Agent skill

Apex Azure Deploy

by jonathan-vella in jonathan-vella/apex

WORKFLOW SKILL — Execute Azure deployments (azd up, azd deploy, terraform apply) for already-prepared apps with built-in error recovery.

MITAuto-check passedDevOps & Cloud

Install Apex Azure Deploy

skills CLI
$ npx skills add jonathan-vella/apex --skill apex-azure-deploy -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install jonathan-vella/apex apex-azure-deploy --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jonathan-vella/apex.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.github/skills/apex-azure-deploy .claude/skills/apex-azure-deploy && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
apex-azure-deploy
GitHub stars
217
Token cost
~2.3k tokens
SKILL.md length
604 words
Files
43 (incl. scripts, references)
Skills in repo
39
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

WORKFLOW SKILL — Execute Azure deployments (azd up, azd deploy, terraform apply) for already-prepared apps with built-in error recovery.

  • Works in 5 steps: Run after apex-azure-prepare and… → infra/{iac}/{project}/.azure/plan.md… → Pre-deploy checklist required —… → …
  • : creating new apps (apex-azure-prepare)
  • SKILL.md covers Workflow Routing, Triggers, Rules and Steps, plus 5 more sections
  • Calls az and terraform

What it does

Apex Azure Deploy is an agent skill from jonathan-vella/apex. WORKFLOW SKILL — Execute Azure deployments (azd up, azd deploy, terraform apply) for already-prepared apps with built-in error recovery. WHEN: 'run azd up', 'run azd deploy', 'push to production', 'go live', 'bicep deploy', 'terraform apply', 'publish to Azure'. DO NOT USE FOR: creating new apps (apex-azure-prepare), pre-deploy checks (apex-azure-validate).

Its SKILL.md is about 2.3k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 46 other files, including scripts and reference files (for example `references/global-rules.md`, `references/live-role-verification.md` and `references/pre-deploy-checklist.md`).

It sits in DevOps & Cloud, covering Infrastructure as code and Deployment. It works with Microsoft Azure, Terraform, Bicep and Azure API Management. The repository describes itself as: APEX turns Azure platform engineering requirements into verified, deploy-ready IaC — powered by GitHub Copilot agents, real-time pricing, and built-in compliance. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • : creating new apps (apex-azure-prepare)
  • Pre-deploy checks (apex-azure-validate)

Example prompts

  • “run azd up”
  • “run azd deploy”
  • “push to production”
  • “/apex-azure-deploy”

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Run after apex-azure-prepare and apex-azure-validate
  2. infra/{iac}/{project}/.azure/plan.md must exist with status Validated
  3. Pre-deploy checklist required — Pre-Deploy Checklist
  4. ⛔ Destructive actions require ask_user — global-rules
  5. Scope: deployment execution only — This skill owns execution of azd up, azd deploy, terraform apply, and az deployment commands. These…

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit b8e5908. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Ships 1 file in scripts/, which the agent can run.

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • az
    • terraform

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    Links to these hosts (documentation or services it may open):

    • learn.microsoft.com

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Apex Azure Deploy loads about 2.3k tokens when it runs, and up to ~23k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 95 tokens; SKILL.md has 604 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~95
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2.3k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~23k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from jonathan-vella/apex at commit b8e5908, republished under its MIT licence (© jonathan-vella). 604 words, ~2,348 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/apex-azure-deploy/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 42 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
apex-azure-deploy
description
**WORKFLOW SKILL** — Execute Azure deployments (azd up, azd deploy, terraform apply) for already-prepared apps with built-in error recovery. WHEN: 'run azd up', 'run azd deploy', 'push to production', 'go live', 'bicep deploy', 'terraform apply', 'publish to Azure'. DO NOT USE FOR: creating new apps (apex-azure-prepare), pre-deploy checks (apex-azure-validate).
user-invocable
true
disable-model-invocation
false
argument-hint
prepared project, target environment and deployment scope
license
MIT
metadata.author
Microsoft
metadata.version
1.0.5

Azure Deploy

Workflow Routing

Resolve workflow identity and requested action before the generic prerequisite chain, per apex-azure-validate. For APEX, route Bicep to 07b-Bicep Deploy and Terraform to 07t-Terraform Deploy, then stop this generic pipeline. Do not create a generic plan or use generic auto-prepare/checklist/recipe recovery for APEX. Missing APEX artifacts return to their owning step; a generic validation proof cannot replace the APEX handoff or L3. For validation-only, route to validation and stop; preview-only must stop before apply. All remaining plan/proof requirements, rules, steps, and recipes here apply to generic application deployment only. If workflow identity or deployment intent is ambiguous, ask before continuing.

