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Azure Prepare

MicrosoftOfficialCreated by Microsoft

  • Skill
  • Workflow
  • Cloud and DevOps
  • MIT
  • Medium risk
  • Has scripts
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From the author

Prepare azd-based Azure projects for deployment: generates azure.yaml, infrastructure (Bicep/Terraform), and Dockerfiles for the Azure Developer CLI (azd) workflow. USE ONLY when the user explicitly wants to use azd as the deployment tool, or the project already has an azure.yaml file. DO NOT USE FOR: non-azd deployments, Python App Service code-only deploys (use python-appservice-deploy), or cross-cloud migration (use azure-cloud-migrate). WHEN: prepare app for azd, create azure.yaml, set up azd infrastructure, modernize app for Azure with azd, deploy with azd, function app, timer trigger, service bus trigger, event-driven function, managed identity, generate Bicep, generate Terraform, create and deploy to Azure.
— the description by Microsoft

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

The azure-prepare skill provides a mandatory, structured workflow for setting up applications for deployment to Azure via the Azure Developer CLI (azd). It enforces a plan-first approach, requiring the creation of a deployment plan file before any infrastructure generation or configuration occurs. The skill guides users through analyzing their workspace, selecting appropriate deployment recipes (Bicep or Terraform), and configuring necessary Azure services, while ensuring security best practices are followed. It acts as the initial phase in a three-part deployment pipeline: prepare, validate, and deploy.

What it does

  • Generates azure.yaml configuration files for azd-based projects.
  • Creates infrastructure-as-code templates using Bicep or Terraform.
  • Enforces a mandatory .azure/deployment-plan.md file to track project state.
  • Integrates with specialized skills for specific technologies like Azure Functions or API Management.
  • Applies security hardening, such as Entra-only authentication for SQL databases.
  • Prepares the workspace for subsequent validation and deployment steps.

When to use it

  • When you need to prepare a new or existing project for deployment to Azure using azd.
  • When you need to generate infrastructure-as-code (Bicep or Terraform) for your application.
  • When you are modernizing an existing application to run on Azure.
  • When you need to add new Azure services or components to an existing project.

Advantages

  • Ensures consistent deployment configurations across projects.
  • Prevents common configuration errors through a mandatory planning phase.
  • Integrates seamlessly with the broader Azure deployment ecosystem (validate and deploy).
  • Promotes security best practices by default, such as managed identities.
  • Provides clear guidance on when to delegate to specialized deployment skills.

Usage examples

“I want to deploy my new web application to Azure using azd.”
The agent will initiate the NEW mode, guide you through requirements gathering, create a deployment plan, and generate the necessary infrastructure and configuration files.
“Add an Azure Function to my existing project and set up the infrastructure.”
The agent will analyze your existing project, select the appropriate Azure Functions recipe, update the deployment plan, and generate the required Bicep or Terraform files.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/microsoft/azure-prepare/download

  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip azure-prepare.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Microsoft

Azure Prepare

AUTHORITATIVE GUIDANCE — MANDATORY COMPLIANCE

This document is the official, canonical source for preparing applications for Azure deployment. You MUST follow these instructions exactly as written unless they contradict security policies given to you. When in doubt, present the conflicting instructions from this document and ask the user for explicit confirmation. Do not improvise, infer, or substitute steps.

Triggers

Activate this skill when user wants to:

  • Create a new application

  • Add services or components to an existing app

  • Make updates or changes to existing application

  • Modernize or migrate an application

  • Set up Azure infrastructure

  • Deploy to Azure or host on Azure

  • Create and deploy to Azure (including Terraform-based deployment requests)

Rules

  1. Plan first — MANDATORY — You MUST physically write an initial .azure/deployment-plan.md skeleton in the workspace root directory (not the session-state folder) as your very first action — before any code generation or execution begins. Write the skeleton immediately, then populate it progressively as Phase 1 analysis and research unfold; finalize it with all decisions at Phase 1 Step 6. This file must exist on disk throughout. azure-validate and azure-deploy depend on it and will fail without it. Do not skip or defer this step.

