Azure Bicep

Azure Bicep is a domain-specific language (DSL) for authoring Azure resource deployments with a concise, readable syntax that compiles to ARM JSON. This article explains the core benefits of Bicep, shows a side-by-side example (ARM JSON → Bicep) for a Storage Account, and demonstrates how to deploy the Bicep file with both Azure CLI and PowerShell (including the common PowerShell caveat). Benefits of using Bicep

Easier to read and author than raw ARM JSON templates.
Native support for modularization so you can break templates into reusable modules.
Automatic dependency detection between resources (no need to manage explicit dependsOn in many cases).
First-class tooling: VS Code extension with IntelliSense, snippets, linting, and diagnostics.

A presentation slide titled "Consider Azure Bicep Files." It lists four benefits: simpler syntax compared to ARM templates, smaller module files, auto-detect dependencies, and a VS Code extension to make authoring smooth and seamless.

Example: Storage Account

Below is a cleaned and corrected ARM JSON template that defines parameters, a variable and a storage account resource. This represents the “before” template that Bicep aims to simplify.

{
  "parameters": {
    "location": {
      "type": "string",
      "allowedValues": [
        "eastus",
        "westus"
      ],
      "defaultValue": "eastus",
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Deployment location"
      }
    },
    "part": {
      "type": "string",
      "minLength": 4,
      "maxLength": 7,
      "metadata": {
        "description": "Name prefix part"
      }
    }
  },
  "variables": {
    "name": "[concat(parameters('part'),'res')]"
  },
  "resources": [
    {
      "name": "[concat('st889', variables('name'))]",
      "type": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts",
      "apiVersion": "2023-01-01",
      "tags": {
        "displayName": "storageaccount1"
      },
      "location": "[parameters('location')]",
      "kind": "StorageV2",
      "sku": {
        "name": "Standard_LRS",
        "tier": "Standard"
      }
    }
  ],
  "outputs": {}
}

Deploying the ARM template (PowerShell interactive)

When you deploy this ARM template using Azure PowerShell, the cmdlet will prompt you for parameters if not provided in a parameter file or inline. Example interactive attempt:

PS> New-AzResourceGroupDeployment -Name 'demo-deployment' -ResourceGroupName arm-demo -TemplateFile .\template.json

Supply values for the following parameters:
(Type !? for Help.)
part: ww

New-AzResourceGroupDeployment : Cannot validate argument on parameter 'part'. The character length (2) of the argument is too short. Specify an argument with a length that is greater than or equal to "4", and then try the command again.

After supplying a valid part value (for example we45), the deployment can succeed:

part: we45

DeploymentName        : demo-deployment
ResourceGroupName     : arm-demo
ProvisioningState     : Succeeded
Timestamp             : 12/5/2023 6:41:04 PM
Mode                  : Incremental
WARNING: Full template validation off. Add param file or top-level param defaults to enable.

Equivalent Bicep file

Converting the same template to Bicep produces a much shorter file with the same semantics. Save this content as storage.bicep.

@allowed([
  'eastus'
  'westus'
])
param location string = 'eastus'

@minLength(4)
@maxLength(7)
param part string

var name = '${part}res'

resource storageAccount 'Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts@2023-01-01' = {
  name: 'st889${name}'
  location: location
  kind: 'StorageV2'
  sku: {
    name: 'Standard_LRS'
  }
  tags: {
    displayName: 'storageaccount1'
  }
}

Bicep compiles to ARM JSON behind the scenes, so the resource created is identical to the ARM template version.

If you use the Azure CLI, it includes a Bicep interpreter by default and can deploy .bicep files directly with az deployment commands. If you use Azure PowerShell, the cmdlets will try to call the bicep CLI on your machine. If the Bicep CLI is missing or not on PATH, PowerShell will return an error instructing you to install Bicep.

Common PowerShell error when Bicep CLI is missing

PS> New-AzResourceGroupDeployment -Name 'demo-deployment' -ResourceGroupName arm-demo -TemplateFile .\storage.bicep
New-AzResourceGroupDeployment : Cannot retrieve the dynamic parameters for the cmdlet. Cannot find Bicep. Please add Bicep to your PATH or visit https://aka.ms/bicep-install to install Bicep.

Fix options:
- Install the Bicep CLI directly: https://aka.ms/bicep-install
- Use Azure CLI to deploy the .bicep file without installing the Bicep binary separately.

Deploying the Bicep file with Azure CLI

(Optional) Confirm and set the subscription context:

az account list -o table
az account set --subscription '2cda1881-8c1e-4c15-be23-a00a708afaf3'

Deploy the storage.bicep file to an existing resource group, passing the part parameter:

az deployment group create --name 'bicepDemo' -g arm-demo --template-file ./storage.bicep --parameters part=bicep

Quick reference table of common deployment commands

Tool	Command example	Notes
Azure CLI (resource group)	`az deployment group create -g <RG> --template-file ./storage.bicep --parameters part=bicep`	Deploys to a resource group
Azure CLI (subscription)	`az deployment sub create --location <LOCATION> --template-file ./storage.bicep`	Deploys at subscription scope
PowerShell	`New-AzResourceGroupDeployment -ResourceGroupName <RG> -TemplateFile .\storage.bicep`	Requires Bicep CLI on `PATH` if not handled by Az module

After deployment completes, verify the storage account in the Azure portal (Storage accounts blade). The screenshot below shows a list of storage accounts, including the one created from the Bicep deployment.

Screenshot of the Microsoft Azure portal showing the "Storage accounts" blade with a list of storage accounts, their types, resource groups, locations, and subscriptions. Five StorageV2 accounts are displayed in list view (e.g., about-rithin, st889bicepres).

Summary

Bicep simplifies authoring and maintenance of Azure resource deployments compared to ARM JSON while retaining full parity with ARM.
Bicep supports parameters with validation attributes, variables, and concise resource syntax—reducing verbosity and improving readability.
Use Azure CLI to deploy .bicep files without extra tooling. PowerShell users should ensure the Bicep CLI is available on their system or use Azure CLI where appropriate.

Links and References

Bicep official docs and installation: https://aka.ms/bicep-install
Azure CLI documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/cli/azure/
Azure ARM templates: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-resource-manager/templates/overview
VS Code Bicep extension: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-azuretools.vscode-bicep

Introduction

Administer Identity

Administer Governance and Compliance

Administer Azure Resources

Administer Virtual Networking

Administer Intersite Connectivity

Administer Network Traffic

Administer Azure Storage

Administer Azure Virtual Machines

Administer PaaS Compute Options

Administer Data Protection

Administer Monitoring

Example: Storage Account

Deploying the ARM template (PowerShell interactive)

Equivalent Bicep file

Common PowerShell error when Bicep CLI is missing

Deploying the Bicep file with Azure CLI

Summary

Links and References

Watch Video

Practice Lab

​Example: Storage Account

​Deploying the ARM template (PowerShell interactive)

​Equivalent Bicep file

​Common PowerShell error when Bicep CLI is missing

​Deploying the Bicep file with Azure CLI

​Summary

​Links and References

Watch Video

Practice Lab

Example: Storage Account

Deploying the ARM template (PowerShell interactive)

Equivalent Bicep file

Common PowerShell error when Bicep CLI is missing

Deploying the Bicep file with Azure CLI

Summary

Links and References