Kickstart projects with azd Templates

Julia_Muiruri

Microsoft

Nov 25, 2024

The Azure Developer CLI (azd) is an open-source, developer-centric command-line (CLI) tool to help you accelerate the provisioning and deployment of applications to Azure.

Introduction

In a fast-paced world of software development, finding the right frameworks and services that cater to diverse needs can be challenging. Today’s development landscape demands that developers continuously adapt and evolve their skill sets, often juggling multiple tools and mastery of technologies to stay competitive.

Current and emerging developer pain-points include:

Having to make too many decisions facing an expansive selection of options during the entire development life cycle
Difficulty in identifying and implementing industry’s best practices that could lead to potential inefficiencies and technical debt
Lack of repeatability, making it difficult to deliver consistent results across different environments and development stages
Increased complexity of integrating AI technologies into applications
Lack of familiarity with deployment services to implement applications that are efficiently designed and configured to be secure and scale to meet the growing needs of users

Azure Developer CLI (azd)

The Azure Developer CLI (azd) is an open-source, developer-centric command-line (CLI) tool that is part of a wider ecosystem to help you accelerate the provisioning and deployment of applications to Azure. Long gone are the many arguments and flags typically used, Azd uses intuitive, developer-friendly commands that represent key development stages, boosting your overall productivity.

azd Templates

As part of this ecosystem, and the backbone to the CLI, azd uses blueprint project templates with:

Proof-of-concept (PoC) starter code to help you kickstart your project without starting from scratch. These templates go beyond ‘hello-world’ examples, demonstrating how to build complex systems, allowing you to customize the code, or completely replace with your own,
Everything you need to get a Fully managed end-to-end system/ application running on Azure, with configuration files to handle one-click deployments,
Reusable Infrastructure as Code (IaC) assets to provision and maintain cloud services

Azd empowers:

Every developer to focus on writing the best code and deployment infrastructure by keeping it all in one context
Every startup to quickly prototype and deploy applications, accelerating innovation
Every non-technical founder to understand and manage their projects through intuitive commands, allowing them to focus on business strategy and market growth
Every student developer to learn industry best practices and apply them in their projects, while gaining hands-on experience with Azure, one of the leading cloud platforms, enhancing their resumes and employability

Finding azd Templates

The key to identifying the azd template that is right for you is first of all knowing what your application needs to do. Once you have an idea of what your application needs to do and the services required, you can search for the right template that most closely matches your needs in one of two places.

Visit the azd Template Gallery to get started with a range of battle-tested templates that offer a range of solutions.

If you don't find your use case there, then visit the AI Template Gallery to get started and search through AI specific application templates.

(All deployment instructions are included in the respective templates).

Once you have chosen and deployed the template of your choice, the rule of thumb is:

use `azd deploy` if you change any of the application code
use `azd provision` if you change of the infrastructure Bicep or Terraform code
use `azd up` if you change both or want a quick re-deployment

Below you can see some popular example JavaScript templates that the community have been using.

Example Template	Tech stack used	Architecture
Serverless ChatGPT with RAG using LangChain.js AI Chat with Enterprise Data Example use case: Customer Support Automation	Lit Web components TypeScript Node.js Langchain.js	serverless-chatgpt-architecture
ChatGPT and RAG with Azure OpenAI and AI Search for JavaScript GPT + Enterprise Data sample Example use case: Legal Document Analysis	TypeScript JavaScript Node.js	GPT + Enterprise Data sample architecture
React Web App with C# API and MongoDBTODO App sample screenshot Example use case: HR Management Tool	C#/ .NET TypeScript JavaScript React	TODO App sample screenshot Architecture
Serverless Azure OpenAI Assistant Quick Start with Function Calling azure openai assistant demo Example use case: Customer Support ChatBot	JavaScript	azure openai assistant demo architecture
Azure OpenAI secure UI starter secure AI chat GIF Example use case: E-commerce Platform Personal Shopping Assistant	Lit Web components TypeScript JavaScript Node.js	secure AI chat architecture
Serverless Azure OpenAI Quick Start with LlamaIndex (JavaScript) LlamaIndex for TypeScript on Azure screenshot	JavaScript Node.js	LlamaIndex for TypeScript on Azure architecture