Bug: ARM Template generator produces circular dependsOn with “Default staging linked service”

[Matthew-Jeffries]

Bug: ARM Template generator produces circular dependsOn with “Default staging linked service”

Package: @microsoft/azure-data-factory-utilities
Package Version: 1.0.3
Node.js Version: v24.13.0
NPM Version: 11.6.2
OS: Azure Pipelines ubuntu-latest

Description

When using @microsoft/azure-data-factory-utilities to generate an ARM template, enabling the Default staging linked service in Azure Data Factory (Manage → Factory Settings) causes the generator to produce an invalid ARM template.

The factory resource in the generated ARM template includes a dependsOn referencing a child linked service, creating a circular dependency:

• Microsoft.DataFactory/factories/linkedServices is a child of the factory
• The factory cannot depend on its own child resources

Disabling the staging linked service resolves the issue and generates a valid ARM template.

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Steps to Reproduce

1. In ADF, configure Default staging linked service in Manage → Factory Settings.
2. Use @microsoft/azure-data-factory-utilities to generate an ARM template.

# https://aka.ms/yaml
pool:
  vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'

variables:
  - name: 'AzureSubscriptionID'
    value: ''
  - name: 'AzureResourceGroupName'
    value: ''
  - name: 'AzureDataFactoryName'
    value: ''
  - name: 'AzureDataFactorySubscriptionPath'
    value: '/subscriptions/$(AzureSubscriptionID)/resourceGroups/$(AzureResourceGroupName)/providers/Microsoft.DataFactory/factories/$(AzureDataFactoryName)'

steps:
- checkout: self

- task: NodeTool@0
  inputs:
    versionSpec: '24.x'
  displayName: 'Install Node.js'

- task: Npm@1
  inputs:
    command: 'install'
    workingDir: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)'
  displayName: 'Install npm package @microsoft/azure-data-factory-utilities'

- task: Npm@1
  inputs:
    command: 'custom'
    workingDir: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)'
    customCommand: 'run build validate $(Build.SourcesDirectory) $(AzureDataFactorySubscriptionPath)'
  displayName: 'Validate'

- task: Npm@1
  inputs:
    command: 'custom'
    workingDir: '$(Build.SourcesDirectory)'
    customCommand: 'run build-preview export $(Build.SourcesDirectory) $(AzureDataFactorySubscriptionPath) $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
  displayName: 'Validate and Generate ARM template'

- task: PublishPipelineArtifact@1
  inputs:
    targetPath: '$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)'
    artifact: 'ArmTemplates'
    publishLocation: 'pipeline'

3. Inspect the factory resource in the ARM template. Example snippet:

{
  "name": "[parameters('factoryName')]",
  "type": "Microsoft.DataFactory/factories",
  "apiVersion": "2018-06-01",
  "properties": {
    "globalParameters": { ... },
    "globalConfigurations": { ... }
  },
  "dependsOn": [
    "[concat(variables('factoryId'), '/linkedServices/AzureDataLakeStorage')]"
  ],
  "location": "[parameters('dataFactory_location')]"
}

4. Deploying or validating this template with ARM fails due to the circular dependency.
5. Remove the staging linked service from the factory configuration, regenerate → the dependsOn disappears, and the template becomes valid.

---

Expected Behaviour

The factory resource should not include dependsOn on its child linked services, even if referenced in global configurations.

---

Workarounds

• Manually remove the dependsOn from the factory resource in the generated template.
• Avoid using the Default staging linked service setting until the bug is fixed.