Bicep Essentials: How to Build, Deploy, and Preview with Azure CLI

In this post I go through the necessary stuff for you to understand what options you have pre deployment to check the quality and errors of your Bicep code, and how to actually deploy your Bicep with Azure CLI

Building and Validating Bicep Templates

Before deploying your Bicep files, always validate them to catch issues early. Here’s how to compile a Bicep file into ARM JSON:

 az bicep build --file main.bicep

This generates a corresponding main.json file, allowing you to inspect the ARM template directly.

Validate your template against Azure resources without actually deploying it:

az deployment group validate \
  --resource-group myResourceGroup \
  --template-file main.bicep \
  --parameters @params.json

Using “What-if” for Safe Previews

The Azure CLI’s what-if operation lets you preview changes before execution, helping you avoid unintended alterations to your environment:

az deployment group what-if \
  --resource-group myResourceGroup \
  --template-file main.bicep \
  --parameters @params.json

Deploying Bicep Files with Azure CLI

Deployments are straightforward and robust with Azure CLI. A typical deployment looks like this:

az deployment group create \
  --resource-group myResourceGroup \
  --template-file main.bicep \
  --parameters @params.json

For deployments targeting different scopes, use the respective commands:

• Subscription scope: az deployment sub create
• Management group scope: az deployment mg create
• Tenant scope: az deployment tenant create

Advanced Bicep CLI Commands: Linting and Decompiling

Bicep CLI includes advanced features to keep your code clean and manageable:

• Linter: Analyze and enforce best practices.

az bicep lint --file main.bicep

• Decompile existing ARM templates: Convert ARM JSON templates back to Bicep for easier readability and updates.

az bicep decompile --file main.json

CLI Tips for Automation

Integrate Azure CLI and Bicep into CI/CD pipelines for automation:

• Use environment variables for parameterization.
• Combine validate, what-if, and conditional logic in pipelines to safely automate deployments.
• Leverage Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions for a seamless workflow.

Here’s a sample Azure CLI command to deploy within a pipeline:

- script: |
    az deployment group create \
      --resource-group $(resourceGroup) \
      --template-file main.bicep \
      --parameters @params.json
  displayName: 'Deploy Bicep Template'

Best Practices

• Always preview with what-if before deployment.
• Regularly validate templates using bicep lint and az deployment validate.
• Maintain clarity in naming conventions for easy troubleshooting.