> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://developer.harness.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://developer.harness.io/continuous-delivery/use-continuous-delivery/deploy-services-on-different-platforms/azure/azure-container-apps/step-references/deploy-aca.md).

# Azure Container Apps Deploy

### Azure Container Apps Deploy <a href="#azure-container-apps-deploy" id="azure-container-apps-deploy"></a>

The **Azure Container Apps Deploy** step creates a new revision of your Azure Container App with the updated container image and configuration.

{% hint style="info" %}
**PREREQUISITES**

* This step must be added within a **Container Step Group**. The step runs as a containerized task and requires the container infrastructure configuration provided by the step group.
* A **Download Manifests** step must be added before this step to fetch the required manifest files from your configured manifest store.
* An **Azure Container Apps Prepare Rollback Data** step should be added before this step to capture the current state for rollback purposes.
  {% endhint %}

### What this step does <a href="#what-this-step-does" id="what-this-step-does"></a>

The Azure Container Apps Deploy step performs the following operations:

1. **Parses the manifest**: Reads the Azure Container Apps manifest to extract configuration
2. **Prepares deployment**: Injects the container image URL from your artifact configuration and sets deployment options
3. **Deploys container app**: Creates or updates the Azure Container App with the new revision
4. **Finalizes outputs**: Waits for deployment to stabilize and outputs revision details and instance status

This step creates a new immutable revision of your container app. By default (`skipTrafficShift: false`), traffic shifts immediately to the new revision upon deployment. When **Skip Traffic Shift** is enabled (`true`), the step creates the revision without shifting traffic, and traffic shifting is performed explicitly in subsequent Azure Container Apps Traffic Shift steps.

### Deployment phases <a href="#deployment-phases" id="deployment-phases"></a>

The step executes in four phases:

#### Phase 1: Parsing manifest <a href="#phase-1-parsing-manifest" id="phase-1-parsing-manifest"></a>

```
[INFO] Phase 1/4: Parsing manifest
[INFO] Container App: aca-aut-test
```

Harness reads the Azure Container Apps manifest to extract the container app name and validate the configuration.

#### Phase 2: Preparing deployment <a href="#phase-2-preparing-deployment" id="phase-2-preparing-deployment"></a>

```
[INFO] Phase 2/4: Preparing deployment
[INFO] Using location from managed environment: East US
[INFO] Injecting image URL: index.docker.io/library/nginx:stable-otel
[INFO] Traffic will be forced to latest revision
[INFO] Setting active revisions mode: Single
```

Harness prepares the deployment by:

* Determining the Azure region from the managed environment
* Injecting the container image URL from your artifact configuration (replaces `placeholder` in the manifest)
* Configuring traffic behavior based on the **Skip Traffic Shift** setting
* Setting the active revisions mode (`Single` or `Multiple`)

#### Phase 3: Deploying container app <a href="#phase-3-deploying-container-app" id="phase-3-deploying-container-app"></a>

```
[INFO] Phase 3/4: Deploying container app
[INFO] Deploying container app completed (took 16s)
[INFO] Container App deployed successfully: aca-aut-test
```

Harness deploys the container app to Azure. If the container app doesn't exist, it creates a new one. If it already exists, it creates a new revision with the updated configuration.

#### Phase 4: Finalizing outputs <a href="#phase-4-finalizing-outputs" id="phase-4-finalizing-outputs"></a>

```
[INFO] Phase 4/4: Finalizing outputs
[INFO] Waiting 1 minute for deployment to stabilise...
[INFO] Revisions:
[INFO] Revision: aca-aut-test--0000001, Status: Running, Replicas: 1, Traffic: 0%
[INFO] Instances:
[INFO] Instance: aca-aut-test--0000001-7c7fd9f49c-bpfcb, Revision: aca-aut-test--0000001, Status: Running
```

Harness waits for the deployment to stabilize (typically 1 minute) and then outputs the current state, including:

* Active revisions and their status
* Replica counts
* Current traffic distribution
* Instance details

### Step parameters <a href="#step-parameters" id="step-parameters"></a>

| Parameter              | Description                                                    | Required |
| ---------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | -------- |
| **Name**               | Display name for the step                                      | No       |
| **Timeout**            | Maximum time allowed for the step to complete (default: `30m`) | No       |
| **Skip Traffic Shift** | Controls traffic behavior for the deployed revision            | No       |

#### Skip Traffic Shift <a href="#skip-traffic-shift" id="skip-traffic-shift"></a>

This critical parameter controls whether traffic is shifted to the new revision immediately upon deployment:

**Skip Traffic Shift = disabled (default: false)**

* Traffic shifts to the new revision immediately upon deployment
* This is the default behavior for basic deployments where you want immediate cutover to the new version
* Suitable for standard deployments without progressive traffic shifting

**Skip Traffic Shift = enabled (true)**

* The Deploy step only creates the new revision without shifting traffic to it
* Traffic shifting is performed explicitly in subsequent Azure Container Apps Traffic Shift steps
* This gives you full control over when and how traffic moves to the new revision
* **Recommended for progressive Canary deployments** where you want gradual traffic shifting
* Allows you to add multiple Traffic Shift steps to incrementally increase traffic

