jobs.sp_add_jobstep (Azure Elastic Jobs) (Transact-SQL)
Applies to: 
Azure SQL Database
Adds a step to an existing job in the Azure Elastic Jobs service for Azure SQL Database. Use jobs.sp_update_jobstep to modify existing elastic job steps.
This stored procedure shares the name of sp_add_jobstep with a similar object in SQL Server for the SQL Server Agent service. For information about the SQL Server Agent version, see sp_add_jobstep.
Transact-SQL syntax conventions
Syntax
[jobs].sp_add_jobstep [ @job_name = ] 'job_name'
[ , [ @step_id = ] step_id ]
[ , [ @step_name = ] step_name ]
[ , [ @command_type = ] 'command_type' ]
[ , [ @command_source = ] 'command_source' ]
, [ @command = ] 'command'
[ , [ @credential_name = ] 'credential_name' ]
, [ @target_group_name = ] 'target_group_name'
[ , [ @initial_retry_interval_seconds = ] initial_retry_interval_seconds ]
[ , [ @maximum_retry_interval_seconds = ] maximum_retry_interval_seconds ]
[ , [ @retry_interval_backoff_multiplier = ] retry_interval_backoff_multiplier ]
[ , [ @retry_attempts = ] retry_attempts ]
[ , [ @step_timeout_seconds = ] step_timeout_seconds ]
[ , [ @output_type = ] 'output_type' ]
[ , [ @output_credential_name = ] 'output_credential_name' ]
[ , [ @output_subscription_id = ] 'output_subscription_id' ]
[ , [ @output_resource_group_name = ] 'output_resource_group_name' ]
[ , [ @output_server_name = ] 'output_server_name' ]
[ , [ @output_database_name = ] 'output_database_name' ]
[ , [ @output_schema_name = ] 'output_schema_name' ]
[ , [ @output_table_name = ] 'output_table_name' ]
[ , [ @job_version = ] job_version OUTPUT ]
[ , [ @max_parallelism = ] max_parallelism ]
Arguments
@job_name
The name of the job to which to add the step. job_name is nvarchar(128).
@step_id
The sequence identification number for the job step. Step identification numbers start at 1 and increment without gaps. If an existing step already has this ID, then that step and all following steps will have their IDs incremented so that this new step can be inserted into the sequence. If not specified, the step_id will be automatically assigned to the last in the sequence of steps. step_id is an int.
@step_name
The name of the step. Must be specified, except for the first step of a job that (for convenience) has a default name of JobStep. step_name is nvarchar(128).
@command_type
The type of command that is executed by this job step. command_type is nvarchar(50), with a default value of TSql, meaning that the value of the @command_type parameter is a T-SQL script.
If specified, the value must be TSql.
@command_source
The type of location where the command is stored. command_source is nvarchar(50), with a default value of Inline, meaning that the value of the @command parameter is the literal text of the command.
If specified, the value must be Inline.
@command
The valid T-SQL script that is to be executed by this job step. command is nvarchar(max), with a default of NULL.
@credential_name
The name of the database-scoped credential stored in this job control database that is used to connect to each of the target databases within the target group when this step is executed. credential_name is nvarchar(128).
When using Microsoft Entra authentication (formerly Azure Active Directory), omit the @credential_name parameter, which should only be provided when using database-scoped credentials.
@target_group_name
The name of the target group that contains the target databases that the job step will be executed on. target_group_name is nvarchar(128).
@initial_retry_interval_seconds
The delay before the first retry attempt, if the job step fails on the initial execution attempt. initial_retry_interval_seconds is int, with default value of 1.
@maximum_retry_interval_seconds
The maximum delay between retry attempts. If the delay between retries would grow larger than this value, it's capped to this value instead. maximum_retry_interval_seconds is int, with default value of 120.
@retry_interval_backoff_multiplier
The multiplier to apply to the retry delay if multiple job step execution attempts fail. For example, if the first retry had a delay of 5 second and the backoff multiplier is 2.0, then the second retry will have a delay of 10 seconds and the third retry will have a delay of 20 seconds. retry_interval_backoff_multiplier is the real data type, with default value of 2.0.
@retry_attempts
The number of times to retry execution if the initial attempt fails. For example, if the retry_attempts value is 10, then there will be 1 initial attempt and 10 retry attempts, giving a total of 11 attempts. If the final retry attempt fails, then the job execution will terminate with a lifecycle of Failed recorded in jobs.job_executions. retry_attempts is int, with default value of 10.
@step_timeout_seconds
The maximum amount of time allowed for the step to execute. If this time is exceeded, then the job execution will terminate with a lifecycle of TimedOut recorded in jobs.job_executions. step_timeout_seconds is int, with default value of 43,200 seconds (12 hours).
@output_type
If not NULL, the type of destination that the command's first result set is written to. output_type is nvarchar(50), with a default of NULL.
