Quick start (Bicep)

If you prefer Microsoft’s native IaC, use Bicep for the shortest path: configure → preflight/what-if → review → deploy → verify. It deploys the same architecture as Terraform without a separate state backend.

No-install option — every command below also works in Azure Cloud Shell (Bash). Cloud Shell is pre-authenticated and az bicep is built in. See Prerequisites → Option A: Cloud Shell for the full walkthrough.

1. Clone, sign in, and configure

git clone https://github.com/travishankins/azure-launchpad.git
cd azure-launchpad
az login
az account set --subscription <subscription-id>

Use the configuration generator, choose Bicep at step 2, and save its output as infra/bicep/foundation/scenarios/wizard.bicepparam.

2. Preflight and preview

./scripts/deploy.sh plan --iac bicep --mode single \
  --subscription <subscription-id> --scenario baseline \
  --config infra/bicep/foundation/scenarios/wizard.bicepparam \
  --region westcentralus

Review every change in the Bicep what-if output.

3. Deploy

./scripts/deploy.sh apply --iac bicep --mode single \
  --subscription <subscription-id> --scenario baseline \
  --config infra/bicep/foundation/scenarios/wizard.bicepparam \
  --region westcentralus

4. Verify

./scripts/verify.sh --mode single --subscription <subscription-id> \
  --scenario baseline --name-prefix contoso --region-short wcus

Bicep deployment history is stored in Azure. To switch scenarios, regenerate the parameter file and repeat preview/deploy with the matching scenario.

Switching from Terraform to Bicep (or back)

The two roots manage the same resource names by design (rg-hub-contoso-wcus, vnet-hub-contoso-wcus, etc.). Do not run both against the same subscription with the same namePrefix/name_prefix — pick one IaC and stick with it for that environment.

Management Groups (Bicep, tenant scope)

az deployment tenant create \
  --location westcentralus \
  --name foundations-mg-full \
  --parameters infra/bicep/management-groups/scenarios/full.bicepparam

The principal needs Management Group Contributor on the Tenant Root Group (and Resource Policy Contributor if you set enablePolicies = true).