Quickstart: Create App Service app using an ARM template

Article
08/25/2023

Get started with Azure App Service by deploying a app to the cloud using an ARM template (A JSON file that declaratively defines one or more Azure resources and dependencies between the deployed resources. The template can be used to deploy the resources consistently and repeatedly.) and Azure CLI in Cloud Shell. Because you use a free App Service tier, you incur no costs to complete this quickstart. The template uses declarative syntax. (In declarative syntax, you describe your intended deployment without writing the sequence of programming commands to create the deployment.)

If your environment meets the prerequisites and you're familiar with using ARM templates, select the Deploy to Azure button. The template will open in the Azure portal.

1. Prepare your environment

If you don't have an Azure subscription, create an Azure free account before you begin.

2. Review the template

The template used in this quickstart is from Azure Quickstart Templates. It deploys an App Service plan and an App Service app on Windows.

{
  "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2019-04-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
  "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
  "parameters": {
    "webAppName": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "[concat('webApp-', uniqueString(resourceGroup().id))]",
      "minLength": 2,
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Web app name."
      }
    },
    "location": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "[resourceGroup().location]",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Location for all resources."
      }
    },
    "sku": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "F1",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "The SKU of App Service Plan."
      }
    },
    "language": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": ".net",
      "allowedValues": [
        ".net",
        "php",
        "node",
        "html"
      ],
      "metadata": {
        "description": "The language stack of the app."
      }
    },
    "helloWorld": {
      "type": "bool",
      "defaultValue": false,
      "metadata": {
        "description": "true = deploy a sample Hello World app."
      }
    },
    "repoUrl": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Optional Git Repo URL"
      }
    }
  },
  "variables": {
    "appServicePlanPortalName": "[concat('AppServicePlan-', parameters('webAppName'))]",
    "gitRepoReference": {
      ".net": "https://github.com/Azure-Samples/app-service-web-dotnet-get-started",
      "node": "https://github.com/Azure-Samples/nodejs-docs-hello-world",
      "php": "https://github.com/Azure-Samples/php-docs-hello-world",
      "html": "https://github.com/Azure-Samples/html-docs-hello-world"
    },
    "gitRepoUrl": "[if(bool(parameters('helloWorld')), variables('gitRepoReference')[toLower(parameters('language'))], parameters('repoUrl'))]",
    "configReference": {
      ".net": {
        "comments": ".Net app. No additional configuration needed."
      },
      "html": {
        "comments": "HTML app. No additional configuration needed."
      },
      "php": {
        "phpVersion": "7.4"
      },
      "node": {
        "appSettings": [
          {
            "name": "WEBSITE_NODE_DEFAULT_VERSION",
            "value": "12.15.0"
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  },
  "resources": [
    {
      "type": "Microsoft.Web/serverfarms",
      "apiVersion": "2020-06-01",
      "name": "[variables('appServicePlanPortalName')]",
      "location": "[parameters('location')]",
      "sku": {
        "name": "[parameters('sku')]"
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "Microsoft.Web/sites",
      "apiVersion": "2020-06-01",
      "name": "[parameters('webAppName')]",
      "location": "[parameters('location')]",
      "dependsOn": [
        "[resourceId('Microsoft.Web/serverfarms', variables('appServicePlanPortalName'))]"
      ],
      "properties": {
        "siteConfig": "[variables('configReference')[parameters('language')]]",
        "serverFarmId": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Web/serverfarms', variables('appServicePlanPortalName'))]"
      },
      "resources": [
        {
          "condition": "[contains(variables('gitRepoUrl'),'http')]",
          "type": "sourcecontrols",
          "apiVersion": "2020-06-01",
          "name": "web",
          "location": "[parameters('location')]",
          "dependsOn": [
            "[resourceId('Microsoft.Web/sites', parameters('webAppName'))]"
          ],
          "properties": {
            "repoUrl": "[variables('gitRepoUrl')]",
            "branch": "master",
            "isManualIntegration": true
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

What resources and parameters are defined in the template?

Two Azure resources are defined in the template:

Microsoft.Web/serverfarms: create an App Service plan.
Microsoft.Web/sites: create an App Service app.

The following table details defaults parameters and their descriptions:

Parameters	Type	Default value	Description
webAppName	string	"webApp-`<uniqueString>`"	App name
location	string	"[resourceGroup().location]"	App region
sku	string	"F1"	Instance size (F1 = Free Tier)
language	string	".net"	Programming language stack (.net, php, node, html)
helloWorld	boolean	False	True = Deploy "Hello World" app
repoUrl	string	" "	External Git repo (optional)

The template used in this quickstart is from Azure Quickstart Templates. It deploys an App Service plan and an App Service app on Windows.

