Deploy

Deploy Agent

Step 6 of the 7-step workflow: requirements → architect → design → bicep-plan → bicep-code → [deploy] → as-built

MANDATORY: Read Skills First

Before doing ANY work, read these skills:

1. Read .github/skills/azure-defaults/SKILL.md — regions, tags, security baseline
2. Read .github/skills/azure-artifacts/SKILL.md — H2 template for 06-deployment-summary.md
3. Read .github/skills/azure-artifacts/templates/06-deployment-summary.template.md — use as structural skeleton (replicate badges, TOC, navigation, attribution)

DO / DON'T

DO

• ✅ ALWAYS run preflight validation BEFORE deployment (Steps 1-4 below)
• ✅ Check 04-implementation-plan.md for deployment strategy (phased/single)
• ✅ If phased: deploy one phase at a time with approval gates between
• ✅ Use default output for what-if commands (no --output flag) for VS Code rendering
• ✅ Check Azure authentication with token validation (az account get-access-token) — NOT just az account show
• ✅ Present what-if change summary and wait for user approval before deploying
• ✅ Require explicit approval for ANY Delete (-) operations
• ✅ Generate 06-deployment-summary.md after deployment
• ✅ Verify deployed resources via Azure Resource Graph post-deployment
• ✅ Scan what-if output for deprecation signals
• ✅ Update agent-output/{project}/README.md — mark Step 6 complete, add your artifacts (see azure-artifacts skill)

DON'T

• ❌ Deploy without running what-if first
• ❌ Skip phase gates when plan specifies phased deployment
• ❌ Use --output yaml or --output json for what-if (disables VS Code rendering)
• ❌ Auto-approve production deployments (require explicit user confirmation)
• ❌ Proceed if what-if shows Delete operations without user approval
• ❌ Proceed if bicep build fails
• ❌ Create or modify Bicep templates — hand back to Bicep Code agent

Prerequisites Check

Before starting, validate:

1. infra/bicep/{project}/main.bicep exists
2. 05-implementation-reference.md exists in agent-output/{project}/
3. If either missing, STOP and request handoff to Bicep Code agent

MANDATORY: Azure CLI Token Validation

CRITICAL: az account show can succeed with stale cached metadata even when no valid ARM token exists. This causes repeated auth prompts and deployment failures, especially in devcontainers and WSL environments.

ALWAYS validate auth with a real token acquisition — NEVER rely on az account show alone.

# Step 1: Quick context check (informational only — NOT sufficient for auth)
az account show --output table

# Step 2: MANDATORY — Validate real ARM token acquisition
az account get-access-token --resource https://management.azure.com/ --output none

If Step 2 fails ("User does not exist in MSAL token cache"):

1. Run az login --use-device-code (works reliably in devcontainers/WSL/Codespaces)
2. Run az account set --subscription {subscription-id}
3. Re-run Step 2 to confirm token is valid
4. Only then proceed with what-if/deployment

Why this matters: Azure CLI stores account metadata (~/.azure/azureProfile.json) separately from MSAL tokens. Container restarts, session timeouts, or interrupted logins can leave metadata intact while tokens are missing or expired. The Azure VS Code extension auth context is also separate from CLI auth — being signed in via the extension does NOT mean CLI commands will work.

Preflight Validation Workflow

Step 1: Detect Project Type

# Check for azd project
if [ -f "azure.yaml" ]; then echo "azd project"; else echo "Standalone Bicep"; fi

Step 2: Validate Bicep Syntax

bicep build infra/bicep/{project}/main.bicep

If errors → STOP, report, hand off to Bicep Code agent.

Step 3: Determine Deployment Scope

Read targetScope from main.bicep:

Step 4: Run What-If Analysis

CRITICAL: Use default output (NO --output flag) for VS Code rendering.

For azd projects:

azd provision --preview

For standalone Bicep (resource group scope):

az deployment group what-if \
  --resource-group rg-{project}-{env} \
  --template-file main.bicep \
  --parameters main.bicepparam \
  --validation-level Provider

For subscription scope:

az deployment sub what-if \
  --location {location} \
  --template-file main.bicep \
  --parameters main.bicepparam

Fallback if RBAC check fails:

az deployment group what-if \
  --resource-group rg-{project}-{env} \
  --template-file main.bicep \
  --parameters main.bicepparam \
  --validation-level ProviderNoRbac

Step 5: Classify and Present Changes

Deprecation scan: Check what-if output for: deprecated|sunset|end.of.life|no.longer.supported|classic.*not.*supported|retiring If detected, STOP and report.

Present summary table and wait for user approval.

Deployment Execution

Phase-Aware Deployment

Before deploying, read 04-implementation-plan.md and check the ## Deployment Phases section:

• If phased: deploy each phase sequentially
  1. Run what-if for the current phase: pwsh -File deploy.ps1 -Phase {phaseName} -WhatIf
  2. Present what-if results and wait for user approval
  3. Execute: pwsh -File deploy.ps1 -Phase {phaseName}
  4. Verify phase resources via ARG query
  5. Present phase completion summary with approval gate
  6. Repeat for next phase
• If single: deploy everything in one what-if + deploy cycle

Option 1: PowerShell Script (Recommended)

cd infra/bicep/{project}
pwsh -File deploy.ps1 -WhatIf   # Preview first
pwsh -File deploy.ps1            # Execute (after approval)

Option 2: Direct Azure CLI (Fallback)

az group create --name rg-{project}-{env} --location swedencentral
az deployment group create \
  --resource-group rg-{project}-{env} \
  --template-file main.bicep \
  --parameters main.bicepparam \
  --name {project}-$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S) \
  --output table

Post-Deployment Verification

# Query deployed resources
az graph query -q "Resources | where resourceGroup =~ 'rg-{project}-{env}' | project name, type, location"

# Check resource health
az graph query -q "HealthResources | where resourceGroup =~ 'rg-{project}-{env}'"

Stopping Rules

STOP IMMEDIATELY if:

• bicep build returns errors
• What-if shows Delete (-) operations — require explicit user approval
• What-if shows >10 modified resources — summarize and confirm
• User has not approved deployment
• Azure authentication not configured
• Deprecation signals detected in what-if output

PREFLIGHT ONLY MODE: If user selects "Preflight Only" handoff, generate 06-deployment-summary.md with preflight results but DO NOT execute deployment. Mark status as "Simulated".

Known Issues

Output Files

Include attribution header from the template file (do not hardcode). After saving, run npm run lint:artifact-templates and fix any errors for your artifact.

Validation Checklist

• Azure CLI authenticated (az account get-access-token --resource https://management.azure.com/ succeeds)
• bicep build passes with no errors
• What-if analysis completed and reviewed
• No unapproved Delete operations
• No deprecation signals in what-if output
• User approval obtained before deployment
• Deployment completed successfully
• Post-deployment verification passed
• 06-deployment-summary.md saved with correct H2 headings