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howto-create-iot-central-application.md

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title Create an IoT Central application
description How to create an IoT Central application by using the Azure portal or a command-line environment.
services iot-central
ms.service azure-iot-central
author dominicbetts
ms.author dobett
ms.date 05/23/2025
ms.topic how-to
ms.custom sfi-image-nochange

Create an IoT Central application

There are multiple ways to create an IoT Central application. You can use a GUI-based method if you prefer a manual approach, or one of the CLI or programmatic methods if you need to automate the process.

Whichever approach you choose, the configuration options are the same, and the process typically takes less than a minute to complete.

[!INCLUDE Warning About Access Required]

Other approaches, not described in this article include:

Parameters

This section describes the available parameters when you create an IoT Central application. Depending on the method you choose to create your application, you might need to supply the parameter values on a web form or at the command line. In some cases, there are default values that you can use:

Pricing plan

The standard plans:

  • Let you create and manage IoT Central applications using any of the available methods.
  • Let you connect as many devices as you need. You're billed by device. To learn more, see Azure IoT Central pricing.
  • Can be upgraded or downgraded to other standard plans.

The following table summarizes the differences between the three standard plans:

Plan name Free devices Messages/month Use case
S0 2 400 A few messages per day
S1 2 5,000 A few messages per hour
S2 2 30,000 Messages every few minutes

Application name

The application name you choose appears in the title bar on every page in your IoT Central application.

The subdomain you choose uniquely identifies your application. The subdomain is part of the URL you use to access the application. The URL for an IoT Central application looks like https://yoursubdomain.azureiotcentral.com.

Application template ID

The application template you choose determines the initial contents of your application, such as dashboards and device templates. For a custom application, use iotc-pnp-preview as the template ID.

The following table lists the available application templates:

[!INCLUDE iot-central-template-list]

Billing information

If you choose one of the standard plans, you need to provide billing information:

  • The Azure subscription you're using.
  • The directory that contains the subscription you're using.

Location

The location to host your application. IoT Central uses Azure regions as locations. Currently, you can choose from: Australia East, Canada Central, Central US, East US, East US 2, Japan East, North Europe, South Central US, Southeast Asia, UK South, West Europe, and West US.

Resource group

Some methods require you to specify a resource group in the Azure subscription where the application is created. You can create a new resource group or use an existing one.

Create an application

Azure portal

The easiest way to get started creating IoT Central applications is in the Azure portal.

:::image type="content" source="media/howto-create-iot-central-application/create-app-portal.png" alt-text="Screenshot that shows the create application experience in the Azure portal.":::

Select Review + create, then select Create to create the application.

When the app is ready, you can go to it from the Azure portal:

:::image type="content" source="media/howto-create-iot-central-application/view-app-portal.png" alt-text="Screenshot that shows the IoT Central application resource in the Azure portal. The application URL is highlighted.":::

To list all the IoT Central apps in your subscription, go to IoT Central Applications.

Azure CLI

To install the extension, run the following command:

az extension add --name azure-iot

Use the az iot central app create command to create an IoT Central application in your Azure subscription. For example, to create a custom application in the MyIoTCentralResourceGroup resource group:

# Create a resource group for the IoT Central application
az group create --location "East US" \
    --name "MyIoTCentralResourceGroup"

# Create an IoT Central application
az iot central app create \
  --resource-group "MyIoTCentralResourceGroup" \
  --name "myiotcentralapp" --subdomain "mysubdomain" \
  --sku ST1 --template "iotc-pnp-preview" \
  --display-name "My Custom Display Name"

To list all the IoT Central apps in your subscription, run the following command:

az iot central app list

PowerShell

To install the PowerShell module, run the following command:

Install-Module Az.IotCentral

Use the New-AzIotCentralApp cmdlet to create an IoT Central application in your Azure subscription. For example, to create a custom application in the MyIoTCentralResourceGroup resource group:

# Create a resource group for the IoT Central application
New-AzResourceGroup -Location "East US" `
  -Name "MyIoTCentralResourceGroup"

# Create an IoT Central application
New-AzIotCentralApp -ResourceGroupName "MyIoTCentralResourceGroup" `
  -Name "myiotcentralapp" -Subdomain "mysubdomain" `
  -Sku "ST1" -Template "iotc-pnp-preview" `
  -DisplayName "My Custom Display Name"

To list all the IoT Central apps in your subscription, run the following command:

Get-AzIotCentralApp

To list all the IoT Central applications you have access to, navigate to IoT Central Applications.

Copy an application

You can create a copy of any application, minus any device instances, device data history, and user data. The copy uses a standard pricing plan that you're billed for:

  1. Sign in to the application you want to copy.
  2. Go to Application > Management and select Copy.
  3. In the dialog box, enter the details for the new application.
  4. Select Copy to confirm that you want to continue.

:::image type="content" source="media/howto-create-iot-central-application/app-copy.png" alt-text="Screenshot that shows the copy application settings page." lightbox="media/howto-create-iot-central-application/app-copy.png":::

After the application copy operation succeeds, you can go to the new application using the link.

Be aware of the following issues in the new application:

  • Copying an application also copies the definition of rules and email actions. Some actions, such as Flow and Logic Apps, are tied to specific rules by the rule ID. When a rule is copied to a different application, it gets its own rule ID. In this case, users must create a new action and then associate the new rule with it. In general, it's a good idea to check the rules and actions to make sure they're up-to-date in the new application.

  • If a dashboard includes tiles that display information about specific devices, then those tiles show The requested resource was not found in the new application. You must reconfigure these tiles to display information about devices in your new application.

Create and use a custom application template

When you create an Azure IoT Central application, you choose from the built-in sample templates. You can also create your own application templates from existing IoT Central applications. You can then use your own application templates when you create new applications.

What's in your application template?

When you create an application template, it includes the following items from your existing application:

  • The default application dashboard, including the dashboard layout and all the tiles you defined.
  • Device templates, including measurements, settings, properties, commands, and views.
  • All rule definitions are included. However actions, except for email actions, aren't included.
  • Device groups, including their queries.

Warning

If a dashboard includes tiles that display information about specific devices, then those tiles show The requested resource was not found in the new application. You must reconfigure these tiles to display information about devices in your new application.

When you create an application template, it doesn't include the following items:

  • Devices
  • Users
  • Continuous data export definitions

Add these items manually to any applications created from an application template.

Create an application template

To create an application template from an existing IoT Central application:

  1. Go to the Application section in your application.
  2. Select Template Export.
  3. On the Template Export page, enter a name and description for your template.
  4. Select the Export button to create the application template. You can now copy the Shareable Link that enables someone to create a new application from the template:

:::image type="content" source="media/howto-create-iot-central-application/create-template.png" alt-text="Screenshot that shows export an application template." lightbox="media/howto-create-iot-central-application/create-template.png":::

Use an application template

To use an application template to create a new IoT Central application, you need a previously created Shareable Link. Paste the Shareable Link into your browser's address bar. The Create an application page displays with your custom application template selected.

Select your pricing plan and fill out the other fields on the form. Then select Create to create a new IoT Central application from the application template.

Manage application templates

On the Application Template Export page, you can delete or update the application template.

If you delete an application template, you can no longer use the previously generated shareable link to create new applications.

To update your application template, change the template name or description on the Application Template Export page. Then select the Export button again. This action generates a new Shareable link and invalidates any previous Shareable link URL.

Next step

Now that you've learned how to create Azure IoT Central applications, here's the suggested next step:

[!div class="nextstepaction"] Manage and monitor IoT Central applications