Automate HTTP Azure Function creation and deployment

PowerShell helpers to create a local Function App, setup Azure resources and deploy the Function App to Azure.

Automates the local-to-cloud creation and deployment of a Flex Consumption Python HTTP Function. This code snippet is based on the step-by-step Minimalistic Azure Function App creation post.

Opting for PowerShell automation has limitations and does not match a robust production-grade Infrastructure as Code (IaC) approach (Bicep/Terraform with a GitHub repo and CI/CD pipelines). The goal is a productivity boost to create and deploy basic Function Apps quickly, not a replacement for a full-fledged IaC setup.

Local tools installation

Install these tools on the local system before running the script.

• Azure Functions Core Tools
• Azure CLI
• Node.js to install Azurite
• Azurite
• pyenv-win

Manual actions before running the script

Complete these steps on Azure and locally. The script assumes they are already done.

1. Create an Azure account if you do not have one.

2. Create or choose a subscription in the Azure portal.

3. Log in using az login and when prompted, pick the subscription you intend to bill against.

4. Find an Azure region that supports Flex Consumption Function Apps. Check how to on functions-flex-supported-regions-cli.

Generating standardised script parameters

The parameters of the script to create and deploy the Function App in Azure are as follows.

Parameter	Local/Cloud	Purpose	Naming Pattern	Examples
$ProjectRootDir	Local	full path to the project directory (created by the script)	C:\\...\\\{product}_func	order_func, order_func
$FunctionProjectDir	Local	directory name for the Function App project inside $ProjectRootDir	{product}_function_{env}	order_function_pre, order_function_dev
$Location	Cloud	Azure region	Azure region name	southeastasia
$ResourceGroupName	Cloud	Resource group for the Function App	{product}-func-{env}-rg	order-func-dev-rg, order-func-pre-rg
$StorageAccountName	Cloud	Storage account (globally unique)	{product}{env}{region}sa{instance}	orderdevseasa01, orderprewesa01
$ManagedIdentityName	Cloud	User-assigned managed identity for storage access	{product}-func-{env}-identity	order-func-dev-identity, order-func-pre-identity
$FunctionAppName	Cloud	Function App name (globally unique)	{product}-func-{env}-{region}	order-func-dev-sea, order-func-pre-we
$PythonVersion	Cloud	Azure Functions runtime version	Python major.minor version	3.11, 3.12
$PyVer	Local	pyenv Python version for local .venv (must match $PythonVersion)	Python major.minor.patch version	3.11.10, 3.12.3
$FunctionName	Both	HTTP trigger function name (Python identifier)	{product}_http_{env}	order_http_dev, order_http_pre
$HttpsOnly	Cloud	Enforce HTTPS only on the Function App	true or false	true
$InstanceMemory	Cloud	Flex Consumption instance memory (MB)	512, 1024, or 2048	512
$Tags	Cloud	Azure resource tags (space-separated tagName=value; omit for none)	user-defined (case preserved)	Environment=Production Owner=Team
$DeactivateApplicationInsights	Cloud	Remove Application Insights connection settings	true or false	false

A helper script is provided below to generate a list of standardised parameters that proves useful when creating Function Apps for different products and environments. It requires this 2-step setup.

Copy the region code map

Azure region name abbreviations should be used consistently across the Function App parameters. A maintained list of region codes can be found on the Azure AVM regions list. A copy is available at locals.geo_codes.tf.json in case of discontinued availability.

Save this JSON file locally.

Copy PowerShell script

Save the PowerShell script NewAzureFunctionDeployParams.ps1 in the same directory as the region code map file.

Checking files in the tooling directory:

dir -name C:\projects\tools\create_az_http_function_app

locals.geo_codes.tf.json
NewAzureFunctionDeployParams.ps1

Run the helper script

Example:

.\NewAzureFunctionDeployParams.ps1 `
    --project-root-dir "C:\projects" `
    --product-name order `
    --env pre `
    --region-name southeastasia `
    --instance-nbr 01 `
    --python-version 3.13.10 `
    --https-only true `
    --instance-memory 512 `
    --tags "Environment=Demo Owner=DevTeam" `
    --deactivate-application-insights false