### Container configuration <a href="#container-configuration" id="container-configuration"></a>

| Parameter              | Description                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Container Registry** | Harness connector for authenticating to your container registry. This connector pulls the deployment plugin image.                                                                                  |
| **Image**              | The deployment plugin container image. Use the official Harness image: [`harness/azure-container-apps-plugin:0.0.1-linux-amd64`](https://hub.docker.com/r/harness/azure-container-apps-plugin/tags) |
| **Image Pull Policy**  | Policy for pulling the container image (default: `Always`)                                                                                                                                          |
| **Resources**          | Resource limits for the container (e.g., `512Mi` memory, `0.5` CPU)                                                                                                                                 |

### Output <a href="#output" id="output"></a>

The step outputs information about the deployed revision:

* **Revision name**: The name of the newly created revision (e.g., `aca-aut-test--0000001`)
* **Revision status**: Current status of the revision (`Running`, `Provisioning`, etc.)
* **Replica count**: Number of running replicas
* **Traffic percentage**: Current traffic weight assigned to this revision
* **Instances**: List of running instances with their status

You can reference the revision name in subsequent steps using expressions:

```
<+pipeline.stages.STAGE_ID.spec.execution.steps.STEP_GROUP_ID.steps.DEPLOY_STEP_ID.output.revisionName>
```

### Example log output <a href="#example-log-output" id="example-log-output"></a>

```
---------------INPUT PARAMETERS---------------
 - [AZURE_CONTAINER_APPS_STEP_TYPE] Step Type: AzureContainerAppsDeploy
 - [AZURE_MANAGED_ENVIRONMENT] Managed Environment: aaakash
 - [AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP] Azure Resource Group: cdp-automation-test
 - [AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID] Azure Subscription ID: 20d6a917-99fa-4b1b-9b2e-a3d624e9dcf0
 - [AZURE_CONTAINER_IMAGE_URL] Container Image URL: index.docker.io/library/nginx:stable-otel
 - [AZURE_MANIFEST_FILE_PATH] Manifest File Path: /harness/m1/acaManifest
 - [AZURE_FORCE_TRAFFIC_TO_LATEST] Force Traffic To Latest: true
 - [TIMEOUT] Timeout: 30m
----------------------------------------------

---------------PARAM VALIDATION---------------
All looks good
----------------------------------------------

[INFO] Setting up authentication
[INFO] Using Azure Public cloud
[INFO] Using Service Principal with Secret authentication
[INFO] Phase 1/4: Parsing manifest
[INFO] Container App: aca-aut-test
[INFO] Phase 2/4: Preparing deployment
[INFO] Using location from managed environment: East US
[INFO] Injecting image URL: index.docker.io/library/nginx:stable-otel
[INFO] Traffic will be forced to latest revision
[INFO] Setting active revisions mode: Single
[INFO] Phase 3/4: Deploying container app
[INFO] Deploying container app completed (took 16s)
[INFO] Container App deployed successfully: aca-aut-test
[INFO] Phase 4/4: Finalizing outputs
[INFO] Waiting 1 minute for deployment to stabilise...
[INFO] Revisions:
[INFO] Revision: aca-aut-test--0000001, Status: Running, Replicas: 1, Traffic: 0%
[INFO] Instances:
[INFO] Instance: aca-aut-test--0000001-7c7fd9f49c-bpfcb, Revision: aca-aut-test--0000001, Status: Running
[INFO] Azure Container Apps plugin execution successfully completed
```

### Usage in pipeline <a href="#usage-in-pipeline" id="usage-in-pipeline"></a>

The Azure Container Apps Deploy step should be placed after the Download Manifests and Prepare Rollback Data steps, and before any Traffic Shift steps in your deployment step group.

### YAML Example <a href="#yaml-example" id="yaml-example"></a>

```yaml
- step:
    type: AzureContainerAppsDeploy
    name: Azure_Container_Apps_Deploy
    identifier: Azure_Container_Apps_Deploy
    spec:
      connectorRef: account.harnessImage
      image: harness/azure-container-apps-plugin:0.0.1-linux-amd64
      imagePullPolicy: Always
      skipTrafficShift: true
      resources:
        limits:
          memory: 512Mi
          cpu: 0.5
    timeout: 30m
```

### Related resources <a href="#related-resources" id="related-resources"></a>

* [Canary Deployment Strategy](/continuous-delivery/use-continuous-delivery/deploy-services-on-different-platforms/azure/azure-container-apps/canary-deployment.md)
* [Azure Container Apps Traffic Shift](/continuous-delivery/use-continuous-delivery/deploy-services-on-different-platforms/azure/azure-container-apps/step-references/traffic-shift.md)
* [Azure Container Apps Prepare Rollback Data](/continuous-delivery/use-continuous-delivery/deploy-services-on-different-platforms/azure/azure-container-apps/step-references/prepare-rollback-data.md)
* [Azure Container Apps documentation](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-apps/)