Managing Azure Resource Manager

Azure Resource Manager Management Skill

Manage ARM template deployments, resource groups, deployment history, and template specs.

MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern

Always inspect resource groups and deployment status before operations.

Phase 1: Discovery

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Current Account ==="
az account show --query '{Name:name,Id:id,TenantId:tenantId}' -o table 2>/dev/null

echo ""
echo "=== Resource Groups ==="
az group list --query '[*].{Name:name,Location:location,State:properties.provisioningState}' -o table 2>/dev/null | head -20

echo ""
echo "=== Recent Deployments ==="
az deployment sub list --query '[*].{Name:name,State:properties.provisioningState,Timestamp:properties.timestamp}' -o table 2>/dev/null | head -10

echo ""
echo "=== Template Specs ==="
az ts list --query '[*].{Name:name,Version:versions[-1].name,Location:location}' -o table 2>/dev/null | head -10

Phase 2: Analysis

#!/bin/bash
RG="${1:?Resource group name required}"

echo "=== Resource Group Resources ==="
az resource list -g "$RG" --query '[*].{Name:name,Type:type,Location:location}' -o table 2>/dev/null | head -20

echo ""
echo "=== Deployment History ==="
az deployment group list -g "$RG" --query '[*].{Name:name,State:properties.provisioningState,Timestamp:properties.timestamp,Mode:properties.mode}' -o table 2>/dev/null | head -10

echo ""
echo "=== Failed Deployments ==="
az deployment group list -g "$RG" --query "[?properties.provisioningState=='Failed'].{Name:name,Error:properties.error.message}" -o table 2>/dev/null | head -10

echo ""
echo "=== What-If (if template provided) ==="
TEMPLATE="${2:-}"
if [ -n "$TEMPLATE" ]; then
  az deployment group what-if -g "$RG" --template-file "$TEMPLATE" 2>&1 | tail -20
fi

Output Rules

• TOKEN EFFICIENCY: Target <=50 lines per output
• Show resource counts by type, not full resource listings
• Summarize deployment states and highlight failures
• Use what-if output for change previews

Safety Rules

• NEVER deploy in Complete mode without explicit confirmation (deletes unmanaged resources)
• Always run what-if before deploying templates
• Use Incremental mode by default
• Review deployment error details before retrying
• Validate templates with az deployment group validate before deploying

Output Format

Present results as a structured report:

Managing Azure Resource Manager Report
══════════════════════════════════════
Resources discovered: [count]

Resource       Status    Key Metric    Issues
──────────────────────────────────────────────
[name]         [ok/warn] [value]       [findings]

Summary: [total] resources | [ok] healthy | [warn] warnings | [crit] critical
Action Items: [list of prioritized findings]

Target ≤50 lines of output. Use tables for multi-resource comparisons.

Anti-Hallucination Rules

1. NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
2. NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or --help output.
3. NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
4. ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
5. ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.

Counter-Rationalizations