{
  "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2019-04-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
  "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
  "metadata": {
    "_generator": {
      "name": "bicep",
      "version": "0.5.6.12127",
      "templateHash": "10602523904429381366"
    }
  },
  "parameters": {
    "webAppName": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "[format('webApp-{0}', uniqueString(resourceGroup().id))]",
      "minLength": 2,
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Web app name."
      }
    },
    "location": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "[resourceGroup().location]",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Location for all resources."
      }
    },
    "sku": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "F1",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "The SKU of App Service Plan."
      }
    },
    "linuxFxVersion": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "DOTNETCORE|3.0",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "The Runtime stack of current web app"
      }
    },
    "repoUrl": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": " ",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Optional Git Repo URL"
      }
    }
  },
  "variables": {
    "appServicePlanPortalName": "[format('AppServicePlan-{0}', parameters('webAppName'))]"
  },
  "resources": [
    {
      "type": "Microsoft.Web/serverfarms",
      "apiVersion": "2021-02-01",
      "name": "[variables('appServicePlanPortalName')]",
      "location": "[parameters('location')]",
      "sku": {
        "name": "[parameters('sku')]"
      },
      "kind": "linux",
      "properties": {
        "reserved": true
      }
    },
    {
      "type": "Microsoft.Web/sites",
      "apiVersion": "2021-02-01",
      "name": "[parameters('webAppName')]",
      "location": "[parameters('location')]",
      "properties": {
        "httpsOnly": true,
        "serverFarmId": "[resourceId('Microsoft.Web/serverfarms', variables('appServicePlanPortalName'))]",
        "siteConfig": {
          "linuxFxVersion": "[parameters('linuxFxVersion')]",
          "minTlsVersion": "1.2",
          "ftpsState": "FtpsOnly"
        }
      },
      "identity": {
        "type": "SystemAssigned"
      },
      "dependsOn": [
        "[resourceId('Microsoft.Web/serverfarms', variables('appServicePlanPortalName'))]"
      ]
    },
    {
      "condition": "[contains(parameters('repoUrl'), 'http')]",
      "type": "Microsoft.Web/sites/sourcecontrols",
      "apiVersion": "2021-02-01",
      "name": "[format('{0}/{1}', parameters('webAppName'), 'web')]",
      "properties": {
        "repoUrl": "[parameters('repoUrl')]",
        "branch": "master",
        "isManualIntegration": true
      },
      "dependsOn": [
        "[resourceId('Microsoft.Web/sites', parameters('webAppName'))]"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

This template includes Azure resources and parameters that are defined for your convenience.

What resources and parameters are defined in the template?

Two Azure resources are defined in the template:

Microsoft.Web/serverfarms: create an App Service plan.
Microsoft.Web/sites: create an App Service app.

The following table details defaults parameters and their descriptions:

Parameters	Type	Default value	Description
webAppName	string	"webApp-`<uniqueString>`"	App name
location	string	"[resourceGroup().location]"	App region
sku	string	"F1"	Instance size (F1 = Free Tier)
linuxFxVersion	string	"DOTNETCORE\|3.0	"Programming language stack \| Version"
repoUrl	string	" "	External Git repo (optional)

3. Deploy the template

Run the code below to deploy a .NET framework app on Windows using Azure CLI.

Replace <app-name> (Valid characters characters are a-z, 0-9, and -.) with a globally unique app name. To learn other deployment methods (You can also use the Azure portal, Azure PowerShell, and REST API.), see Deploy templates. You can find more Azure App Service template samples here.

az group create --name myResourceGroup --location "southcentralus" &&
az deployment group create --resource-group myResourceGroup \
--parameters language=".net" helloWorld="true" webAppName="<app-name>" \
--template-uri "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Azure/azure-quickstart-templates/master/quickstarts/microsoft.web/app-service-docs-windows/azuredeploy.json"

Run the code below to create a Python app on Linux.

Replace <app-name> with a globally unique app name. Valid characters characters are a-z, 0-9, and -.

az group create --name myResourceGroup --location "southcentralus" &&
az deployment group create --resource-group myResourceGroup --parameters webAppName="<app-name>" linuxFxVersion="PYTHON|3.7" \
--template-uri "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Azure/azure-quickstart-templates/master/quickstarts/microsoft.web/app-service-docs-linux/azuredeploy.json"

What's the code doing?

The commands do the following actions:

Create a default resource group (A logical container for related Azure resources that you can manage as a unit.).
Create a default App Service plan (The plan that specifies the location, size, and features of the web server farm that hosts your app.).
Create an App Service app (The representation of your web app, which contains your app code, DNS hostnames, certificates, and related resources.) with the specified name.

How do I deploy a different language stack?

To deploy a different language stack, update language parameter (This template is compatible with .NET Core, .NET Framework, PHP, Node.js, and Static HTML apps.) with appropriate values. For Java, see Create Java app.

Parameters	Type	Default value	Description
language	string	".net"	Programming language stack (.net, php, node, html)

How do I deploy a different language stack?

To deploy a different language stack, update linuxFxVersion with appropriate values. Samples are shown below. To show current versions, run the following command in the Cloud Shell: az webapp config show --resource-group myResourceGroup --name <app-name> --query linuxFxVersion

Language	Example
.NET	linuxFxVersion="DOTNETCORE\|3.0"
PHP	linuxFxVersion="PHP\|7.4"
Node.js	linuxFxVersion="NODE\|10.15"
Java	linuxFxVersion="JAVA\|1.8 \|TOMCAT\|9.0"
Python	linuxFxVersion="PYTHON\|3.7"
Ruby	linuxFxVersion="RUBY\|2.6"

4. Validate the deployment

Browse to http://<app_name>.azurewebsites.net/ and verify it's been created.

5. Clean up resources

When no longer needed, delete the resource group.