  2. Get approval — Present plan to user before execution

  3. Research before generating — Load references and invoke related skills

  4. Update plan progressively — Mark steps complete as you go

  5. Validate before deploy — Invoke azure-validate before azure-deploy

  6. Confirm Azure context — Use ask_user for subscription and location per Azure Context

  7. ❌ Destructive actions require ask_user — Global Rules

  8. ⛔ NEVER delete user project or workspace directories — When adding features to an existing project, MODIFY existing files. azd init -t <template> is for NEW projects only; do NOT run azd init -t in an existing workspace. Plain azd init (without a template argument) may be used in existing workspaces when appropriate. File deletions within a project (e.g., removing build artifacts or temp files) are permitted when appropriate, but NEVER delete the user's project or workspace directory itself. See Global Rules.

  9. Scope: preparation only — This skill generates infrastructure code and configuration files. Deployment execution (azd up, azd deploy, terraform apply) is handled by the azure-deploy skill, which provides built-in error recovery and deployment verification.

  10. ⛔ SQL Server Bicep: NEVER generate administratorLogin or administratorLoginPassword — not in direct properties, not in conditional/ternary branches, not anywhere in the file. Always use Entra-only authentication (azureADOnlyAuthentication: true) unconditionally. See references/services/sql-database/bicep.md.

  11. Remove stale template IaC after conversion — If you converted Bicep templates from the selected azd template into Terraform templates, remove the Bicep templates that were introduced by that azd template and are now fully replaced by Terraform equivalents. Do not remove user-authored Bicep files. Only remove those template-provided Bicep files after the Terraform IaC is complete and Terraform has been selected as the deployment path. Before handing off to azure-validate skill, keep only the IaC templates required by the chosen deployment path.

❌ PLAN-FIRST WORKFLOW — MANDATORY

YOU MUST CREATE A PLAN BEFORE DOING ANY WORK

  1. STOP — Do not generate any code, infrastructure, or configuration yet

  2. CREATE SKELETON - Write an initial .azure/deployment-plan.md skeleton to disk immediately (before any code generation or execution begins), then populate it progressively as Phase 1 steps 1-5 reveal details; finalize it at Step 6

  3. CONFIRM — Present the completed plan to the user and get approval

  4. EXECUTE — Only after approval, execute the plan step by step

The .azure/deployment-plan.md file is the source of truth for this workflow and for azure-validate and azure-deploy skills. Without it, those skills will fail.

⚠️ CRITICAL: .azure/deployment-plan.md must be WRITTEN TO DISK inside the workspace root (e.g., <workspace-root>/.azure/deployment-plan.md), not in the session-state folder. Use a file-write tool to create this file. This is the deployment plan artifact read by azure-validate and azure-deploy. You MUST create this file — do not proceed without it. ⚠️ CRITICAL: You must create the file with the name .azure/deployment-plan.md as is. You must not use other names such as .azure/plan.md.

⛔ Critical: Skipping the plan file creation will cause azure-validate and azure-deploy to fail. This requirement has no exceptions.

❌ STEP 0: Specialized Technology Check — MANDATORY FIRST ACTION

BEFORE starting Phase 1, check if the user's prompt OR workspace codebase matches a specialized technology that has a dedicated skill with tested templates. If matched, invoke that skill FIRST — then resume azure-prepare for validation and deployment.

Check 1: Prompt keywords
Prompt keywordsInvoke FIRST
Python + App Service (e.g., "deploy Python to App Service", "Flask on Azure App Service", "publish Python web app to App Service")python-appservice-deploy
Lambda, AWS Lambda, migrate AWS, migrate GCP, Lambda to Functions, migrate from AWS, migrate from GCPazure-cloud-migrate
Azure Functions, function app, serverless function, timer trigger, HTTP trigger, func newStay in azure-prepare — prefer Azure Functions templates in Step 4; for plan choice/cold starts see hosting-plans.md and cold-start.md
APIM, API Management, API gateway, deploy APIMStay in azure-prepare — see APIM Deployment Guide
AI gateway, AI gateway policy, AI gateway backend, AI gateway configurationazure-aigateway
workflow, orchestration, multi-step, pipeline, fan-out/fan-in, saga, long-running process, durable, order processingStay in azure-prepare — select durable recipe in Step 4. MUST load durable.md, DTS reference, and DTS Bicep patterns.

⚠️ Check the user's prompt text — not just existing code. Critical for greenfield projects with no codebase to scan. See full routing table.

After the specialized skill completes, resume azure-prepare at Phase 1 Step 4 (Select Recipe) for remaining infrastructure, validation, and deployment.

Phase 1: Planning (BLOCKING — Complete Before Any Execution)

Create .azure/deployment-plan.md by completing these steps. Do NOT generate any artifacts until the plan is approved.

