Deploy an Aspire App with Azure CLI

Deploying modern .NET applications is no longer just about running a web app on a server. With cloud-native architectures, microservices, and distributed systems becoming the norm, deployment has evolved into a strategic phase of the software lifecycle. .NET Aspire simplifies this complexity by offering a consistent and developer-friendly model to build, compose, and deploy applications across environments.

.NET Aspire empowers developers to,

• Transition seamlessly from local development to production deployment.
• Package services and dependencies using containerization.
• Configure services dynamically using environment-specific settings.
• Integrate with cloud services like Azure with minimal effort.

We have an Aspire Application running on my local system. We have created this in the previous chapters.

If you are new here, I would highly recommend checking out all the previous chapters for a better understanding.

1. How to Get Started with .NET Aspire
2. .NET Aspire: Setting Up Your Environment
3. Core Concepts of .NET Aspire
4. Enhancing Real-World Microservices with Resiliency in .NET Aspire
5. Understanding Resiliency in .NET Aspire
6. Service Orchestration in .NET Aspire
7. Observability with the Aspire Dashboard
8. .NET Aspire Service Discovery and Environment Configuration
9. .NET Aspire integrations (SQL Server integration in Aspire Applications)
10. End-to-end integration testing with .NET Aspire

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Deploying an Aspire app to Azure using the Azure Developer CLI (azd) simplifies the end-to-end process—from authentication to provisioning infrastructure and deploying services. Here’s how you can do it.

Step 1. Install Azure Developer CLI.

The first step is to install the Azure Developer CLI on your machine using Winget.

winget install microsoft.azd

You’ll be prompted to accept Microsoft Store source agreements. Once accepted, the CLI installs the required binaries. A successful installation message confirms readiness.

Step 2. Verify Project Structure.

Navigate to your Aspire solution folder. Ensure your .sln file and all Aspire projects (like AppHost, API, WebApp, etc.) are present.

cd path\to\BlazorWeatherApp
dir

Step 3. Initialize the Azure Deployment Project.

Run the following command to initialize the app for deployment.

azd init

You'll be prompted to choose.

• The source of the app → Select "Use code in the current directory"
• Detected services → It should recognize .NET (Aspire) via your AppHost .csproj
• Confirm initialization

After confirmation, azd will generate two files.

• azure.yaml: Defines the app’s service topology and infrastructure
• next-steps.md: Offers guidance on what to do next

Also, you’ll be asked to enter an environment name. Use a meaningful one like “BlazorWeatherApp-prod”.

Step 4. Login and Choose Subscription.

Before deploying, authenticate with your Azure account.

azd auth login

After logging in, run.

azd up

This command performs 3 major steps.

• Packaging the application
• Provisioning Azure resources (like Resource Groups, Container Registry, etc.)
• Deploying the services

You’ll be prompted to,

• Select an Azure subscription
• Enter secured values (e.g., database password)
• Choose an Azure region (e.g., East US 2)

Step 5. Resource Creation & Deployment.

Azure resources are provisioned as defined in azure.yaml. In your case, this includes.

• Resource Group: rg-BlazorWeatherApp-prod
• Container Registry
• Log Analytics workspace
• Container App Environment
• Individual Container Apps (API, SQL, Web App)

You’ll then see successful deployments with accessible endpoints for each service.

• API: https://api.internal.[region].azurecontainerapps.io
• WebApp: https://myweatherapp.[region].azurecontainerapps.io
• SQL: Internal access via container apps

Additionally, a hosted Aspire Dashboard link is generated for observability.

“https://aspire-dashboard.ext.[region].azurecontainerapps.io”

Step 6. Verify in Azure Portal.

Open the Azure Portal and navigate to the newly created resource group (rg-BlazorWeatherApp-prod). You’ll find all provisioned services neatly categorized.

Each service

• Is independently deployed
• Uses containerized infrastructure
• It is wired for observability and secure identity

Step 7. App Running in the Cloud.

Open the public URL of your Web App (e.g., https://myweatherapp...azurecontainerapps.io) to view your deployed .NET Aspire app running live in Azure.

The Aspire Dashboard also confirms that all services (API, SQL, Web App) are healthy and connected.

Why Use Aspire for Deployment?

Traditionally, deploying applications meant managing multiple services separately—each with its own deployment pipeline, infrastructure configuration, secrets management, and monitoring setup. With Aspire, that complexity is abstracted and unified.

Here’s how deploying with Aspire differs from the traditional approach.

Aspire vs Traditional Deployment

Feature	Traditional Deployment	.NET Aspire Deployment
Service Coordination	Manual orchestration, often via YAML or scripts	Automatic via AppHost and Aspire Orchestrator
Secrets Management	External vaults or config files per app	Built-in secure environment config via Aspire model
Environment Setup	Manual per-service setup	Unified through Aspire’s application model
Observability	Needs separate setup for logs, metrics, tracing	Built-in with Aspire Dashboard
CI/CD Complexity	One pipeline per service	Centralized through azd and unified YAML configs
Cloud Resource Provisioning	Manual ARM/Bicep/Terraform setup	Auto-generated via azd provisioning
Local Debugging	Requires Docker Compose or K8s simulation	Single-command local orchestration with dashboard

Benefits of Deploying with Aspire

• Faster Time-to-Deploy: One command (azd up) provisions resources, deploys all services, and links observability.
• Consistency Across Environments: Aspire standardizes deployment patterns across dev, staging, and production.
• Reduced DevOps Overhead: Developers focus on code, while Aspire handles wiring, environment management, and infrastructure.
• First-Class Azure Integration: Azure Developer CLI + Aspire = seamless containerized deployment with built-in support for container apps, identity, logs, and scaling.

Recommendation

If you’re building distributed .NET applications, Aspire is not just an orchestrator—it’s a deployment accelerator.

Summary

This walkthrough shows how seamless it is to deploy Aspire apps to Azure using Azure Developer CLI:

• No manual Azure Portal steps
• Built-in environment secrets
• Auto-provisioned infrastructure
• Hosted observability with Aspire Dashboard

You can find the source code for this whole solution from my GitHub link below.

Check Out Git Hub Download