azure-publish

name	azure-publish
description	Deploy Node.js web app to Azure App Service using az CLI. Use for: publishing to Azure, deploying to App Service, az webapp, production deployment, going live.

Azure Publish — Deploy to App Service with az CLI

When to Use

• First-time deploy of this app to Azure
• Redeploying after code changes
• Setting up Azure App Service infrastructure from scratch

Prerequisites

• Azure CLI installed (az --version)
• Logged in (az login)
• A subscription selected (az account show)

Verify before proceeding:

az --version
az account show --query "{name:name, id:id}" -o table

Procedure

Step 1 — Choose names

Pick consistent names for all resources. Use lowercase alphanumeric + hyphens.

Variable	Example	Notes
RESOURCE_GROUP	rg-traffic-cop	Resource group
APP_SERVICE_PLAN	plan-traffic-cop	App Service plan
APP_NAME	traffic-cop-<unique>	Must be globally unique
LOCATION	eastus	Azure region

Ask the user for these values, or generate APP_NAME with a random suffix.

Step 2 — Create resource group

az group create --name $RESOURCE_GROUP --location $LOCATION

Step 3 — Create App Service plan

Use the Free tier (F1) by default. Confirm with user before using a paid tier.

az appservice plan create --name $APP_SERVICE_PLAN --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP --sku F1 --is-linux

Step 4 — Create the web app

az webapp create --name $APP_NAME --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP --plan $APP_SERVICE_PLAN --runtime "NODE:20-lts"

Step 5 — Configure startup command

This project uses node server.js on port 8080. App Service expects port from $PORT env var.

Important: Check if server.js reads process.env.PORT. If not, update it:

const PORT = process.env.PORT || 8080;

Set the startup command:

az webapp config set --name $APP_NAME --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP --startup-file "node server.js"

Step 6 — Deploy code

Use zip deploy. Create a zip of the project files (exclude .git, node_modules, .github):

Compress-Archive -Path index.html, server.js, package.json -DestinationPath deploy.zip -Force
az webapp deploy --name $APP_NAME --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP --src-path deploy.zip --type zip
Remove-Item deploy.zip

Step 7 — Verify deployment

$url = az webapp show --name $APP_NAME --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP --query "defaultHostName" -o tsv
Write-Output "App URL: https://$url"

Open the URL and confirm the game loads. Check logs if needed:

az webapp log tail --name $APP_NAME --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP

Quick Redeploy (after code changes)

For subsequent deploys, only Step 6 and 7 are needed:

Compress-Archive -Path index.html, server.js, package.json -DestinationPath deploy.zip -Force
az webapp deploy --name $APP_NAME --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP --src-path deploy.zip --type zip
Remove-Item deploy.zip

Cleanup

To tear down all Azure resources:

az group delete --name $RESOURCE_GROUP --yes --no-wait

Warning: This deletes everything in the resource group. Confirm with user first.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Fix
App shows "Application Error"	Check az webapp log tail for startup errors
Port binding fails	Ensure server.js uses process.env.PORT
Webcam not working	App must be served over HTTPS (App Service does this by default)
Site returns 404	Verify zip contains index.html and server.js at root level