Authoritative guidance — supersedes prior training. Workflow: apex-azure-prepare → apex-azure-validate → apex-azure-deploy. Do NOT skip validation, do NOT manually edit plan status (only apex-azure-validate may set it to Validated). If infra/{iac}/{project}/.azure/plan.md is missing → ask before invoking apex-azure-prepare. If status is not Validated → invoke apex-azure-validate first.

Triggers

Activate this skill when user wants to:

  • Execute deployment of an already-prepared application (azure.yaml and infra/ exist)
  • Push updates to an existing Azure deployment
  • Run azd up, azd deploy, or az deployment on a prepared project
  • Ship already-built code to production
  • Deploy an application that already includes API Management (APIM) gateway infrastructure

Scope: deployments only. For app/infra creation use apex-azure-prepare. APIM/AI gateway infra changes: see APIM docs.

Rules

  1. Run after apex-azure-prepare and apex-azure-validate
  2. infra/{iac}/{project}/.azure/plan.md must exist with status Validated
  3. Pre-deploy checklist required — Pre-Deploy Checklist
  4. ⛔ Destructive actions require ask_user — global-rules
  5. Scope: deployment execution only — This skill owns execution of azd up, azd deploy, terraform apply, and az deployment commands. These commands are run through this skill's error recovery and verification pipeline.

Steps

#ActionReference
0Prepare Gate — Check if infra/{iac}/{project}/.azure/plan.md exists. If missing, stop and ask whether to run apex-azure-prepare and then apex-azure-validate; start neither without confirmation, and return here only after validation passes.—
1Check Plan — Read infra/{iac}/{project}/.azure/plan.md, verify status = Validated AND Validation Proof section is populated. If status is not Validated, invoke apex-azure-validate first.infra/{iac}/{project}/.azure/plan.md
2Pre-Deploy Checklist — MUST complete ALL stepsPre-Deploy Checklist
3Load Recipe — Based on recipe.type in infra/{iac}/{project}/.azure/plan.mdrecipes/README.md
4Execute Deploy — Follow recipe stepsRecipe README
5Post-Deploy — Configure SQL managed identity and apply EF migrations if applicablePost-Deployment
6Handle Errors — See recipe's errors.md—
7Verify Success — Confirm deployment completed and endpoints are accessibleVerification
8Live Role Check — Read-only comparison of provisioned role assignments with app requirements; report gaps to the IaC ownerLive role verification

⛔ VALIDATION PROOF CHECK

When checking the plan, verify the Validation Proof section (Section 7) contains actual validation results with commands run and timestamps. If this section is empty, validation was bypassed — invoke apex-azure-validate skill first.

Show full SKILL.md (163 more words)Show less

SDK Quick References

MCP Tools

ToolPurpose
mcp_azure-mcp_subscription_listList available subscriptions
mcp_azure-mcp_group_listList resource groups in subscription
mcp_azure-mcp_azdExecute AZD commands

References

Gotchas

  • FORBIDDEN: Do NOT manually update plan status to Validated — Only the apex-azure-validate skill can set this after running actual checks. Manually updating causes deployment failures.
  • Plan status MUST be Validated before deploying — If status is not Validated, invoke apex-azure-validate first. Do NOT proceed.
  • Prerequisite chain is strict — apex-azure-prepare → apex-azure-validate → apex-azure-deploy. Skipping validation causes failures.
  • Validation Proof must be populated — The plan's Validation Proof section must contain actual results (commands run, timestamps). If empty, validation was bypassed.