If specified, the value must be SqlDatabase.
@output_credential_name
If not null, the name of the database-scoped credential that is used to connect to the output destination database. Must be specified if output_type equals SqlDatabase. output_credential_name is nvarchar(128), with a default value of NULL.
When using Microsoft Entra authentication (formerly Azure Active Directory), omit the @output_credential_name parameter, which should only be provided when using database-scoped credentials.
@output_subscription_id
Azure subscription ID to use for the output. Defaults to the job agent's subscription. output_subscription_id is a uniqueidentifier.
@output_resource_group_name
Name of the resource group in which the output database resides. Defaults to job agent's resource group. output_resource_group_name is nvarchar(128).
@output_server_name
If not NULL, the fully qualified DNS name of the server that contains the output destination database, for example: @output_server_name = 'server1.database.windows.net'. Must be specified if output_type equals SqlDatabase. output_server_name is nvarchar(256), with a default of NULL.
@output_database_name
If not NULL, the name of the database that contains the output destination table. Must be specified if output_type equals SqlDatabase. output_database_name is nvarchar(128), with a default of NULL.
@output_schema_name
If not NULL, the name of the SQL schema that contains the output destination table. If output_type equals SqlDatabase, the default value is dbo. output_schema_name is nvarchar(128).
@output_table_name
If not NULL, the name of the table that the command's first result set will be written to. If the table doesn't already exist, it will be created based on the schema of the returning result set. Must be specified if output_type equals SqlDatabase. output_table_name is nvarchar(128), with a default value of NULL.
If specifying an output_table_name, the Job Agent UMI or database-scoped credential should be granted needed permissions to CREATE TABLE and INSERT data into the table.
@job_version OUTPUT
Output parameter that will be assigned the new job version number. job_version is int.
@max_parallelism OUTPUT
The maximum level of parallelism per elastic pool.
If set, then the job step will be restricted to only run on a maximum of that many databases per elastic pool. This applies to each elastic pool that is either directly included in the target group or to elastic pools inside a server that is included in the target group. max_parallelism is int.
Return code values
0 (success) or 1 (failure).
Remarks
When sp_add_jobstep succeeds, the job's current version number is incremented. The next time the job is executed, the new version will be used. If the job is currently executing, that execution will not contain the new step.
- When using Microsoft Entra authentication to authenticate to target server(s)/database(s), the @credential_name and @output_credential_name arguments shouldn't be provided for
sp_add_jobsteporsp_update_jobstep. - When using database-scoped credentials to authenticate to target server(s)/database(s), the @credential_name parameter is required for
sp_add_jobstepandsp_update_jobstep. For example,@credential_name = 'job_credential'.
Permissions
By default, members of the sysadmin fixed server role can execute this stored procedure. Only members of sysadmin can use this stored procedure to edit the attributes of jobs that are owned by other users.
Examples
Create a job step to execute a T-SQL statement
The following example shows how to create an elastic job to execute a T-SQL statement in an elastic job. The following example uses jobs.sp_add_jobstep to create a job step in the job named CreateTableTest, to be executed on the target group PoolGroup.
Connect to the job_database and run the following command:
--Connect to the job database specified when creating the job agent
--Add job for create table
EXEC jobs.sp_add_job @job_name = 'CreateTableTest', @description = 'Create Table Test';
-- Add job step for create table
EXEC jobs.sp_add_jobstep @job_name = 'CreateTableTest',
@command = N'IF NOT EXISTS (SELECT * FROM sys.tables WHERE object_id = object_id(''Test''))
CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Test]([TestId] [int] NOT NULL);',
@target_group_name = 'PoolGroup';
Create a job step to execute a T-SQL statement and collect results
The following example shows how to create an elastic job to execute a T-SQL statement in an elastic job, and collect the results in an Azure SQL Database. The following example uses jobs.sp_add_jobstep to create a job step in the job named ResultsJob, to be executed on the target group PoolGroup. The results are recorded in a table named dbo.results_table in the database named Results in the server server1.database.windows.net.
--Connect to the job database specified when creating the job agent
-- Add a job to collect perf results
EXEC jobs.sp_add_job @job_name ='ResultsJob', @description='Collection Performance data from all customers'
-- Add a job step w/ schedule to collect results
EXEC jobs.sp_add_jobstep
@job_name = 'ResultsJob',
@command = N' SELECT DB_NAME() DatabaseName, $(job_execution_id) AS job_execution_id, * FROM sys.dm_db_resource_stats WHERE end_time > DATEADD(mi, -20, GETDATE());',
@target_group_name = 'PoolGroup',
@output_type = 'SqlDatabase',
@output_server_name = 'server1.database.windows.net',
@output_database_name = 'Results',
@output_schema_name = 'dbo',
@output_table_name = 'results_table';