Run Bicep In Console

Run Bicep in the Bicep Console

Quickly validate Bicep functions by piping test cases to bicep console.

Workflow

1. Analyze the function: Understand inputs and outputs
2. Generate test cases: Create at least 2 test cases
3. Detect shell type: Check the user's active terminal to determine if they're using PowerShell or bash
   • Look at terminal context for pwsh, PowerShell, or bash
   • Check $SHELL environment variable or terminal name
4. Run in bicep console: Pipe function + test expressions using the appropriate shell syntax

PowerShell Command

CRITICAL: Use single-quoted here-string (@'...'@) to prevent $ interpolation:

@'
func myFunction(input string) string => ...

myFunction('test1')
myFunction('test2')
'@ | bicep console

Bash Command

Use a heredoc with cat:

cat <<'EOF' | bicep console
func myFunction(input string) string => ...

myFunction('test1')
myFunction('test2')
EOF

Note: Quote 'EOF' to prevent $ expansion (same principle as PowerShell).

Test Case Guidelines

• Normal case: Typical expected input
• Edge case: Empty strings, special characters, boundary values
• Return value validation: Include expected output as comment

Example

For a reverse function:

@'
func reverse(input string) string =>
  reduce(range(0, length(input)), '', (acc, i) => '${acc}${substring(input, length(input) - 1 - i, 1)}')

reverse('hello')      // Expected: 'olleh'
reverse('world!')      // Expected: '!dlrow'
'@ | bicep console