules, the agent never sees your credentials, and every call is logged.
Two steps, two machines. Install the instance in a safe environment, then register your agent from wherever it runs.
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Step 1: Jentic One Host machine
# On the machine that will host your Jentic One instance:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh2
Step 2: Agent machine
# On the machine where your agent runs (keep this separate from the instance):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh
jentic register # connects your agent to your Jentic One instanceJentic One is in public beta. The setup above keeps your agent separate from the instance, which is what you want before using real credentials: an agent running as the same OS user as Jentic One can read its stored keys directly. Just evaluating? A single local install is fine to start. See the secure deployment guide for the tiers.
Capabilities
What an agent can do with PolicyMetadataClient API.
List all available policy metadata entries published by Microsoft
Retrieve metadata for a specific resource (policy definition or initiative) by name
Map a built-in policy or initiative to the regulatory standard it implements
Retrieve owner, description, and reference URLs for a policy metadata resource
Look up metadata for use in compliance audit narratives and control mapping
Use Cases
Patterns agents use PolicyMetadataClient API for, with concrete tasks.
★ Regulatory Mapping for Audit
Produce a control-by-control mapping between assigned Azure policies and the regulatory standards an organisation is audited against. Listing all policy metadata returns the full library of regulatory mappings; retrieving individual entries gives the specific control IDs and descriptions an auditor will ask about. The output feeds directly into SOC 2, ISO 27001, and PCI DSS audit narratives without manual data entry from Microsoft documentation pages.
List all policy metadata, filter to entries with category 'NIST SP 800-53', and output a CSV mapping each policy definition to its referenced control ID
Policy Selection for a Compliance Initiative
When standing up a new compliance initiative (for example HIPAA for a healthcare workload), use this API to find the built-in initiative that already implements that standard rather than authoring custom policies. Looking up the metadata entry returns the initiative ID, the controls covered, and the reference URL pointing to Microsoft's published mapping document — enough information to make an evidence-based decision before any assignment is made.
Retrieve metadata for the 'HIPAA HITRUST' resource and return its description, additional metadata properties, and reference URL
Compliance Documentation Generation
Generate audit documentation that explains, in plain language, what each assigned policy does and which regulation it satisfies. The metadata description field provides the human-readable rationale the audit narrative needs, and the additional metadata field carries control IDs and category labels. Combined, these turn a list of opaque policy GUIDs into an auditor-ready document.
For each metadata resource in the 'CIS Microsoft Azure Foundations Benchmark' category, retrieve the entry and assemble a markdown table of policy name, control ID, and description
AI Agent Compliance Researcher
An AI agent supporting a compliance team can look up regulatory mappings through Jentic. The agent searches by intent ('look up azure policy regulatory metadata'), Jentic returns the PolicyMetadata_GetResource operation with its schema, and the agent executes the call with managed Azure credentials. The same flow handles bulk listing and individual lookups for audit narrative generation.
Search Jentic for 'look up Azure policy metadata', load the PolicyMetadata_GetResource schema, and execute it for resource name 'CIS-Microsoft-Azure-Foundations-Benchmark-v1.3.0'
Key Endpoints
2 endpoints — jentic publishes the only available openapi specification for policymetadataclient, keeping it validated and agent-ready.
METHOD
PATH
DESCRIPTION
GET
/providers/Microsoft.PolicyInsights/policyMetadata
List all policy metadata entries
GET
/providers/Microsoft.PolicyInsights/policyMetadata/{resourceName}
Get a specific policy metadata entry by name
GET
/providers/Microsoft.PolicyInsights/policyMetadata
List all policy metadata entries
GET
/providers/Microsoft.PolicyInsights/policyMetadata/{resourceName}
Get a specific policy metadata entry by name
Why Jentic?
Three things that make agents converge on Jentic-routed access.
Credential isolation
Azure service principal credentials are encrypted in the Jentic vault. Agents receive scoped ARM bearer tokens at execution time and never see the underlying client secret.
Intent-based discovery
Agents search by intent ('look up azure policy regulatory metadata') and Jentic returns the matching list or get-resource operation, avoiding the need to learn the policyMetadata path layout.
Time to first call
Direct ARM integration: an hour for AAD app registration and MSAL token handling. Through Jentic: under 15 minutes.
Related APIs
Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.
FAQs
Specific to using PolicyMetadataClient API through Jentic.
Why is there no official OpenAPI spec for PolicyMetadataClient?
Microsoft Azure does not publish an OpenAPI specification. Jentic generates and maintains this spec so that AI agents and developers can call PolicyMetadataClient via structured tooling. It is validated against the live API and kept up to date. Get started at https://app.jentic.com/sign-up.
What authentication does the Azure Policy Metadata API use?
It uses Azure Active Directory OAuth 2.0 against https://management.azure.com/ with the user_impersonation scope. The caller needs Reader at tenant scope. Jentic stores service principal credentials encrypted and issues short-lived bearer tokens at execution time.
Can I retrieve regulatory mappings for built-in policies through this API?
Yes. GET /providers/Microsoft.PolicyInsights/policyMetadata/{resourceName} returns the metadata for a regulatory initiative such as 'CIS-Microsoft-Azure-Foundations-Benchmark-v1.3.0', including the description, owner, and additional metadata properties that map controls to policy definitions.
What are the rate limits for the Policy Metadata API?
Azure Resource Manager applies tenant-level throttling at roughly 12,000 reads per hour. The metadata catalogue rarely changes, so cache results for hours rather than calling per-request.
How do I look up policy metadata through Jentic?
Run pip install jentic and search for 'look up azure policy metadata'. Jentic returns the PolicyMetadata_GetResource operation; load its schema and execute it with the metadata resource name (the regulatory benchmark identifier).
Does this API include metadata for custom policies?
No. Policy metadata covers Microsoft-published built-in initiatives and definitions only. Custom definitions you author through PolicyClient include description and metadata fields directly on the definition itself, not in this catalogue.
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