AZURE

InvalidResource - Invalid Resource: Schema or Structure Violation

The resource definition breaks ARM's structure requirements—required top-level properties (type, apiVersion, properties) might be missing, the resource type doesn't exist or isn't registered, or properties violate the schema for your API version. This 400 client-side error occurs when ARM validates the resource definition against the resource type's schema before processing operations. The resource type must be registered with its provider namespace first. Schema requirements vary by API version, so what's valid in one version might be invalid in another. Applies to VM definitions, AKS cluster configurations, Azure SQL database definitions, and App Service definitions.

#Common Causes

→Resource Structure Violation: The resource definition doesn't match ARM's expected structure. Required top-level properties (type, apiVersion, properties) may be missing or incorrectly formatted. ARM validates structure before processing resource operations.
→Resource Type Mismatch: The specified resource type doesn't exist or isn't registered in your subscription. Resource types must be registered with their provider namespace before you can create resources of that type.
→Resource Schema Violation: Properties don't match the resource type's schema for your API version. Schema requirements vary by API version—properties that are valid in one version may be invalid in another.

✓Solutions

1Step 1: Diagnose - Validate the resource definition matches ARM's expected format. Ensure required properties (type, apiVersion, properties) are present and correctly formatted.
2Step 2: Diagnose - Verify the resource type exists and is registered: az provider show --namespace <provider-namespace> --query "resourceTypes[?resourceType=='<type>']" --output table
3Step 3: Diagnose - Check the ARM REST API reference for your resource type and API version to see required properties and allowed values.
4Step 4: Fix - Register the provider if not registered: az provider register --namespace <provider-namespace>
5Step 5: Fix - Fix resource structure violations. Ensure type, apiVersion, and properties are correctly formatted.
6Step 6: Fix - Fix schema violations to match the resource type's schema for your API version.
7Step 7: Verify - Use 'az deployment group validate' to catch structure violations before deployment: az deployment group validate --resource-group <rg> --template-file template.json
8Step 8: Verify - Retry your operation. It should succeed instead of returning InvalidResource.

</>Code Examples

Resource Structure Validation

1# This script helps diagnose InvalidResource errors by validating resource structure
2
3# Step 1: Example provider namespace and resource type
4PROVIDER_NAMESPACE="Microsoft.Compute"
5RESOURCE_TYPE="virtualMachines"
6echo "Checking resource type: $PROVIDER_NAMESPACE/$RESOURCE_TYPE"
7
8# Step 2: Check if provider is registered
9echo "Checking provider registration..."
10REGISTRATION_STATE=$(az provider show --namespace $PROVIDER_NAMESPACE --query "registrationState" -o tsv)
11echo "Registration state: $REGISTRATION_STATE"
12
13if [ "$REGISTRATION_STATE" != "Registered" ]; then
14  echo "Provider not registered. Registering..."
15  az provider register --namespace $PROVIDER_NAMESPACE
16  az provider wait --namespace $PROVIDER_NAMESPACE --registered
17fi
18
19# Step 3: Check if resource type exists
20echo "Checking if resource type exists..."
21RESOURCE_TYPE_EXISTS=$(az provider show \
22  --namespace $PROVIDER_NAMESPACE \
23  --query "resourceTypes[?resourceType=='$RESOURCE_TYPE']" \
24  --output tsv)
25
26if [ ! -z "$RESOURCE_TYPE_EXISTS" ]; then
27  echo "Resource type exists"
28else
29  echo "ERROR: Resource type $RESOURCE_TYPE not found for provider $PROVIDER_NAMESPACE"
30  echo "Available resource types:"
31  az provider show --namespace $PROVIDER_NAMESPACE --query "resourceTypes[].resourceType" --output table
32  exit 1
33fi
34
35# Step 4: Get available API versions for the resource type
36echo "Getting available API versions..."
37az provider show \
38  --namespace $PROVIDER_NAMESPACE \
39  --query "resourceTypes[?resourceType=='$RESOURCE_TYPE'].apiVersions" \
40  --output table
41
42# Step 5: Validate ARM template structure (if using templates)
43TEMPLATE_FILE="template.json"
44if [ -f "$TEMPLATE_FILE" ]; then
45  echo "Validating ARM template structure..."
46  
47  # Check for required top-level properties using jq (if available)
48  if command -v jq &> /dev/null; then
49    echo "Checking template structure..."
50    if jq -e '.resources[0].type' $TEMPLATE_FILE > /dev/null 2>&1; then
51      echo "Template has 'type' property"
52    else
53      echo "ERROR: Template missing 'type' property"
54    fi
55    
56    if jq -e '.resources[0].apiVersion' $TEMPLATE_FILE > /dev/null 2>&1; then
57      echo "Template has 'apiVersion' property"
58    else
59      echo "ERROR: Template missing 'apiVersion' property"
60    fi
61    
62    if jq -e '.resources[0].properties' $TEMPLATE_FILE > /dev/null 2>&1; then
63      echo "Template has 'properties' property"
64    else
65      echo "WARNING: Template missing 'properties' property (may be optional for some types)"
66    fi
67  else
68    echo "jq not available. Use 'az deployment group validate' to validate template"
69  fi
70fi
71
72# Step 6: Required resource structure
73echo ""
74echo "Required ARM resource structure:"
75echo "  {"
76echo "    "type": "<provider-namespace>/<resource-type>","
77echo "    "apiVersion": "<api-version>","
78echo "    "properties": {"
79echo "      // resource-specific properties"
80echo "    }"
81echo "  }"
82echo ""
83echo "Example for Virtual Machine:"
84echo "  {"
85echo "    "type": "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines","
86echo "    "apiVersion": "2023-01-01","
87echo "    "properties": {"
88echo "      "hardwareProfile": { ... },"
89echo "      "storageProfile": { ... }"
90echo "    }"
91echo "  }"

↗Related Errors

InvalidRequestContent ValidationError

Provider Information

This error code is specific to AZURE services. For more information, refer to the official AZURE documentation.