Managing Cosmos DB in Azure
Use Nodinite to manage everyday Azure Cosmos DB operations without opening the Azure Portal. This page explains the remote actions available for Cosmos DB databases and containers, including document inspection, approved queries, container creation, throughput changes, and key management.
New 7.9.x This feature adds native Cosmos DB management in Nodinite, including document browsing, approved queries, throughput control, container creation, and key handling.
- ✅ Inspect databases and containers from a single interface
- ✅ Run approved read-only queries without exposing ad-hoc SQL
- ✅ Create or delete containers with administrator-approved guardrails
- ✅ Change RU/s or switch to autoscale without direct Azure access
- ✅ Rotate account keys safely while keeping secrets masked
The management experience is available from the Remote Actions menu of the relevant Resources in Monitor Views. Depending on the action and the permissions granted by the administrator, support staff and operations users can work with Cosmos DB resources within the guardrails configured in Nodinite.
Diagram: The available Cosmos DB remote actions are grouped by database and container context.
Available Management Features
Cosmos DB Database
The Cosmos DB category provides management for the database-level resources in a monitored Cosmos account.
| Action | Purpose | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Details | Inspect the database and its containers | Shows account, subscription, tenant, region, and container inventory |
| Query | Run an administrator-approved read-only query | Only approved queries are available and only for the selected container |
| Throughput | View or change RU/s settings | Supports manual or autoscale configuration when enabled |
| Keys | View masked keys and connection strings | Regeneration is available when the required Azure credentials are present |
| Create Container | Add a new container | Requires the appropriate administrator gate and available RU/s |
| Edit | Update the friendly description of the monitored account | Maintains a readable inventory in Nodinite |
Cosmos DB - Container
The Cosmos DB - Container category provides container-level management actions.
| Action | Purpose | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Details | Inspect the container and browse documents | Shows partition key details, TTL, RU/s, and a paged document list |
| Post | Insert a JSON document | A missing document ID is generated automatically |
Details and Document Browsing
The Details action opens the resource context for the selected database or container. For containers, you can browse documents directly from Nodinite. The dialog shows the document list in pages of 25 items, with up to 500 documents available for browsing from the UI.
This is useful for support teams that need to confirm whether a message or record actually reached Cosmos DB and what it looked like at the time of inspection.
Approved Queries
The Query action offers a list of administrator-approved read-only queries. The user cannot type arbitrary SQL. Instead, the user selects a named query and runs it against the selected container.
The action returns the result as a table plus raw JSON and is limited to 100 rows per execution. This makes recurring support questions easy to answer safely without exposing the full database to first-line staff.
Throughput and Cost Guardrails
The Throughput action lets an authorized user review the current database and container RU/s configuration and change it when enabled. The action can show:
- Whether the database uses shared throughput
- Whether the mode is manual or autoscale
- The current RU/s values for the database and each container
Administrators can also configure minimum and maximum RU/s guardrails so employees can make changes within approved limits. These limits help prevent accidental overspend and keep cost control in place.
Keys and Secret Handling
The Keys action shows masked account keys and connection strings. The full secret is never exposed in the browser. If the required Azure service-principal credentials are present, the user can also regenerate the primary or secondary read-write key.
If those credentials are not available, the action remains read-only and clearly informs the operator that Azure credentials are required for regeneration.
Create and Delete Containers
The Create Container action allows approved users to add a container with a name, partition key, and either manual RU/s or autoscale maximum. The action is constrained by the configured RU/s settings and the remaining available throughput for the account.
The Delete container action is available from the details view and requires explicit confirmation, because it removes the container and all its data.
Built-in Safety Behaviour
Nodinite applies several protections by default:
- Secrets stay masked — keys and connection strings are never shown in full.
- Read-only queries only — the query action rejects anything that is not a read-only SELECT.
- No ad-hoc SQL — the user picks from approved queries rather than writing arbitrary queries.
- Delete confirmation — container deletion always requires an explicit confirmation step.
- Bounded cost — document browsing is capped and query results are capped to prevent runaway RU usage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can use these actions?
The availability of each action depends on the permissions granted in Roles and the action gates enabled by the administrator. Some actions are read-only by default, while throughput updates, container creation, and deletion require explicit enablement.
What if Azure credentials are missing?
The user can still inspect the resource and view masked connection details, but throughput changes and key regeneration require the Azure credentials configured for the subscription.