azure-app-service-data-api-builder

name	azure-app-service-data-api-builder
description	Deploy Data API Builder and SQL MCP Server to Azure App Service for Linux, with or without containers.
license	MIT

Azure App Service Data API Builder

Use when

• Hosting DAB on managed PaaS without container orchestration.
• Running SQL MCP Server on App Service using the no-container pattern.
• You want built-in TLS, custom domains, scale-out, monitoring, and Microsoft Entra auth.

Workflow

1. Prefer code-based Linux App Service for SQL MCP: include dab-config.json, .config/dotnet-tools.json, and startup.sh.
2. Install DAB as a local .NET tool; startup restores tools and runs dotnet tool run dab start.
3. Set DATABASE_CONNECTION_STRING as an app setting or Key Vault reference; use @env() in config.
4. Configure runtime.host.authentication.provider to AppService when Easy Auth protects the endpoint.
5. For custom containers, set the listening port with App Service config (for DAB, commonly WEBSITES_PORT=5000).
6. For Linux custom containers, leave WEBSITES_ENABLE_APP_SERVICE_STORAGE disabled unless /home persistence is required.
7. Verify /health, REST, GraphQL, and /mcp; raw /mcp can look like an error in a browser.

App settings vs config file

• App settings — runtime knobs, secrets, env selectors. Source of truth for secrets.
• dab-config.json — entities, relationships, policies, runtime options. Source of truth for shape. Ship it with the app; do not edit live.

Guardrails

• Prefer managed identity and Microsoft Entra authentication to Azure SQL over password-bearing connection strings.
• Do not live-edit dab-config.json; deploy it with ZIP/code artifacts or bake it into a container image.
• Enable Always On for production plans so DAB stays warm.
• Use ACA instead when you need serverless containers, scale-to-zero, revisions, or traffic splitting.

Related skills

• azure-deployment-data-api-builder
• azure-data-api-builder
• data-api-builder-config
• data-api-builder-auth

Microsoft Learn

• https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/data-api-builder/deployment/azure-app-service
• https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/app-service/configure-custom-container
• https://devblogs.microsoft.com/azure-sql/sql-mcp-server-app-service/