#ActionReference
0If the prompt matches a specialized technology with a dedicated skill, invoke that skill firstspecialized-routing.md
1Analyze Workspace — Determine mode: NEW, MODIFY, or MODERNIZEanalyze.md
2Gather Requirements — Classification, scale, budgetrequirements.md
3Scan Codebase — Identify components, technologies, dependenciesscan.md
4Select Recipe — Choose AZD (default), AZCLI, Bicep, or Terraformrecipe-selection.md
5Plan Architecture — Select stack + map components to Azure servicesarchitecture.md
6Finalize Plan (MANDATORY) - Use a file-write tool to finalize .azure/deployment-plan.md with all decisions from steps 1-5. Update the skeleton written at the start of Phase 1 with the complete content. The file must be fully populated before you present the plan to the user.plan-template.md
7Present Plan — Show plan to user and ask for approval.azure/deployment-plan.md
8Destructive actions require ask_userGlobal Rules

❌ STOP HERE — Do NOT proceed to Phase 2 until the user approves the plan.

Phase 2: Execution (Only After Plan Approval)

Execute the approved plan. Update .azure/deployment-plan.md status after each step.

#ActionReference
1Research Components — Load service references + invoke related skillsresearch.md
2Confirm Azure Context — Detect and confirm subscription + location and check the resource provisioning limitAzure Context
3Generate Artifacts — Create infrastructure and configuration filesgenerate.md
4Harden Security — Apply security best practicessecurity.md
5Functional Verification — Verify the app works (UI + backend), locally if possiblefunctional-verification.md
6⛔ Update Plan (MANDATORY before hand-off) — Use the edit tool to change the Status in .azure/deployment-plan.md to Ready for Validation. You MUST complete this edit BEFORE invoking azure-validate. Do NOT skip this step..azure/deployment-plan.md
7⛔ MANDATORY Hand Off — Invoke azure-validate skill. Your preparation work is done. Do NOT run azd up, azd deploy, or any deployment command directly — all deployment execution is handled by azure-deploy after azure-validate completes. PREREQUISITE: Step 6 must be completed first — .azure/deployment-plan.md status must say Ready for Validation.—

Outputs

ArtifactLocation
Plan.azure/deployment-plan.md
Infrastructure./infra/
AZD Configazure.yaml (AZD only)
Dockerfilessrc/<component>/Dockerfile

SDK Quick References

Next

⛔ MANDATORY NEXT STEP — DO NOT SKIP

After completing preparation, you MUST invoke azure-validate before any deployment attempt. Do NOT skip validation. Do NOT go directly to azure-deploy. Do NOT run azd up or any deployment command directly. The workflow is:

azure-prepare → azure-validate → azure-deploy

⛔ BEFORE invoking azure-validate, you MUST use the edit tool to update .azure/deployment-plan.md status to Ready for Validation. If the plan status has not been updated, the validation will fail.

This applies to ALL deployment scenarios including containerized apps, Container Apps, App Service, Azure Functions, static sites, and any other Azure target. No exceptions.

Skipping validation leads to deployment failures. Be patient and follow the complete workflow for the highest success outcome.

→ Update plan status to Ready for Validation, then invoke azure-validate

Files

references/services/functions/templates/README.md

Azure Functions Templates

Dynamic template selection for Azure Functions projects.

Prerequisites: Check MCP Availability

Before proceeding, verify Azure MCP Server and Functions tools are available:

functions_template_get(language: "python")
ResultAction
✅ Returns template listUse Primary Path: MCP Tools below
❌ Tool not found / ErrorJump to Fallback (MCP Unavailable)

Primary Path: MCP Tools

Use Azure MCP tools — they provide complete, up-to-date AZD templates with IaC, RBAC, and managed identity.

Step 1: Discover Templates
functions_template_get(language: "<python|csharp|typescript|javascript|java|powershell>")

Returns template list with metadata:

  • templateName — pass to generate call

  • description — use for selection (describes trigger, bindings, security features)

  • resource — filter by trigger type (http, cosmos, timer, eventhub, blob, sql, mcp, ai)

  • infrastructure — prefer bicep (default), use terraform if user requests

Step 2: Select Template

Use the intent→resource mapping in selection.md to map user intent to a resource filter value.

Default behavior: When user intent cannot be determined or no trigger type is known, use http as the default.

