Azure Developer CLI (azd) Container Apps Deployment

Deploy containerized frontend + backend applications to Azure Container Apps with remote builds, managed identity, and idempotent infrastructure.

Quick Start

# Initialize and deploy
azd auth login
azd init                    # Creates azure.yaml and .azure/ folder
azd env new <env-name>      # Create environment (dev, staging, prod)
azd up                      # Provision infra + build + deploy

Core File Structure

project/
├── azure.yaml              # azd service definitions + hooks
├── infra/
│   ├── main.bicep          # Root infrastructure module
│   ├── main.parameters.json # Parameter injection from env vars
│   └── modules/
│       ├── container-apps-environment.bicep
│       └── container-app.bicep
├── .azure/
│   ├── config.json         # Default environment pointer
│   └── <env-name>/
│       ├── .env            # Environment-specific values (azd-managed)
│       └── config.json     # Environment metadata
└── src/
    ├── frontend/Dockerfile
    └── backend/Dockerfile

azure.yaml Configuration

Minimal Configuration

name: azd-deployment
services:
  backend:
    project: ./src/backend
    language: python
    host: containerapp
    docker:
      path: ./Dockerfile
      remoteBuild: true

Full Configuration with Hooks

name: azd-deployment
metadata:
  template: [email protected]

infra:
  provider: bicep
  path: ./infra

azure:
  location: eastus2

services:
  frontend:
    project: ./src/frontend
    language: ts
    host: containerapp
    docker:
      path: ./Dockerfile
      context: .
      remoteBuild: true

  backend:
    project: ./src/backend
    language: python
    host: containerapp
    docker:
      path: ./Dockerfile
      context: .
      remoteBuild: true

hooks:
  preprovision:
    shell: sh
    run: |
      echo "Before provisioning..."
      
  postprovision:
    shell: sh
    run: |
      echo "After provisioning - set up RBAC, etc."
      
  postdeploy:
    shell: sh
    run: |
      echo "Frontend: ${SERVICE_FRONTEND_URI}"
      echo "Backend: ${SERVICE_BACKEND_URI}"

Key azure.yaml Options

Option	Description