Azure Load Testing

Azure Load Testing is a managed service for running large-scale load tests on your applications and APIs. It integrates seamlessly with GitHub Actions, Azure Pipelines, and supports secure secret management for sensitive data like API tokens.

Passing Secrets in GitHub Actions

The following YAML snippet shows how to securely pass a secret (such as an API token) to the Azure Load Testing GitHub Action:

- name: 'Azure Load Testing'
  uses: azure/load-testing@v1
  with:
    loadtestConfigFile: 'SampleApp.yaml'
    loadtestResource: 'MyTest'
    resourceGroup: 'loadtests-rg'
    secrets: |
      [
        {
          "name": "appToken",
          "value": "${{ secrets.MY_SECRET }}"
        }
      ]

Passing Secrets in Azure Pipelines

The following YAML snippet shows how to pass a secret to the Azure Pipelines Load Testing task:

- task: AzureLoadTest@1
  inputs:
    azureSubscription: 'MyAzureLoadTestingRG'
    loadTestConfigFile: 'SampleApp.yaml'
    loadTestResource: 'MyTest'
    resourceGroup: 'loadtests-rg'
    secrets: |
      [
        {
          "name": "appToken",
          "value": "$(mySecret)"
        }
      ]

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Real-Life Example: Secure API Load Test

Suppose you want to load test a production API that requires an authentication token. Store the token in Azure Key Vault or your CI/CD secrets store, and reference it as shown above. This ensures your secrets are never hardcoded or exposed in your repository.

Best Practice: Always use secret variables and never commit sensitive values to source control.

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Load Testing ASCII Art

        .-"""-.
       /       \
      |  (o) (o) |
      |    ^    |
      |  '-'  |
      +-------+
     /  LOAD   \
    /  TESTING  \
   +------------+
   |  PRESSURE! |
   +------------+

“If your server starts making this face, it might be time to scale up!”

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For more details, see the official Azure Load Testing documentation.