Reference Index

Load these on demand — do NOT read all at once:

ReferenceWhen to Load
../apex-entra-app-registration/references/auth-best-practices.mdAuth Best Practices
references/global-rules.mdGlobal Rules
references/live-role-verification.mdLive Role Verification
references/pre-deploy-checklist.mdPre Deploy Checklist
references/region-availability.mdRegion Availability
references/troubleshooting.mdTroubleshooting

© jonathan-vella, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 42 other files (scripts, references) in .github/skills/apex-azure-deploy of jonathan-vella/apex.

  • SKILL.md
  • references/global-rules.md
  • references/live-role-verification.md
  • references/pre-deploy-checklist.md
  • references/recipes/README.md
  • references/recipes/azcli/README.md
  • references/recipes/azcli/errors.md
  • references/recipes/azcli/verify.md
  • references/recipes/azd/README.md
  • references/recipes/azd/ef-migrations.md
  • references/recipes/azd/errors.md
  • references/recipes/azd/functions-deploy.md
  • references/recipes/azd/post-deployment.md
  • references/recipes/azd/sql-entra-auth.md
  • references/recipes/azd/sql-managed-identity.md
  • references/recipes/azd/verify.md
  • references/recipes/bicep
  • … and 26 more

Open the folder on GitHubat commit b8e5908

Compare with similar skills

Apex Azure Deploy next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Apex Azure Deploy compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Apex Azure Deploy this skilljonathan-vella/apex217—~2.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Azure Deploymicrosoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure2551 repos~1.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
APIOps Deployment for Azure APIMthomast1906/github-copilot-agent-skills202—~3.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Azure Preparemicrosoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure2551 repos~3.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Azure Validatemicrosoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure2551 repos~880Automated safety check: PassMIT
Azure Architecture Autopilotgithub/awesome-copilot40k1 repos~1.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Categories

Questions about Apex Azure Deploy

What does Apex Azure Deploy do?

WORKFLOW SKILL — Execute Azure deployments (azd up, azd deploy, terraform apply) for already-prepared apps with built-in error recovery. Apex Azure Deploy is an agent skill from jonathan-vella/apex. WORKFLOW SKILL — Execute Azure deployments (azd up, azd deploy, terraform apply) for already-prepared apps with built-in error recovery.

When should I use Apex Azure Deploy?

Apex Azure Deploy fits situations like: : creating new apps (apex-azure-prepare); pre-deploy checks (apex-azure-validate).

How do I install Apex Azure Deploy in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add jonathan-vella/apex --skill apex-azure-deploy -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.github/skills/apex-azure-deploy in jonathan-vella/apex) into .claude/skills/apex-azure-deploy in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Apex Azure Deploy in Codex?

Run `npx skills add jonathan-vella/apex --skill apex-azure-deploy -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.github/skills/apex-azure-deploy in jonathan-vella/apex) into .agents/skills/apex-azure-deploy in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Apex Azure Deploy in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add jonathan-vella/apex --skill apex-azure-deploy -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/apex-azure-deploy, .gemini/skills/apex-azure-deploy, .github/skills/apex-azure-deploy and .opencode/skills/apex-azure-deploy in your project.

What does Apex Azure Deploy need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Apex Azure Deploy needs the command-line tools its instructions call (az and terraform).

Does Apex Azure Deploy access the network?

SKILL.md names 1 domain. As links in the text: learn.microsoft.com. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Apex Azure Deploy safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. The check reads SKILL.md only: the scripts in the folder are not scanned, so read them before running anything.

What licence does Apex Azure Deploy use?

Apex Azure Deploy is published under the MIT licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Apex Azure Deploy use?

About 2.3k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 9.4k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 21k tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Apex Azure Deploy?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Apex Azure Deploy: Azure Deploy (microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure, 255 stars), APIOps Deployment for Azure APIM (thomast1906/github-copilot-agent-skills, 202 stars), Azure Prepare (microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure, 255 stars) and Azure Validate (microsoft/GitHub-Copilot-for-Azure, 255 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Apex Azure Deploy?

jonathan-vella (a GitHub user) maintains it in jonathan-vella/apex, which has 217 GitHub stars. The repository holds 39 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 10, 2026.

Source: jonathan-vella/apex on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.