azd-app

name

azd-app

description

Local multi-service development orchestrator for Azure Developer CLI. Runs, tests, monitors, and manages all project services with one command. USE FOR: run local services, install dependencies, run tests, check health, view logs, start stop restart services, MCP server, manage service lifecycle, multi-language development. DO NOT USE FOR: Azure deployments (use azd deploy), infrastructure provisioning (use azd provision), CI/CD pipelines.

azd-app Extension

azd-app is an Azure Developer CLI (azd) extension that automatically detects, configures, and orchestrates multi-service development environments. It supports Node.js, Python, .NET, Java, Go, Rust, PHP, and Docker services in a single project.

When to Use

• Running all project services locally with a single command
• Installing dependencies across multiple languages
• Running tests with unified coverage reporting
• Checking service health endpoints
• Viewing aggregated logs from all services
• Managing service lifecycle (start/stop/restart)
• Exposing project capabilities via MCP server

Commands Reference

azd app run

Run all detected services concurrently with dependency installation and port management.

Flag	Description
--service, -s	Run only the specified service
--web	Open browser to web service after startup
--env-file	Load environment variables from a file
--verbose	Show detailed output
--dry-run	Show what would run without executing
--restart-containers	Force restart Docker containers
--force	Skip confirmation prompts

azd app deps

Install dependencies for all services (npm install, pip install, dotnet restore, etc.).

Flag	Description
--service, -s	Install deps for a specific service only
--verbose	Show detailed output

azd app reqs

Check system requirements (runtimes, tools) for all detected services.

Flag	Description
--fix	Attempt to install missing requirements

azd app test

Run tests for all services with unified coverage aggregation.

Flag	Description
--service, -s	Test only the specified service
--coverage	Enable coverage collection
--threshold	Minimum coverage percentage to pass
--watch	Watch mode for continuous testing
--fail-fast	Stop on first failure
--parallel	Run service tests in parallel
--update-snapshots	Update test snapshots
--verbose	Show detailed test output
--dry-run	Show what would run without executing
--timeout	Maximum time for test execution
--stream / --no-stream	Stream test output in real time

azd app health

Check health endpoints for running services.

Flag	Description
--service, -s	Check health of a specific service
--stream	Continuously monitor health
--interval	Interval between health checks (default: 5s)
--timeout	HTTP timeout per check (default: 5s)
--endpoint	Custom health endpoint path (default: /health)
--all	Check all services, not just running ones
--verbose	Show detailed health info

azd app info

Show project information: detected services, languages, ports, and configuration.

azd app logs

View aggregated logs from all running services.

Flag	Description
--service, -s	Show logs for a specific service
--follow, -f	Follow log output
--tail	Number of recent lines to show

azd app start

Start a previously stopped service.

Flag	Description
--service, -s	Service to start

azd app stop

Stop running services and tear down the app. By default stops all services, releases ports, and executes lifecycle hooks.

Flag	Description
--service, -s	Service to stop (if omitted, stops all)

azd app restart

Restart a running service.

Flag	Description
--service, -s	Service to restart

azd app add

Add a new service to the project configuration.

azd app mcp serve

Start the MCP (Model Context Protocol) server exposing project tools for AI assistants.

azd app version

Print the azd-app extension version.

Environment Variables

azd-app supports three formats for environment variable values in azure.yaml:

1. Literal values: MY_VAR: "hello"
2. Environment variable references: MY_VAR: ${OTHER_VAR}
3. Key Vault references: MY_VAR: keyvault://my-vault/my-secret

Environment variables are resolved at service startup and injected into each service process.

Hooks

azd-app supports lifecycle hooks defined in azure.yaml:

• prerun — runs before services start
• postrun — runs after services are ready
• prestop — runs before services are stopped (e.g., drain connections, flush caches)
• poststop — runs after all services are stopped (e.g., cleanup temp files, remove tunnels)

Hooks can be defined at the project level. Hook failures in prestop/poststop are non-fatal — services will still be stopped.

Supported Languages

Language	Dependency Install	Test Runner	Runtime
Node.js	npm/yarn/pnpm install	Jest, Vitest, Mocha	node
Python	pip install / venv	pytest, unittest	python
.NET	dotnet restore	xUnit, NUnit, MSTest	dotnet run
Java	maven/gradle	JUnit, TestNG	mvn/gradle
Go	go mod download	go test	go run
Rust	cargo build	cargo test	cargo run
PHP	composer install	PHPUnit	php
Docker	docker build	—	docker compose

MCP Tools

When running azd app mcp serve, the following tools are available:

Tool	Description
get_services	List all detected services with status
get_service_logs	Retrieve logs for a specific service
get_service_errors	Get error-level logs for a service
get_project_info	Get project metadata and configuration
run_services	Start all or specific services
stop_services	Stop running services
start_service	Start a specific stopped service
restart_service	Restart a specific service
install_dependencies	Install deps for all or specific services
check_requirements	Check system requirements
get_environment_variables	List resolved environment variables
set_environment_variable	Set an environment variable

Common Workflows

# Run all services
azd app run

# Run a single service
azd app run --service api

# Run and open browser
azd app run --web

# Install all dependencies
azd app deps

# Run tests with coverage
azd app test --coverage --threshold 80

# Watch tests
azd app test --watch --service api

# Check health continuously
azd app health --stream --interval 10s

# View live logs
azd app logs --follow

# Start MCP server for AI assistants
azd app mcp serve