Azure Deploy

Azure Deploy Skill

Deploy applications to Azure with intelligent service selection, local preview, and guided deployment workflows.

Quick Start Decision Tree

User wants to deploy → Run detection workflow below

Phase 1: Application Detection

ALWAYS start by scanning the user's project to detect the application type.

Step 1.1: Check for Existing Azure Configuration

Look for these files first (HIGH confidence signals):

If found, skip to the appropriate deployment section.

Step 1.2: Detect Application Framework

Scan for configuration files and dependencies:

Node.js / JavaScript / TypeScript:

package.json exists →
├── next.config.js/mjs/ts → Next.js
│   ├── Has `output: 'export'` → Static Web Apps (SSG)
│   └── Has API routes or no export config → App Service (SSR)
├── nuxt.config.ts/js → Nuxt
│   ├── Has `ssr: false` or `target: 'static'` → Static Web Apps
│   └── Otherwise → App Service (SSR)
├── angular.json → Angular → Static Web Apps
├── vite.config.* → Vite-based (React/Vue/Svelte) → Static Web Apps
├── gatsby-config.js → Gatsby → Static Web Apps
├── astro.config.mjs → Astro → Static Web Apps
├── nest-cli.json → NestJS → App Service
├── Has express/fastify/koa/hapi dependency → App Service
└── No framework, just static build → Static Web Apps

Python:

requirements.txt or pyproject.toml exists →
├── function_app.py exists → Azure Functions (v2 programming model)
├── Has flask dependency → App Service
├── Has django dependency → App Service
├── Has fastapi dependency → App Service
└── Has azure-functions dependency → Azure Functions

.NET:

*.csproj or *.sln exists →
├── <AzureFunctionsVersion> in csproj → Azure Functions
├── Blazor WebAssembly project → Static Web Apps
├── ASP.NET Core web app → App Service
└── .NET API project → App Service

Java:

pom.xml or build.gradle exists →
├── Has azure-functions-* dependency → Azure Functions
├── Has spring-boot dependency → App Service
└── Standard web app → App Service

Static Only:

index.html exists + no package.json/requirements.txt →
└── Pure static site → Static Web Apps

Step 1.3: Detect Multi-Service Architecture

Check for complexity indicators that suggest azd + IaC:

Multi-service triggers:
├── Monorepo structure (frontend/, backend/, api/, packages/, apps/)
├── docker-compose.yml with multiple services
├── Multiple package.json in different subdirectories
├── Database references in config (connection strings, .env files)
├── References to Redis, Service Bus, Event Hubs, Storage queues
├── User mentions "multiple environments", "staging", "production"
└── More than one deployable component detected

If multi-service detected → Recommend azd + Infrastructure as Code See Multi-Service Deployment Guide

Step 1.4: Confidence Assessment

After detection, assess confidence:

Clarifying questions for LOW confidence:

1. "What type of application is this? (static website, API, full-stack, serverless functions)"
2. "Does your app need server-side rendering or is it purely client-side?"
3. "Will you need a database, caching, or other Azure services?"

Phase 2: Local Preview (No Azure Auth Required)

Before deploying, help users test locally.

Static Web Apps - Local Preview

# Install SWA CLI (one-time)
npm install -g @azure/static-web-apps-cli

# Start local emulator
swa start

# Or with specific paths
swa start ./dist --api-location ./api

# With a dev server proxy
swa start http://localhost:3000 --api-location ./api

Azure Functions - Local Preview

# Install Azure Functions Core Tools (one-time)
npm install -g azure-functions-core-tools@4

# Start local Functions runtime
func start

# With specific port
func start --port 7071

App Service Apps - Local Preview

Use the framework's built-in dev server:

# Node.js
npm run dev
# or
npm start

# Python Flask
flask run

# Python FastAPI
uvicorn main:app --reload

# .NET
dotnet run

# Java Spring Boot
./mvnw spring-boot:run

See Local Preview Guide for detailed setup instructions.

