Deploy Azure Container Apps with the az containerapp up command

The az containerapp up (or up) command is the fastest way to deploy an app in Azure Container Apps from an existing image, local source code, or a GitHub repository. When you use this single command, you can have your container app up and running in minutes.

The command can build and push a container image to Azure Container Registry when you provide local source code or a GitHub repository. When you work from a GitHub repository, the command creates a GitHub Actions workflow that automatically builds and pushes a new container image when you commit changes to your GitHub repository.

This article shows you how to use the command to deploy a container app from an existing image, local source code, and a GitHub repository.

Prerequisites

Use existing resources

The up command can create resources, or it can use existing ones, including:

• A resource group.
• Container Registry.
• A Container Apps environment and Log Analytics workspace.
• Your container app.

If you need to customize the Container Apps environment, first use the az containerapp env create command to create and customize your environment. When you then run the up command, use the --environment option to specify the customized environment.

If you don't specify an existing environment, the up command looks for one in your resource group. If the command finds an environment, it uses that environment. If the command doesn't find an environment, it creates one that includes a Log Analytics workspace.

For more information about the az containerapp up command and its options, see az containerapp up.

Set up your Azure CLI environment

1. Use the Azure CLI to sign in to Azure.

   az login
   

2. Install the Container Apps extension for the Azure CLI.

   az extension add --name containerapp --upgrade
   

3. Register the Microsoft.App namespace.

   az provider register --namespace Microsoft.App
   

4. Register the Microsoft.OperationalInsights provider for the Log Analytics workspace.

   az provider register --namespace Microsoft.OperationalInsights
   

Deploy from an existing image

You can deploy a container app that uses an existing image in a public or private container registry. If you deploy from a private registry, you need to provide your credentials by using the --registry-server, --registry-username, and --registry-password options.

You can use the following example code to deploy a container app from an existing image. Before you run the command, replace the placeholders, which are enclosed in angle brackets, with your values.

az containerapp up \
  --name <CONTAINER_APP_NAME> \
  --image <REGISTRY_SERVER>/<IMAGE_NAME>:<TAG> \
  --ingress external \
  --target-port <PORT_NUMBER> 

This command performs the following actions:

1. Creates a resource group.
2. Creates an environment and Log Analytics workspace.
3. Creates and deploys a container app that pulls the image from a public registry.
4. Sets the container app's ingress value to external with a target port set to the specified value.

You can also use the up command to redeploy a container app. If you want to redeploy with a new image, use the --image option to specify a new image. Ensure that the --resource-group and --environment options are set to the values from the original deployment.

az containerapp up \
  --name <CONTAINER_APP_NAME> \
  --image <REGISTRY_SERVER>/<IMAGE_NAME>:<TAG> \
  --resource-group <RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME> \
  --environment <ENVIRONMENT_NAME> \
  --ingress external \
  --target-port <PORT_NUMBER> 

Deploy from local source code

When you use the up command to deploy from a local source, it builds the container image, pushes it to a registry, and deploys the container app. If you don't specify a registry, the command creates one in Container Registry.

The command can build the image with or without a Dockerfile. In builds that don't use a Dockerfile, the following languages are supported:

• .NET
• Node.js
• PHP
• Python

You can use the following example code to deploy a container app from local source code:

    az containerapp up \
      --name <CONTAINER_APP_NAME> \
      --source <SOURCE_DIRECTORY>\
      --ingress external 

This command performs the following actions:

1. Creates a resource group.
2. Creates an environment and Log Analytics workspace.
3. Creates a registry in Container Registry.
4. Builds the container image (by using the Dockerfile if it exists).
5. Pushes the image to the registry.
6. Creates and deploys the container app.

When the Dockerfile includes the EXPOSE instruction, the up command configures the container app's ingress and target port by using the information in the Dockerfile. If you configure ingress through your Dockerfile or your app doesn't require ingress, you can omit the --ingress option.

The output of the command includes the URL for the container app.

If the command reports that it's waiting for the Cloud Build agent but then stops responding, a GitHub transient error might be the source of the problem. To resolve the situation, run the command again.

If there's a failure, you can run the command again with the --debug option to get more information. If the build fails without a Dockerfile, you can try adding a Dockerfile and running the command again.

To use the az containerapp up command to redeploy your container app with an updated image, include the --resource-group and --environment options. To redeploy a container app from local source code, take the following steps:

1. Make changes to the source code.

2. Run the following command:

   az containerapp up \
     --name <CONTAINER_APP_NAME> \
     --source <SOURCE_DIRECTORY> \
     --resource-group <RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME> \
     --environment <ENVIRONMENT_NAME>
   

Deploy from a GitHub repository

When you use the az containerapp up command to deploy from a GitHub repository, it generates a GitHub Actions workflow that builds the container image, pushes it to a registry, and deploys the container app. If you don't specify a registry, the command creates one in Container Registry.

A Dockerfile is required to build the image. When the Dockerfile includes the EXPOSE instruction, the command configures the container app's ingress and target port by using the information in the Dockerfile.

You can use the following example code to deploy a container app from a GitHub repository:

az containerapp up \
  --name <CONTAINER_APP_NAME> \
  --repo <GITHUB_REPOSITORY_URL> \
  --ingress external 

This command performs the following actions:

1. Creates a resource group.
2. Creates an environment and Log Analytics workspace.
3. Creates a registry in Container Registry.
4. Builds the container image by using the Dockerfile.
5. Pushes the image to the registry.
6. Creates and deploys the container app.
7. Creates a GitHub Actions workflow to build the container image and deploy the container app when future changes are pushed to the GitHub repository.

If the command fails because a service principal can't be created, you can manually create a service principal in Azure. Then you can pass information about it to the command:

az containerapp up \
  --name <CONTAINER_APP_NAME> \
  --repo <GITHUB_REPOSITORY_URL> \
  --service-principal-client-id "$SERVICE_PRINCIPAL_CLIENT_ID" \
  --service-principal-client-secret "$SERVICE_PRINCIPAL_CLIENT_SECRET" \
  --service-principal-tenant-id "$AZURE_TENANT_ID"
  --ingress external 

If you configure ingress through your Dockerfile or your app doesn't require ingress, you can omit the --ingress option.

The up command creates a GitHub Actions workflow. As a result, rerunning the command has the unwanted effect of creating multiple workflows. If you want to deploy changes to your app's image, push changes to your GitHub repository instead of rerunning the command. The GitHub workflow automatically detects the changes in your repository and then builds and deploys your app. To change the workflow, edit the workflow file in GitHub.

Configure container app settings

The az containerapp up command provides a streamlined way to create and deploy container apps that primarily use default settings. However, after you use the up command, you need to run other Azure CLI commands such as the following ones if you want to configure more advanced settings:

• Distributed Application Runtime (Dapr): az containerapp dapr enable
• Secrets: az containerapp secret set
• Transport protocols: az containerapp ingress update

If you want to customize other settings for your container app, such as resource or scaling settings, first use the up command to deploy your container app. Then use the az containerapp update command to change these settings. The az containerapp up command isn't an abbreviation for the az containerapp update command.

Next step