--ProjectRootDir "C:\projects\order_func" 
--FunctionProjectDir "order_function_pre" 
--Location "southeastasia" 
--ResourceGroupName "order-func-pre-rg" 
--StorageAccountName "orderpreseasa01" 
--ManagedIdentityName "order-func-pre-identity" 
--FunctionAppName "order-func-pre-sea" 
--PythonVersion "3.13" 
--PyVer "3.13.10" 
--FunctionName "order_http_pre"
--HttpsOnly "true"
--InstanceMemory "512"
--Tags "Environment=Demo Owner=DevTeam"
--DeactivateApplicationInsights "false"

Running the create and deploy script

The PowerShell script CreateAndDeployAzureFunction.ps1 creates a function project locally and deploys a Function App in Azure. Save the script locally, for example next to NewAzureFunctionDeployParams.ps1. Pass the standardised parameter values from the NewAzureFunctionDeployParams.ps1 script output to the script.

Example:

.\CreateAndDeployAzureFunction.ps1 `
    --ProjectRootDir "C:\projects\order_func" `
    --FunctionProjectDir "order_function_pre" `
    --Location "southeastasia" `
    --ResourceGroupName "order-func-pre-rg" `
    --StorageAccountName "orderpreseasa01" `
    --ManagedIdentityName "order-func-pre-identity" `
    --FunctionAppName "order-func-pre-sea" `
    --PythonVersion "3.13" `
    --PyVer "3.13.12" `
    --FunctionName "order_http_pre" `
    --HttpsOnly "true" `
    --InstanceMemory "512" `
    --Tags "Environment=Demo Owner=DevTeam" `
    --DeactivateApplicationInsights "false"

:: [Step] :: check Azure resource names are available
:: [Step] :: create project root
:: [Step] :: func init
...
:: [Step] :: pyenv install 3.13.10
...
:: [Step] :: pyenv local 3.13.10
:: [Step] :: create .venv
:: [Step] :: activate .venv
:: [Step] :: upgrade pip
...
:: [Step] :: install requirements.txt
...
:: [Step] :: create HTTP trigger function
...      
:: [Step] :: write .funcignore
:: [Step] :: create resource group
...
:: [Step] :: register Microsoft.Storage
:: [Step] :: create storage account
...
:: [Step] :: assign Storage Blob Data Owner role
...
:: [Step] :: register Microsoft.Web
:: [Step] :: create function app
...
:: [Step] :: configure Application Insights managed identity auth
...
:: [Step] :: configure AzureWebJobsStorage managed identity
...
:: [Step] :: remove AzureWebJobsStorage connection string
...
:: [Step] :: publish function app to Azure
...
The deployment was successful!
Functions in order-func-pre-sea:
    order_http_pre - [httpTrigger]
        Invoke url: https://order-func-pre-sea.azurewebsites.net/api/order_http_pre

success: local function created and deployed to Azure
Function App: https://order-func-pre-sea.azurewebsites.net
Project path: C:\projects\order_func\order_function_pre

Contents of Resource group order-func-pre-rg on Azure:

What if a resource already exists in Azure?

Before any local or Azure setup, the script checks whether Azure resources with the specified names already exist. If the resource group, storage account, managed identity, or function app already exists, the script aborts.

Example of output with existing Azure resources:

:: [Step] :: check Azure resource names are available
failure: Azure Function setup and deploy
Azure resource(s) already exist: resource group 'order-func-pre-rg'; storage account 'orderpreseasa01'; managed identity 'order-func-pre-identity' in resource group 'order-func-pre-rg'; function app 'order-func-pre-sea'. 
Aborting before local or Azure setup.

Deployment sanity checks

Logs of the script CreateAndDeployAzureFunction.ps1 already provide a summary of the Function App deployment success or failure. An additional easy manual sanity check is to check the Function App availability using az functionapp function list.

$resourceGroupName = "order-func-pre-rg"
$functionAppName = "order-func-pre-sea"

az functionapp function list `
    --resource-group $resourceGroupName `
    --name $functionAppName | ConvertFrom-Json |
    Select-Object `
    @{Name="Name";Expression={$_.config.name}},
    @{Name="Route";Expression={($_.config.bindings | Where-Object type -eq "httpTrigger").route}},
    @{Name="InvokeUrlTemplate";Expression={$_.invokeUrlTemplate}} |
    Format-Table -AutoSize

Name           Route          InvokeUrlTemplate
----           -----          -----------------
order_http_pre order_http_pre https://order-func-pre-sea.azurewebsites.net/api/order_http_p…