Azure Cosmos DB Cheat Sheet

Updated 2026-04-21

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Azure Cosmos DB is a globally distributed, multi-model database service designed for low-latency, elastic scale, and high availability. The core concepts that drive performance and cost are the resource model (accounts → databases → containers → items), partitioning, and throughput (RU/s). This cheat sheet focuses on the API for NoSQL (SQL query language) and the operational features you'll use most: indexing, consistency, search, change feed, backup/restore, and security. Full-text search and hybrid search reached general availability in 2025, making Cosmos DB a search-native database alongside its vector and transactional capabilities.

What This Cheat Sheet Covers

This topic spans 16 focused tables and 149 indexed concepts. Below is a complete table-by-table outline of this topic, spanning foundational concepts through advanced details.

Table 1: Resource ModelTable 2: PartitioningTable 3: ThroughputTable 4: ConsistencyTable 5: Global DistributionTable 6: Query ClausesTable 7: FunctionsTable 8: IndexingTable 9: SearchTable 10: TransactionsTable 11: Change FeedTable 12: TTLTable 13: Backup and RestoreTable 14: SecurityTable 15: IntegrationsTable 16: Operations

Table 1: Resource Model

Resource	Example	Description
Account	`https://<account>.documents.azure.com:443/`	Top-level Azure resource that provides the endpoint, authentication boundary, and global distribution settings for all databases/containers/items underneath.
Database	`databaseId = "Sales"`	• Logical namespace under an account that groups one or more containers • throughput can be provisioned at database (shared) or container (dedicated) scope.
Container	`containerId = "Orders"`	• Unit of scalability for items, indexing, and throughput • partition key is defined at creation and is immutable in-place.
Item	`{ "id": "o-123", "customerId": "c-9" }`	• JSON document stored in a container • uniquely identified by the composite of `(partitionKey, id)` for the API for NoSQL.

Table 1: Resource Model

Resource	Example	Description
Account	`https://<account>.documents.azure.com:443/`	Top-level Azure resource that provides the endpoint, authentication boundary, and global distribution settings for all databases/containers/items underneath.
Database	`databaseId = "Sales"`	• Logical namespace under an account that groups one or more containers • throughput can be provisioned at database (shared) or container (dedicated) scope.
Container	`containerId = "Orders"`	• Unit of scalability for items, indexing, and throughput • partition key is defined at creation and is immutable in-place.
Item	`{ "id": "o-123", "customerId": "c-9" }`	• JSON document stored in a container • uniquely identified by the composite of `(partitionKey, id)` for the API for NoSQL.