Phase 3: Prerequisites & Dependency Management

ALWAYS check and install missing dependencies before proceeding.

3.1 Azure Authentication (Auto-Login)

Check login status and automatically login if needed:

# Check if logged in, auto-login if not
if ! az account show &>/dev/null; then
    echo "Not logged in to Azure. Starting login..."
    az login
fi

# Verify and show current subscription
az account show --query "{name:name, id:id}" -o table

If the user has multiple subscriptions, help them select the correct one:

# List all subscriptions
az account list --query "[].{Name:name, ID:id, Default:isDefault}" -o table

# Set subscription
az account set --subscription "<name-or-id>"

3.2 Dependency Detection & Auto-Install

Run this check first and install any missing tools:

# Check all dependencies at once
check_deps() {
  local missing=()
  command -v az &>/dev/null || missing+=("azure-cli")
  command -v func &>/dev/null || missing+=("azure-functions-core-tools")
  command -v swa &>/dev/null || missing+=("@azure/static-web-apps-cli")
  command -v azd &>/dev/null || missing+=("azd")
  echo "${missing[@]}"
}

3.3 Install Missing Tools

Azure CLI (required for all deployments):

# macOS
brew install azure-cli

# Windows (PowerShell)
winget install Microsoft.AzureCLI

# Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)
curl -sL https://aka.ms/InstallAzureCLIDeb | sudo bash

Azure Functions Core Tools (for Functions projects):

# npm (all platforms)
npm install -g azure-functions-core-tools@4

# macOS
brew tap azure/functions && brew install azure-functions-core-tools@4

# Windows
winget install Microsoft.AzureFunctionsCoreTools

Static Web Apps CLI (for SWA projects):

npm install -g @azure/static-web-apps-cli

Azure Developer CLI (for multi-service/IaC):

# macOS
brew install azd

# Windows
winget install Microsoft.Azd

# Linux
curl -fsSL https://aka.ms/install-azd.sh | bash

3.4 Project Dependencies

Detect and install project-level dependencies:

# Node.js - install if node_modules missing
[ -f "package.json" ] && [ ! -d "node_modules" ] && npm install

# Python - create venv and install if missing  
[ -f "requirements.txt" ] && [ ! -d ".venv" ] && python -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate && pip install -r requirements.txt

# .NET - restore packages
[ -f "*.csproj" ] && dotnet restore

# Java - install dependencies
[ -f "pom.xml" ] && mvn dependency:resolve

Phase 4: Single-Service Deployment (Azure CLI)

4.1 Static Web Apps Deployment

Create resource and deploy:

# Create resource group (if needed)
az group create --name <resource-group> --location <location>

# Create Static Web App
az staticwebapp create \
  --name <app-name> \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --location <location> \
  --sku Free

# Get deployment token
az staticwebapp secrets list \
  --name <app-name> \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --query "properties.apiKey" -o tsv

# Deploy with SWA CLI
swa deploy ./dist \
  --deployment-token <token> \
  --env production

Plain HTML Site (Single File or No Build Step):

For plain HTML sites without a build process, SWA CLI requires content in a dedicated folder:

# Create output directory and copy files
mkdir -p dist && cp -r *.html *.css *.js *.png *.jpg *.svg dist/ 2>/dev/null || true

# Get deployment token
TOKEN=$(az staticwebapp secrets list \
  --name <app-name> \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --query "properties.apiKey" -o tsv)

# Deploy from dist folder
swa deploy ./dist --deployment-token "$TOKEN" --env production

# Clean up temp folder (optional)
rm -rf dist

Smart defaults:

• SKU: Free for dev/test, Standard for production
• Location: SWA has limited regions - use centralus, eastus2, westus2, westeurope, or eastasia

See Static Web Apps Guide for detailed configuration.

