Automation Child Runbooks - Document Details

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This page is part of the Azure documentation. It contains code examples and configuration instructions for working with Azure services.

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Bias Analysis

Detected Bias Types

powershell_heavy

windows_tools

missing_linux_example

windows_first

Summary

The documentation is heavily focused on PowerShell-based runbooks and Windows-centric tools (such as the Az PowerShell module and cmdlets like Start-AzAutomationRunbook). All examples are in PowerShell, and there is no mention of Linux-native scripting (e.g., Bash, Python) or cross-platform approaches. The documentation assumes the use of Windows/PowerShell patterns and does not provide parity for Linux users or those preferring non-PowerShell automation.

Recommendations

Add equivalent examples using Python and Bash runbooks, which are supported in Azure Automation.
Include references to Linux-based scripting environments and clarify which features are available for non-PowerShell runbooks.
Mention and provide examples for starting and managing runbooks using the Azure CLI (az automation runbook ...), which is cross-platform.
Reorganize sections to mention cross-platform options (Python, Bash, Azure CLI) alongside or before Windows/PowerShell-specific tools.
Clarify any limitations or differences in behavior for non-PowerShell runbooks (e.g., parameter passing, job output retrieval).

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Scan History

Date	Scan	Status	Result
2026-01-14 00:00	#250	in_progress	Biased
2026-01-13 00:00	#246	completed	Biased
2026-01-12 00:00	#243	cancelled	Biased
2026-01-11 00:00	#240	completed	Biased
2026-01-10 00:00	#237	completed	Biased
2026-01-09 00:34	#234	completed	Biased
2026-01-08 00:53	#231	completed	Clean
2026-01-06 18:15	#225	cancelled	Clean
2025-08-17 00:01	#83	cancelled	Clean
2025-07-13 21:37	#48	completed	Biased
2025-07-09 13:09	#3	cancelled	Clean
2025-07-08 04:23	#2	cancelled	Biased

Flagged Code Snippets

# Ensure that the runbook does not inherit an AzContext
Disable-AzContextAutosave -Scope Process

# Connect to Azure with system-assigned managed identity
$AzureContext = (Connect-AzAccount -Identity).context

# set and store context
$AzureContext = Set-AzContext -SubscriptionName $AzureContext.Subscription -DefaultProfile $AzureContext

$params = @{"VMName"="MyVM";"RepeatCount"=2;"Restart"=$true}

Start-AzAutomationRunbook `
    -AutomationAccountName 'MyAutomationAccount' `
    -Name 'Test-ChildRunbook' `
    -ResourceGroupName 'LabRG' `
    -DefaultProfile $AzureContext `
    -Parameters $params -Wait