page_type	sample
languages	cpp csharp
products	m365 office-365
description	This sample application illustrates using the MIP Protection API to list templates, protect a string, and decrypt the protected result.
urlFragment	mipsdk-protectionapi-cpp-sample-basic

mipsdk-protectionapi-cpp-sample-basic

This sample illustrates basic MIP Protection SDK functionality where it:

• Creates a protection profile and engine
• Lists publishing templates for the signed-in user
• Protects an in-memory string
• Decrypts and reads the protected string

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio 2022 or later with C++ desktop development tools
• .NET 8 runtime
• x64 build platform (this sample is x64-only)

Setup

1. Open the solution in Visual Studio and select the x64 solution platform.
2. Restore NuGet packages and build the solution.
3. In main.cpp, replace:
   • YOUR CLIENT ID with your app registration client ID
   • YOUR USER UPN with a test user UPN

Microsoft Entra app registration

Create a public client app registration and grant delegated permissions:

• Azure Rights Management Services -> user_impersonation
• Microsoft Information Protection Sync Service -> UnifiedPolicy.User.Read

Also configure Authentication:

• Add Mobile and desktop applications
• Add redirect URI http://localhost
• Enable Allow public client flows

Authentication behavior

Authentication runs in-process via the framework-dependent MipAuth.Managed .NET 8 component. The native app hosts .NET using nethost/hostfxr.

• The auth delegate forwards challenge resource, authority, and claims from the MIP SDK directly to managed auth.
• The managed component normalizes the resource into an MSAL /.default scope.
• MSAL attempts silent token acquisition first for the configured username, then uses system-browser interactive sign-in when needed.
• For single-tenant app registrations, /common and /organizations authorities are normalized to the tenant domain from the username.

Run

Press F5 to run the sample. The app will list templates, protect a sample string, and then decrypt it.

For a non-interactive auth-host smoke check:

.\x64\Release\mipsdk-protectionapi-cpp-sample-basic.exe --auth-host-smoke

Troubleshooting

If authentication fails, verify:

• .NET 8 runtime is installed
• MipAuth.Managed.dll, .deps.json, .runtimeconfig.json, managed dependencies, and nethost.dll are next to the native executable (the build copies these automatically)
• The app registration is configured as a public client with the redirect URI above

Resources

• Microsoft Information Protection documentation