4.2 Azure Functions Deployment

Create and deploy:

# Create resource group
az group create --name <resource-group> --location <location>

# Create storage account (required for Functions)
az storage account create \
  --name <storage-name> \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --location <location> \
  --sku Standard_LRS

# Create Function App
az functionapp create \
  --name <app-name> \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --storage-account <storage-name> \
  --consumption-plan-location <location> \
  --runtime <node|python|dotnet|java> \
  --runtime-version <version> \
  --functions-version 4

# Deploy with func CLI
func azure functionapp publish <app-name>

Smart defaults:

• Plan: Consumption (pay-per-execution) for most cases
• Runtime version: Latest LTS for the detected language

See Azure Functions Guide for advanced scenarios.

4.3 App Service Deployment

Create and deploy:

# Create resource group
az group create --name <resource-group> --location <location>

# Create App Service plan
az appservice plan create \
  --name <plan-name> \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --location <location> \
  --sku B1 \
  --is-linux

# Create Web App
az webapp create \
  --name <app-name> \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --plan <plan-name> \
  --runtime "<runtime>"

# Deploy code (zip deploy)
az webapp deploy \
  --name <app-name> \
  --resource-group <resource-group> \
  --src-path <path-to-zip> \
  --type zip

Runtime values by language:

• Node.js: "NODE:18-lts", "NODE:20-lts"
• Python: "PYTHON:3.11", "PYTHON:3.12"
• .NET: "DOTNETCORE:8.0"
• Java: "JAVA:17-java17"

Smart defaults:

• Plan SKU: B1 for dev/test, P1v3 for production
• Always use Linux (--is-linux) unless .NET Framework required

See App Service Guide for configuration options.

Phase 5: Multi-Service Deployment (azd + IaC)

When multiple services or infrastructure dependencies are detected, recommend Azure Developer CLI with Infrastructure as Code.

When to Use azd

• Multiple deployable components (frontend + API + functions)
• Needs database, cache, storage, or messaging services
• Requires consistent environments (dev, staging, production)
• Team collaboration with reproducible infrastructure

Initialize azd Project

# Initialize from scratch
azd init

# Or use a template
azd init --template <template-name>

Project Structure

project/
├── azure.yaml              # azd configuration
├── infra/
│   ├── main.bicep          # Main infrastructure
│   ├── main.parameters.json
│   └── modules/            # Reusable modules
├── src/
│   ├── web/                # Frontend
│   └── api/                # Backend

Deploy with azd

# Provision infrastructure + deploy code
azd up

# Or separately:
azd provision  # Create infrastructure
azd deploy     # Deploy application code

# Manage environments
azd env new staging
azd env select staging
azd up

See Multi-Service Guide for azure.yaml configuration. See Azure Verified Modules for Bicep module reference.

Troubleshooting Quick Reference

Common Issues

"Not logged in" errors:

az login
az account set --subscription "<name>"

"Resource group not found":

az group create --name <name> --location <location>

SWA deployment fails:

• Check build output directory is correct
• Verify deployment token is valid
• Ensure staticwebapp.config.json is properly formatted

Functions deployment fails:

• Verify host.json exists
• Check runtime version matches function app configuration
• Ensure storage account is accessible

App Service deployment fails:

• Verify runtime matches application
• Check startup command if using custom entry point
• Review deployment logs: az webapp log tail --name <app> --resource-group <rg>

See Troubleshooting Guide for detailed solutions.

Reference Files

Load these guides as needed for detailed information:

• 📦 App Service Guide - Full App Service deployment reference
• ⚡ Azure Functions Guide - Functions deployment and configuration
• 🌐 Static Web Apps Guide - SWA deployment and configuration
• 🖥️ Local Preview Guide - Local development setup
• 🏗️ Multi-Service Guide - azd and IaC patterns
• 📚 Azure Verified Modules - Bicep module reference
• 🔧 Troubleshooting Guide - Common issues and fixes
• 📋 Common Patterns - Shared commands (DRY reference)

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