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Performs comprehensive preflight validation of Bicep deployments to Azure, including template syntax validation, what-if analysis, and permission checks. Use this skill before any deployment to Azure to preview changes, identify potential issues, and ensure the deployment will succeed. Activate when users mention deploying to Azure, validating Bicep files, checking deployment permissions, previewing infrastructure changes, running what-if, or preparing for azd provision.
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Azure Deployment Preflight Validation
This skill validates Bicep deployments before execution, supporting both Azure CLI (az) and Azure Developer CLI (azd) workflows.
When to Use This Skill
Before deploying infrastructure to Azure
When preparing or reviewing Bicep files
To preview what changes a deployment will make
To verify permissions are sufficient for deployment
Before running azd up, azd provision, or az deployment commands
Validation Process
Follow these steps in order. Continue to the next step even if a previous step fails—capture all issues in the final report.
Step 1: Detect Project Type
Determine the deployment workflow by checking for project indicators:
Check for azd project : Look for azure.yaml in the project root
If found → Use azd workflow
If not found → Use az CLI workflow
Locate Bicep files : Find all .bicep files to validate
For azd projects: Check infra/ directory first, then project root
For standalone: Use the file specified by the user or search common locations (infra/, deploy/, project root)
Auto-detect parameter files : For each Bicep file, look for matching parameter files:
<filename>.bicepparam (Bicep parameters - preferred)<filename>.parameters.json (JSON parameters)parameters.json or parameters/<env>.json in same directory
Step 2: Validate Bicep Syntax Run Bicep CLI to check template syntax before attempting deployment validation:
bicep build <bicep-file> --stdout
Syntax errors with line/column numbers
Warning messages
Build success/failure status
If Bicep CLI is not installed:
Note the issue in the report
Continue to Step 3 (Azure will validate syntax during what-if)
Step 3: Run Preflight Validation Choose the appropriate validation based on project type detected in Step 1.
For azd Projects (azure.yaml exists) Use azd provision --preview to validate the deployment:
If an environment is specified or multiple environments exist:
azd provision --preview --environment <env-name>
For Standalone Bicep (no azure.yaml) Determine the deployment scope from the Bicep file's targetScope declaration:
Target Scope Command resourceGroup (default)az deployment group what-ifsubscriptionaz deployment sub what-ifmanagementGroupaz deployment mg what-iftenantaz deployment tenant what-if
Run with Provider validation level first:
# Resource Group scope (most common)
az deployment group what-if \
--resource-group <rg-name> \
--template-file <bicep-file> \
--parameters <param-file> \
--validation-level Provider
# Subscription scope
az deployment sub what-if \
--location <location> \
--template-file <bicep-file> \
--parameters <param-file> \
--validation-level Provider
# Management Group scope
az deployment mg what-if \
--location <location> \
--management-group-id <mg-id> \
--template-file <bicep-file> \
--parameters <param-file> \
--validation-level Provider
# Tenant scope
az deployment tenant what-if \
--location <location> \
--template-file <bicep-file> \
--parameters <param-file> \
--validation-level Provider
If --validation-level Provider fails with permission errors (RBAC), retry with ProviderNoRbac:
az deployment group what-if \
--resource-group <rg-name> \
--template-file <bicep-file> \
--validation-level ProviderNoRbac
Note the fallback in the report—the user may lack full deployment permissions.
Step 4: Capture What-If Results Parse the what-if output to categorize resource changes:
Change Type Symbol Meaning Create +New resource will be created Delete -Resource will be deleted Modify ~Resource properties will change NoChange =Resource unchanged Ignore *Resource not analyzed (limits reached) Deploy !Resource will be deployed (changes unknown)
For modified resources, capture the specific property changes.
Step 5: Generate Report Create a Markdown report file in the project root named:
Summary - Overall status, timestamp, files validated, target scopeTools Executed - Commands run, versions, validation levels usedIssues - All errors and warnings with severity and remediationWhat-If Results - Resources to create/modify/delete/unchangedRecommendations - Actionable next steps
Required Information Before running validation, gather:
Information Required For How to Obtain Resource Group az deployment groupAsk user or check existing .azure/ config Subscription All deployments az account show or ask userLocation Sub/MG/Tenant scope Ask user or use default from config Environment azd projects azd env list or ask user
If required information is missing, prompt the user before proceeding.
Error Handling Key principle: Continue validation even when errors occur. Capture all issues in the final report.
Error Type Action Not logged in Note in report, suggest az login or azd auth login Permission denied Fall back to ProviderNoRbac, note in report Bicep syntax error Include all errors, continue to other files Tool not installed Note in report, skip that validation step Resource group not found Note in report, suggest creating it
Tool Requirements This skill uses the following tools:
Azure CLI (az) - Version 2.76.0+ recommended for --validation-levelAzure Developer CLI (azd) - For projects with azure.yamlBicep CLI (bicep) - For syntax validationAzure MCP Tools - For documentation lookups and best practices Check tool availability before starting:
az --version
azd version
bicep --version
Example Workflow
User: "Validate my Bicep deployment before I run it"
Agent detects azure.yaml → azd project
Agent finds infra/main.bicep and infra/main.bicepparam
Agent runs bicep build infra/main.bicep --stdout
Agent runs azd provision --preview
Agent generates preflight-report.md in project root
Agent summarizes findings to user
Reference Documentation 