Azure Deploy
MicrosoftOfficialCreated by Microsoft
- Skill
- Workflow
- Cloud and DevOps
- MIT
- Medium risk
- Has scripts
AutoGineer summary
Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author
The azure-deploy skill manages the execution of cloud deployments for applications that have already been prepared and validated. It acts as the final stage in the deployment pipeline, ensuring that infrastructure and code are pushed to Azure using standardized recipes. The skill enforces strict prerequisites, requiring a validated deployment plan and a completed pre-deployment checklist to ensure success and minimize errors. It handles various deployment methods, including Azure Developer CLI (azd), Terraform, and Azure CLI, while providing built-in error recovery and post-deployment configuration steps.
What it does
- Executes deployment commands like azd up, azd deploy, and terraform apply.
- Verifies that the deployment plan is marked as Validated before proceeding.
- Performs pre-deployment health checks, including RBAC verification for managed identities.
- Configures post-deployment settings such as SQL managed identities and EF migrations.
- Provides verified, fully-qualified HTTPS endpoint URLs for the deployed application.
- Implements error recovery and verification steps based on specific deployment recipes.
When to use it
- When you need to push updates to an existing, already-prepared Azure deployment.
- When you have a project with an existing .azure/deployment-plan.md file.
- When you are ready to ship code to production after passing the azure-validate check.
- When you need to run standard deployment commands like azd up or az deployment.
Advantages
- Ensures deployment consistency by requiring a validated plan and pre-deploy checklist.
- Reduces deployment failures through automated RBAC health checks and error recovery.
- Standardizes post-deployment tasks like database migrations and identity configuration.
- Provides clear, actionable feedback with fully-qualified URLs for deployed services.
Usage examples
- “run azd up”
- The agent verifies the deployment plan status, completes the pre-deploy checklist, executes the deployment, and returns the HTTPS endpoint URLs.
- “push to production”
- The agent checks for a validated deployment plan, runs the appropriate deployment recipe, and confirms the application is live.
Install
Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/microsoft/azure-deploy/downloadUnzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:
mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip azure-deploy.zip -d .agents/skills
Documentation by Microsoft
Azure Deploy
AUTHORITATIVE GUIDANCE — MANDATORY COMPLIANCE
PREREQUISITE: The azure-validate skill MUST be invoked and completed with status
ValidatedBEFORE executing this skill.
⛔ STOP — PREREQUISITE CHECK REQUIRED Before proceeding, verify BOTH prerequisites are met:
azure-prepare was invoked and completed →
.azure/deployment-plan.mdexistsazure-validate was invoked and passed → plan status =
ValidatedIf EITHER is missing, STOP IMMEDIATELY:
No plan? → Invoke azure-prepare skill first
Status not
Validated? → Invoke azure-validate skill first⛔ DO NOT MANUALLY UPDATE THE PLAN STATUS
You are FORBIDDEN from changing the plan status to
Validatedyourself. Only the azure-validate skill is authorized to set this status after running actual validation checks. If you update the status without running validation, deployments will fail.DO NOT ASSUME the app is ready. DO NOT SKIP validation to save time. Skipping steps causes deployment failures. The complete workflow ensures success:
azure-prepare→azure-validate→azure-deploy
Triggers
Activate this skill when user wants to:
Execute deployment of an already-prepared application (azure.yaml and infra/ exist)
Push updates to an existing Azure deployment
Run
azd up,azd deploy, oraz deploymenton a prepared projectShip already-built code to production
Deploy an application that already includes API Management (APIM) gateway infrastructure
Scope: This skill executes deployments. It does not create applications, generate infrastructure code, or scaffold projects. For those tasks, use azure-prepare.
APIM / AI Gateway: Use this skill to deploy applications whose APIM/AI gateway infrastructure was already created during azure-prepare. For creating or changing APIM resources, see APIM deployment guide. For AI governance policies, invoke azure-aigateway skill.
Rules
Run after azure-prepare and azure-validate
.azure/deployment-plan.mdmust exist with statusValidatedPre-deploy checklist required — Pre-Deploy Checklist
⛔ Destructive actions require
ask_user— global-rulesScope: deployment execution only — This skill owns execution of
azd up,azd deploy,terraform apply, andaz deploymentcommands. These commands are run through this skill's error recovery and verification pipeline.
