Tired of the repetitive clicking in the Azure portal for deploying resources? If you’ve ever wished for a more robust, repeatable, and version-controlled way to manage your cloud infrastructure, then Azure Bicep is your answer. It’s a game-changer for automating Azure deployments, bringing the power of Infrastructure as Code to your fingertips.

This guide will walk you through the essentials, from understanding what Bicep is to deploying your first resources. Get ready to transform your Azure management game!

Prerequisites

Before you dive into Azure Bicep, it helps to have a few essentials in place so you can write, validate, and deploy your infrastructure templates smoothly. The prerequisites below cover the account access, tools, and baseline knowledge you’ll typically need. Once these are ready, you’ll be set up to start authoring Bicep files and deploying resources to Azure with confidence.

  • An Azure account with an active subscription
  • Basic understanding of Azure resource concepts
  • An internet connection for installing Bicep and deploying resources
  • Azure CLI or Azure PowerShell installed
  • A code editor like VS Code with the Bicep extension

This is a Bicep tutorial:

Master Azure Infrastructure Automation with Bicep – The Basics (Part 2)
Azure Automation with Bicep – Resource Declaration (Part 3)
Bicep Parameters: Simplify Your Azure Deployments – Part 4

Getting Started with Bicep

Bicep is a domain-specific language (DSL) that uses a familiar declarative syntax to deploy Azure resources. It’s a powerful tool for anyone looking to automate Azure infrastructure deployments, making the process more predictable and repeatable. If you’re working with Azure, understanding Bicep is becoming increasingly important for efficient resource management.

A domain‑specific language (DSL) is a mini‑language designed to solve problems in a very specific area.
In Azure Bicep’s case, it means the language is tailored only for describing and deploying Azure resources, not for general programming.

What is Azure Bicep?

Azure Bicep is an Infrastructure as Code (IaC) language that simplifies the deployment of Azure resources. Think of it as a modern approach to resource deployment, a cleaner way to define your Azure infrastructure compared to ARM templates.

Bicep compiles down to standard ARM JSON templates, meaning you get all the benefits of ARM templates with a much more readable and maintainable syntax. It allows you to define the desired state of your infrastructure, and Bicep handles the rest.

Why Use Bicep for Azure Automation?

Automating Azure infrastructure with Bicep offers several key advantages. Firstly, it ensures consistency; every deployment is exactly the same, reducing the risk of configuration drift. Secondly, Bicep significantly improves the readability and maintainability of your infrastructure code, making collaboration easier. It also speeds up deployments by reducing the complexity associated with writing and managing JSON ARM templates.

The declarative nature means you define what you want, not how to achieve it, letting Azure figure out the most efficient deployment path.

Is Azure Bicep a Replacement for ARM Templates?

While Bicep is often seen as a successor to ARM templates, it’s more accurate to say it’s a better abstraction over them. Bicep compiles into standard ARM JSON templates. This means that any ARM template that Bicep can generate is a valid ARM template. You can even decompile existing ARM templates into Bicep files to understand and refactor them. So, it’s not a complete replacement in terms of the underlying technology, but it’s the recommended way to author ARM templates moving forward due to its enhanced developer experience.

How Does Azure Bicep Work?

Bicep works through a compilation process. You write your infrastructure in a .bicep file using its declarative syntax, which is covered later. This Bicep file is then compiled into a standard Azure Resource Manager (ARM) JSON template. This compilation step happens locally before you deploy, or it can be orchestrated as part of your CI/CD pipeline. The resulting ARM JSON template is what Azure Resource Manager actually uses to deploy your resources. This compilation ensures that you can leverage the familiar ARM deployment engine while benefiting from Bicep’s simplified language.

Setting Up Your Azure Bicep Environment

Getting your environment ready to work with Bicep is straightforward. Whether you’re using Visual Studio Code or another editor, the setup is designed to be quick and efficient, allowing you to start defining and deploying your Azure infrastructure with minimal friction.

Installing Bicep

You can install the Bicep CLI in several ways, ensuring you can use it regardless of your preferred development environment. The most common methods include:

  • Using the Azure CLI: If you have the Azure CLI installed, Bicep is included by default. You can update it to the latest version by running:
az bicep upgrade
  • Using Homebrew (macOS/Linux): For macOS and Linux users, Homebrew is a convenient way to install and manage Bicep:
brew install bicep

Verifying Your Installation

After installation, it’s good practice to verify that Bicep is set up correctly. Open your terminal or command prompt and run the following command:

> az bicep version
Bicep CLI version 0.39.26 (1e90b06e40)

This command should output the installed version of the Bicep CLI. If you see a version number, your installation was successful, and you’re ready to start writing Bicep code.

What Tools Do I Need for Bicep?

To effectively work with Bicep, A Text Editor or IDE. VSCode is highly recommended. It offers excellent Bicep support through an official extension, providing features like syntax highlighting, IntelliSense, and error checking. Other IDEs might also have Bicep support via extensions.

Installing VSCode and Bicep extension

Before you write your first .bicep file. Follow these step to make your Visual Studio Code ready

  • Install VS Code
  • After the installation is completed, open it and go to the Extensions tab, search for “Bicep” (the Microsoft extension), and click Install.

Make sure to install the Bicep by Microsoft

  • Once it’s installed, create or open any file that ends with .bicep and you’ll immediately get syntax highlighting, IntelliSense, and validation (you’ll even see the language mode switch to Bicep in the bottom-right), which makes learning and troubleshooting a lot smoother

If got this, then everything is OK.. but if you did not see { } Bicep, or you saw something like { } Plain Text ,then try click on it and select Bicep

Let’s keep it simple… for now, you need to understand the very basics, and during this journey, you will learn how to become the hero. So stay tuned.

Can I deploy Bicep using PowerShell

Yes. You can deploy .bicep files using Azure PowerShell (Az) or Azure CLI.

When should I use PowerShell instead of Bicep

Use PowerShell for orchestration and operational tasks (loops, conditionals, post-deploy steps), and Bicep for defining infrastructure

Are Bicep variables the same as parameters?

No. Parameters are inputs you pass in; variables are values computed inside the Bicep file and stay fixed during the deployment

Conclusion

Azure Bicep gives you a cleaner, more maintainable way to define Azure infrastructure as code—so you can move away from repetitive portal clicking and toward consistent, repeatable deployments you can version-control and review like any other code. With the right prerequisites and tooling in place, you’re already set up to start authoring Bicep templates, validating them, and deploying resources with confidence. pasted

In the upcoming posts, we’ll slowly deep dive beyond the basics, starting with simple, practical examples and then moving step by step into more detailed topics like parameters, variables, modules, reusable patterns, and real-world deployment structure

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