Azure Deployment Preflight Skill for Claude: Check Bicep Before You Deploy

Makes Claude check a Bicep deployment before you run it: syntax, what-if preview and permissions, with a report at the end.

Installs: 9.6K; on skills.sh
Stars: 40.7K; on GitHub
Files: 3; besides SKILL.md
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

Claude works through 5 steps: detect the project type (an azure.yaml means azd, otherwise the az CLI), check Bicep syntax, run a preflight check, capture the what-if results, and write preflight-report.md in your project root. It keeps going when a step fails so the report lists every issue.

It needs the Azure CLI, the Azure Developer CLI for azd projects, the Bicep CLI, and a signed-in Azure account. The commands run against your Azure subscription, so use it on the subscription you mean to check.

Good for

Developers deploying Bicep templates to Azure
Teams using azd provision or az deployment commands
Reviewers who want to see what a deployment will create, change or delete first

Install azure-deployment-preflight

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the azure-deployment-preflight skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

npx skills add https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot --skill azure-deployment-preflight

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Requires Node.js.

This installs the skill with its 3 reference files. Install the Azure CLI, Azure Developer CLI and Bicep CLI separately; SKILL.md says to check them with az --version, azd version and bicep --version.

From its listing on skills.sh. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Performs comprehensive preflight validation of Bicep deployments to Azure, including template syntax validation, what-if analysis, and permission checks. Use this skill before any deployment to Azure to preview changes, identify potential issues, and ensure the deployment will succeed. Activate when users mention deploying to Azure, validating Bicep files, checking deployment permissions, previewing infrastructure changes, running what-if, or preparing for azd provision.

Sections in SKILL.md

When to Use This Skill
Validation Process
Step 1: Detect Project Type
Step 2: Validate Bicep Syntax
Step 3: Run Preflight Validation
Step 4: Capture What-If Results
Step 5: Generate Report
Required Information
Error Handling
Tool Requirements
Example Workflow
Reference Documentation

Key facts

Source: Listed in github/awesome-copilot, a community-created collection
Folder: 4 files including SKILL.md
Needs: Azure CLI (2.76.0+ recommended), Azure Developer CLI for azd projects, Bicep CLI
Writes: preflight-report.md in the project root
Installs on skills.sh: 9,600 (Nov 2, 2026)
GitHub stars: 40,666 (Nov 2, 2026)
License: MIT
Last repo commit: Oct 30, 2026

What it includes

Looks for azure.yaml to pick the azd or az workflow, then finds Bicep and parameter files.
Parameter files it looks for: .bicepparam, .parameters.json, parameters.json or parameters/<env>.json.
Files · Step 1: Detect Project Type
Runs bicep build <file> --stdout and records errors and warnings.
If the Bicep CLI is missing it notes that in the report and moves on.
Runs code · Step 2: Validate Bicep Syntax
Runs azd provision --preview, or az deployment what-if for the template's scope.
For plain Bicep it picks group, sub, mg or tenant from targetScope and uses validation level Provider first. If that fails on permissions, it retries with ProviderNoRbac and says so.
Runs code · Step 3: Run Preflight Validation
Sorts changes into create, delete, modify, no change, ignore and deploy.
For modified resources it records the specific property changes.
Step 4: Capture What-If Results
Writes preflight-report.md in the project root.
Sections: Summary, Tools Executed, Issues, What-If Results and Recommendations.
Write · Step 5: Generate Report
Notes login, permission, syntax, missing tool and missing resource group problems.
It suggests az login or azd auth login if you are not signed in, and keeps validating anyway.
Error handling

From the official docs

Permissions

Medium risk

Claude runs Azure CLI commands that target your subscription and writes a report file in your project. Check the selected subscription and resource group before you approve.

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

Commands target your Azure subscription
Claude runs az deployment what-if or azd provision --preview for the subscription, resource group or environment it is given. Confirm which one it will use before you approve. github.com
The report can list resources to delete
The what-if report has a section for resources that would be deleted. Read it before you run any deploy command from the report's next steps. github.com
The references include commands that create or deploy
The report template's Next Steps lists azd provision, azd up and az deployment group create. ERROR-HANDLING.md suggests az group create for a missing resource group, and VALIDATION-COMMANDS.md shows azd provision --preview --no-prompt, which accepts defaults without prompting. Run none of these without reading them first. github.com

Technical details

Scopes	Runs bicep, az and azd commands in your shell what-if and azd provision --preview target the subscription, resource group or environment you choose Writes preflight-report.md in the project root

Questions

What does the Azure deployment preflight skill do?

It makes Claude validate Bicep before a deployment. It checks syntax, previews what the deployment would create, change or delete, checks permissions, and writes a report.

Does it deploy anything?

Its job is validation. VALIDATION-COMMANDS.md describes azd provision --preview as previewing changes without deploying, and SKILL.md uses what-if for plain Bicep. The report template lists commands such as azd provision, azd up and az deployment group create as next steps for you to run.

What tools do I need?

The Azure CLI (2.76.0 or newer is recommended for the validation-level option), the Azure Developer CLI if your project has azure.yaml, and the Bicep CLI. SKILL.md also mentions Azure MCP tools for documentation lookups. You must be signed in with az login or azd auth login.

How do I install it?

Use the install box above. There is no Claude app tab because the skill runs command-line tools on your machine.

Is it safe to use?

It runs az, azd and bicep commands that target your Azure subscription and need you to be signed in. Check which subscription and resource group are selected, and review the commands Claude proposes.

What if I lack deployment permissions?

It first tries validation level Provider, then falls back to ProviderNoRbac when RBAC errors appear, and notes in the report that you may not have full deployment permissions.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: github/awesome-copilot
Folder: skills/azure-deployment-preflight

github/awesome-copilot skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 5

azure-deployment-preflight SKILL.md · github.com
VALIDATION-COMMANDS.md · github.com
REPORT-TEMPLATE.md · github.com
ERROR-HANDLING.md · github.com
awesome-copilot README · github.com