Steps
| # | Action | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Check Plan — Read .azure/deployment-plan.md, verify status = Validated AND Validation Proof section is populated | .azure/deployment-plan.md |
| 2 | Pre-Deploy Checklist — MUST complete ALL steps | Pre-Deploy Checklist |
| 3 | Load Recipe — Based on recipe.type in .azure/deployment-plan.md | recipes/README.md |
| 4 | RBAC Health Check — For Container Apps + ACR with managed identity: run azd provision --no-prompt, then verify AcrPull role has propagated before proceeding (see checklist) | Pre-Deploy Checklist — Container Apps RBAC |
| 5 | Execute Deploy — Follow recipe steps | Recipe README |
| 6 | Post-Deploy — Configure SQL managed identity and apply EF migrations if applicable | Post-Deployment |
| 7 | Handle Errors — See recipe's errors.md | — |
| 8 | Verify Success — Confirm deployment completed and endpoints are accessible | Verification |
| 9 | Live Role Verification — Query Azure to confirm provisioned RBAC roles are correct and sufficient | live-role-verification.md |
| 10 | Report Results — Present deployed endpoint URLs to the user as fully-qualified https:// links | Verification |
⛔ URL FORMAT RULE
When presenting endpoint URLs to the user, you MUST always use fully-qualified URLs with the
https://scheme (e.g.https://myapp.azurewebsites.net, notmyapp.azurewebsites.net). Many Azure CLI commands return bare hostnames without a scheme — always prependhttps://before presenting them.
⛔ VALIDATION PROOF CHECK
When checking the plan, verify the Validation Proof section (Section 7) contains actual validation results with commands run and timestamps. If this section is empty, validation was bypassed — invoke azure-validate skill first.
SDK Quick References
Azure Developer CLI: azd
Azure Identity: Python | .NET | TypeScript | Java
MCP Tools
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
mcp_azure_mcp_subscription_list | List available subscriptions |
mcp_azure_mcp_group_list | List resource groups in subscription |
mcp_azure_mcp_azd | Execute AZD commands |
azure__role | List role assignments for live RBAC verification (step 9) |
References
Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions
Post-Deployment Steps - SQL + EF Core setup
Files
- ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer968 B
- LICENSELicence file added by AutoGineer1.1 KiB
- SKILL.md6.5 KiB
- references/auth-best-practices.md6.1 KiB
- references/global-rules.md1.2 KiB
- references/live-role-verification.md3.9 KiB
- references/pre-deploy-checklist.md18.4 KiB
- references/recipes/README.md431 B
- references/recipes/azcli/README.md1.7 KiB
- references/recipes/azcli/errors.md492 B
- references/recipes/azcli/verify.md2.0 KiB
- references/recipes/azd/README.md3.7 KiB
- references/recipes/azd/ef-migrations.md5.0 KiB
- references/recipes/azd/errors.md15.4 KiB
- references/recipes/azd/functions-deploy.md3.5 KiB
- references/recipes/azd/post-deployment.md4.2 KiB
- references/recipes/azd/scripts/apply-migrations.ps1Script1.8 KiB
- references/recipes/azd/scripts/apply-migrations.shScript1.8 KiB
- references/recipes/azd/scripts/grant-and-migrate.ps1Script4.2 KiB
- references/recipes/azd/scripts/grant-and-migrate.shScript4.3 KiB
- references/recipes/azd/sql-entra-auth.md2.5 KiB
- references/recipes/azd/sql-managed-identity.md7.4 KiB
- references/recipes/azd/verify.md4.9 KiB
- references/recipes/bicep/README.md2.4 KiB
- references/recipes/bicep/errors.md511 B
- references/recipes/bicep/verify.md763 B
- references/recipes/cicd/README.md1.2 KiB
- references/recipes/cicd/errors.md542 B
- references/recipes/cicd/examples/azdo-azd.yml487 B
- references/recipes/cicd/examples/azdo-multistage.yml831 B
- references/recipes/cicd/examples/github-azd.yml782 B
- references/recipes/cicd/examples/github-bicep.yml660 B
- references/recipes/cicd/verify.md754 B
- references/recipes/terraform/README.md3.2 KiB
- references/recipes/terraform/errors.md858 B
- references/recipes/terraform/verify.md752 B
- references/region-availability.md3.0 KiB
- references/sdk/azd-deployment.md792 B
- references/sdk/azure-identity-dotnet.md941 B
- references/sdk/azure-identity-java.md1.2 KiB
- references/sdk/azure-identity-py.md1.1 KiB
- references/sdk/azure-identity-ts.md1.1 KiB
- references/troubleshooting.md8.0 KiB
references/recipes/azd/post-deployment.md
Post-Deployment Steps
Execute critical post-deployment configuration after infrastructure provisioning completes.
