Deploy Data API builder to Azure Container Instances

Article
02/14/2025

Diagram of the current location ('Publish') in the sequence of the deployment guide.

Deploy the Data API builder quickly to Azure using just a configuration file and no custom code. This guide includes steps to host the Data API builder container image from Docker as a container in Azure Container Instances.

In this guide, walk through the steps to build a Data API builder configuration file, host the file in Azure Files, and then mount the file to a container in Azure Container Instances.

Prerequisites

An Azure account with an active subscription. Create an account for free.
Data API builder CLI. Install the CLI.
Azure CLI. Install the Azure CLI.
Existing supported database addressable from Azure.

Build the configuration file

To start, build a Data API builder (DAB) configuration file to connect to your existing database. This file is used later with the final container.

Create an empty directory on your local machine to store the configuration file.
Initialize a new base configuration file using dab init. Use the following settings at a minimum on initialization.

Setting Value

Database type Select a supported database type.

Connection string Use the @env() function to reference the DATABASE_CONNECTION_STRING environment variable.
```
dab init --database-type "<database-type>" --connection-string "@env('DATABASE_CONNECTION_STRING')"
```
Important

Some database types will require additional configuration settings on initialization.
Add at least one database entity to the configuration. Use the dab add command to configure an entity. Configure each entity to allow all permissions for anonymous users. Repeat dab add as many times as you like for your entities.
```
dab add "<entity-name>" --source "<schema>.<table>" --permissions "anonymous:*"
```
Open and review the contents of the dab-config.json file. You use this file later in this guide.

Setting	Value
Database type	Select a supported database type.
Connection string	Use the `@env()` function to reference the `DATABASE_CONNECTION_STRING` environment variable.

Host configuration in Azure Files

Next, upload the configuration file to a file share created within Azure Files. This file share is eventually mounted to the final container as a volume.

Sign into the Azure portal (https://portal.azure.com).
Create a new resource group. You will use this resource group to for all new resources in this guide.

Tip

We recommend naming the resource group msdocs-dab-aci. All screenshots in this guide use this name.

Create an Azure Storage account. Use these settings to configure the account.

Setting	Value
Resource group	Select the resource group you created earlier
Storage account name	Enter a globally unique name
Region	Select an Azure region
Performance	Select Standard
Redundancy	Select Locally-redundant storage (LRS)
Enable storage account key access	Select Enabled

Screenshot of the 'Create a storage account' page's 'Advanced' tab in the Azure portal.

Navigate to the new storage account in the Azure portal.
Select File shares in the Data storage section of the resource menu. Then, select File share from the command bar to create a new share in the storage account. Use the following settings to configure the new file share.

Setting Value

Name Enter config

Access tier Select Hot

Enable backup Do not select
Upload the dab-config.json and any other required files to the share. Use the Upload option in the command bar to open the Upload files dialog. Select both files and then select Upload.
Select Access keys in the Security + networking section of the resource menu. Then, record the Storage account name and Key values from this page. You will use these values later in this guide.

Setting	Value
Name	Enter `config`
Access tier	Select Hot
Enable backup	Do not select

Create the base container instance

Finally, create the container in Azure using Azure Container Instances. This container hosts the Data API builder image with a configuration file to connect to your database.

Important

Today, the only way to create a container instance with a mounted volume is with the Azure CLI.

Create an Azure Container Instances resource using az container create. Use these settings to configure the resource.

Setting	Value
Resource group	Use the resource group you created earlier
Container name	Enter a globally unique name
Region	Use the same region as the storage account
SKU	Use Standard
Image type	Use Public
Image	Enter `mcr.microsoft.com/azure-databases/data-api-builder:latest`
OS Type	Use Linux
Networking type	Use Public
Networking ports	Enter `5000`
DNS name label	Enter a globally unique label
Environment variables	Enter `DATABASE_CONNECTION_STRING` and the connection string for your database.

az container create \
    --resource-group "<resource-group-name>" \
    --name "<unique-container-instance-name>" \
    --image "mcr.microsoft.com/azure-databases/data-api-builder:latest" \
    --location "<region>" \
    --sku "Standard" \
    --os-type "Linux" \
    --ip-address "public" \
    --ports "5000" \
    --dns-name-label "<unique-dns-label>" \
    --environment-variables "DATABASE_CONNECTION_STRING=<database-connection-string>" \
    --azure-file-volume-mount-path "/cfg" \
    --azure-file-volume-account-name "<storage-account-name>" \
    --azure-file-volume-account-key "<storage-account-key>" \
    --azure-file-volume-share-name "config" \
    --command-line "dotnet Azure.DataApiBuilder.Service.dll --ConfigFileName /cfg/dab-config.json"
    --

Tip

We recommend using a connection string that does not include authorization keys. Instead, use managed identities and role-based access control to manage access between your database and host. For more information, see Azure services that use managed identities.

Use az container show to query the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) for your new container instance. Then, browse to the container instance's website.

az container show \
    --resource-group "<resource-group-name>" \
    --name "<unique-container-instance-name>" \
    --query "join('://', ['https', ipAddress.fqdn])" \
    --output "tsv"

Observe the response indicating that the DAB container is running and the status is healthy.
```
{
    "status": "healthy",
    "version": "1.1.7",
    "app-name": "dab_oss_1.1.7"
}
```
Note

The version number and name will vary based on your current version of Data API builder. At this point, you cannot navigate to any API endpoints. These endpoints will be available once you mount a DAB configuration file.
Navigate to the /api/swagger path for the current running application. Use the Swagger UI to issue a HTTP GET request for one of your entities.

Clean up resources

When you no longer need the sample application or resources, remove the corresponding deployment and all resources.

Navigate to the resource group using the Azure portal.
In the command bar, select Delete.

Next step

Integrate with Application Insights

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