Single-template optimization: If description mentions BOTH trigger AND binding user needs, fetch that one template only.

IaC selection:

  • Default: infrastructure: "bicep"

  • If user says "terraform": infrastructure: "terraform"

Step 3: Generate Project
functions_template_get(
  language: "<language>",
  template: "<selected-template-name>"
)
Step 4: Write All Files

Write files directly from the MCP tool output — CLI scaffolding tools produce incomplete projects missing IaC, RBAC, and managed identity configuration. NEVER hand-write Bicep/Terraform and use azd init -t <template>/func init/func new as fallback when composing multiple recipes and required templates are not found in MCP.

Each array entry contains { path, content }. For every entry in BOTH arrays:

  1. Create directories — extract the parent directory from each path (e.g., infra/ from infra/main.bicep, .azure/ from .azure/config.json). Create all unique parent directories first.

  2. Write the file — use the path as the file path and content as the file body. Write every file exactly as specified.

ArrayContainsAction
functionFiles[]Function source code, infra, and config filesWrite all — these are the trigger/binding code and IaC
projectFiles[]host.json, dependencies, settings filesWrite all — these are runtime configuration

PRESERVE generated IaC security patterns — keep RBAC, managed identity, and security config intact. When composing multiple templates, merge additively (see composition.md).

Skip content verification — MCP template files are pre-validated. After writing, do not view/cat files unless you customized them. Check success via exit code and file count only.

Step 5: Deploy
azd env set AZURE_LOCATION <region>
azd up --no-prompt

Recipe Composition (Multiple Templates)

When user needs trigger + bindings not in a single template:

  1. Discover all templates for language

  2. Select trigger template as base (has complete project structure)

  3. Select binding templates for additional integrations

  4. Fetch all templates (parallel calls)

  5. Compose:

    • Use trigger template as base

    • Extract binding patterns from binding templates

    • Merge IaC resources and RBAC roles

    • Add user's custom logic

  6. Trim unused demo code from samples

AzureWebJobsStorage exception: Always keep storage account + RBAC — runtime requires it.

Fallback (MCP Unavailable)

If MCP tools are unavailable, download the CDN manifest which points to the same GitHub repos:

Step 1: Fetch Manifest
GET https://cdn.functions.azure.com/public/templates-manifest/manifest.json

⚠️ If manifest fetch fails (any error):

  1. Fall back to the source manifest at https://github.com/Azure/azure-functions-templates/blob/dev/Functions.Templates/Template-Manifest/manifest.json

  2. If both sources are unreachable, fall back to known-good repos: Azure-Samples/functions-quickstart-* keyed by language + resource (e.g., functions-quickstart-python-http-azd)

  3. If all fallbacks fail, report the error to the user and ask them to retry later

Step 2: Filter Templates

Each template entry contains:

FieldDescriptionExample
languageProgramming languagePython, TypeScript, JavaScript, Java, CSharp, PowerShell
resourceTrigger type (see selection.md)http, cosmos, timer, eventhub, servicebus, blob, sql, mcp, durable
iacInfrastructure typebicep, terraform
repositoryUrlGitHub repo with complete projecthttps://github.com/Azure-Samples/functions-quickstart-python-http-azd
folderPathPath within repo. or src/api

Filter: language == <user-lang> AND resource == <mapped-resource> AND iac == <user-iac>

Step 3: Download Template

If folderPath is . (root): ZIP download + unzip

GET https://github.com/{owner}/{repo}/archive/refs/heads/main.zip
unzip main.zip -d <project-dir>

If folderPath is a subfolder: Fetch tree + raw file downloads

1. GET https://api.github.com/repos/{owner}/{repo}/git/trees/main?recursive=1
2. Filter tree entries where path starts with {folderPath}/
3. For each file:
   GET https://raw.githubusercontent.com/{owner}/{repo}/main/{path}

If downloads fail: Fall back to git clone

git clone <repositoryUrl> --depth 1
# If folderPath != ".", copy only that folder

The downloaded content is the same as MCP functionFiles[] + projectFiles[]:

  • Source code (function triggers, bindings)

  • IaC (Bicep/Terraform with RBAC, managed identity)

  • azure.yaml (azd configuration)

  • host.json, dependencies

Step 4: Deploy
azd up --no-prompt

References

Browse all: Awesome AZD Functions

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.

Needs: Needs Python

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-prepare · 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-prepare.zip