⚠️ Run AFTER
azd uporazd provisioncompletes successfully
When to Apply
Post-deployment steps are required when your deployment includes:
| Scenario | Required Actions |
|---|---|
| ASP.NET Core + Azure SQL + Managed Identity | Grant managed identity SQL access, apply EF migrations |
| App Service + Azure SQL + Entra auth | Grant App Service identity database permissions |
| Container Apps + SQL Database | Configure managed identity access, run migrations |
ASP.NET Core + EF Core + Azure SQL
Complete workflow for apps using Entity Framework with Azure SQL Database.
Prerequisites
azd uporazd provisioncompleted successfullyApp Service or Container App has system-assigned managed identity enabled
Azure SQL Server configured with Entra ID admin
EF Core project with migrations
Step 1: Grant Managed Identity SQL Access
Grant the App Service or Container App's managed identity permissions on the SQL database.
See SQL Managed Identity Access for detailed SQL scripts and examples.
Quick Template:
# Get the app identity name from azd
eval $(azd env get-values)
APP_NAME=$SERVICE_API_NAME # or SERVICE_WEB_NAME
# Connect as Entra admin and grant permissions
# See sql-managed-identity.md for connection patternsPowerShell:
# Get the app identity name from azd
azd env get-values | ForEach-Object {
$name, $value = $_.Split('=', 2)
Set-Item "env:$name" $value
}
$AppName = $env:SERVICE_API_NAME # or SERVICE_WEB_NAME
# Connect as Entra admin and grant permissions
# See sql-managed-identity.md for connection patternsStep 2: Apply EF Core Migrations
Apply Entity Framework migrations to create database schema.
See EF Core Migrations for deployment patterns and troubleshooting.
Quick Options:
| Method | Command | Use When |
|---|---|---|
| azd hook | Add postprovision hook in azure.yaml | Automated deployments |
| Manual | dotnet ef database update | One-time or troubleshooting |
| SQL Script | dotnet ef migrations script --idempotent | Pre-generated scripts |
Step 3: Verify Deployment
# Get app endpoint
ENDPOINT=$(azd env get-values | grep SERVICE_.*_URI | cut -d'=' -f2)
# Health check
curl -f "$ENDPOINT/health" || echo "Health check failed"
# Test database connectivity
curl -f "$ENDPOINT/api/test-db" || echo "Database connection failed"PowerShell:
# Get app endpoint
$Endpoint = azd env get-values | Select-String -Pattern 'SERVICE_.*_URI' |
Select-Object -First 1 | ForEach-Object { ($_ -split '=', 2)[1] }
# Health check
try { Invoke-WebRequest "$Endpoint/health" } catch { Write-Output "Health check failed" }
# Test database connectivity
try { Invoke-WebRequest "$Endpoint/api/test-db" } catch { Write-Output "Database connection failed" }Expected Result:
HTTP 200 from health endpoint
No SQL authentication errors in logs
Application starts successfully
Common Issues
| Error | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
Login failed for user '<token-identified principal>' | Managed identity not granted SQL access | Follow sql-managed-identity.md |
Cannot open database | Firewall rules block access | Check SQL firewall, ensure "Allow Azure services" enabled |
Invalid object name | Migrations not applied | Run EF migrations per ef-migrations.md |
No such table | Schema missing | Apply migrations or check connection string database name |
Best Practices
Automate with azd hooks — Add
postprovisionhook toazure.yamlfor repeatable deploymentsUse idempotent scripts — Generate SQL with
dotnet ef migrations script --idempotentVerify incrementally — Test SQL access, then migrations, then endpoint
Log everything — Enable verbose logging during initial setup for troubleshooting
References
Requirements and compatibility
Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta
“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.
Security
What our scanner noticed· Medium risk
- Instructions that use the network
- Downloads piped into a shell
- Scripts that your agent may run
This skill includes scripts that your agent may run. Read them before you use it.
A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.
Attribution and licence
- Created by
- Microsoft
- Publisher
- Microsoft (Official)
- Source
- microsoft/skills · .github/plugins/azure-skills/skills/azure-deploy · commit 0696600
- Licence
- MIT License (redistribution allowed)
- LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from .github/plugins/azure-skills/LICENSE)
- ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
- Synced
- Also distributed in
- microsoft/azure-skills
AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.
Download ZIP
The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download azure-deploy.zip