Quickstart: Deploy a Dapr application to Azure Container Apps using the Azure CLI

Dapr (Distributed Application Runtime) helps developers build resilient, reliable microservices. In this quickstart, you learn how to enable Dapr sidecars to run alongside your microservices container apps. You'll:

• Create a Container Apps environment and Azure Blog Storage state store for your container apps.
• Deploy a Python container app that publishes messages.
• Deploy a Node.js container app that subscribes to messages and persists them in a state store.
• Verify the interaction between the two microservices using the Azure portal.

This quickstart mirrors the applications you deploy in the open-source Dapr Hello World quickstart.

Setup

To sign in to Azure from the CLI, run the following command and follow the prompts to complete the authentication process.

Bash

az login

Azure PowerShell

Connect-AzAccount

To ensure you're running the latest version of the CLI, run the upgrade command.

Bash

az upgrade

Azure PowerShell

Install-Module -Name Az -Scope CurrentUser -Repository PSGallery -Force

Ignore any warnings about modules currently in use.

Next, install or update the Azure Container Apps extension for the CLI.

If you receive errors about missing parameters when you run az containerapp commands in Azure CLI or cmdlets from the Az.App module in Azure PowerShell, be sure you have the latest version of the Azure Container Apps extension installed.

Bash

az extension add --name containerapp --upgrade

Note

Starting in May 2024, Azure CLI extensions no longer enable preview features by default. To access Container Apps preview features, install the Container Apps extension with --allow-preview true.

az extension add --name containerapp --upgrade --allow-preview true

Azure PowerShell

Install-Module -Name Az.App

Make sure to update the Az.App module to the latest version.

Update-Module -Name Az.App

Now that the current extension or module is installed, register the Microsoft.App and Microsoft.OperationalInsights namespaces.

Bash

az provider register --namespace Microsoft.App

az provider register --namespace Microsoft.OperationalInsights

Azure PowerShell

Register-AzResourceProvider -ProviderNamespace Microsoft.App

Register-AzResourceProvider -ProviderNamespace Microsoft.OperationalInsights

Set environment variables

Set the following environment variables. Replace the <PLACEHOLDERS> with your values:

Bash

RESOURCE_GROUP="<RESOURCE_GROUP>"
LOCATION="<LOCATION>"
CONTAINERAPPS_ENVIRONMENT="<CONTAINERAPPS_ENVIRONMENT>"

Azure PowerShell

$ResourceGroupName = '<RESOURCE_GROUP>'
$Location = '<LOCATION>'
$ContainerAppsEnvironment = '<CONTAINERAPPS_ENVIRONMENT>'

Create an Azure resource group

Create a resource group to organize the services related to your container app deployment.

Bash

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

Azure PowerShell

New-AzResourceGroup -Location $Location -Name $ResourceGroupName

Create an environment

An environment in Azure Container Apps creates a secure boundary around a group of container apps. Container Apps deployed to the same environment are deployed in the same virtual network and write logs to the same Log Analytics workspace.

To create the environment, run the following command:

Bash

az containerapp env create \
  --name $CONTAINERAPPS_ENVIRONMENT \
  --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP \
  --location "$LOCATION"

Azure PowerShell

A Log Analytics workspace is required for the Container Apps environment. The following commands create a Log Analytics workspace and save the workspace ID and primary shared key to environment variables.

$WorkspaceArgs = @{
    Name = 'myworkspace'
    ResourceGroupName = $ResourceGroupName
    Location = $Location
    PublicNetworkAccessForIngestion = 'Enabled'
    PublicNetworkAccessForQuery = 'Enabled'
}
New-AzOperationalInsightsWorkspace @WorkspaceArgs
$WorkspaceId = (Get-AzOperationalInsightsWorkspace -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroupName -Name $WorkspaceArgs.Name).CustomerId
$WorkspaceSharedKey = (Get-AzOperationalInsightsWorkspaceSharedKey -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroupName -Name $WorkspaceArgs.Name).PrimarySharedKey

To create the environment, run the following command:

$EnvArgs = @{
    EnvName = $ContainerAppsEnvironment
    ResourceGroupName = $ResourceGroupName
    Location = $Location
    AppLogConfigurationDestination = 'log-analytics'
    LogAnalyticConfigurationCustomerId = $WorkspaceId
    LogAnalyticConfigurationSharedKey = $WorkspaceSharedKey
}

New-AzContainerAppManagedEnv @EnvArgs

Set up a state store

Create an Azure Blob Storage account

With the environment deployed, deploy an Azure Blob Storage account that is used by the Node.js container app to store data. Before deploying the service, choose a name for the storage account. Storage account names must be unique within Azure, from 3 to 24 characters in length and must contain numbers and lowercase letters only.

Bash

STORAGE_ACCOUNT_NAME="<storage account name>"

Azure PowerShell

$StorageAcctName = '<storage account name>'

Use the following command to create the Azure Storage account.

Bash

az storage account create \
  --name $STORAGE_ACCOUNT_NAME \
  --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP \
  --location "$LOCATION" \
  --sku Standard_RAGRS \
  --kind StorageV2

Azure PowerShell

Install-Module Az.Storage

$StorageAcctArgs = @{
    Name = $StorageAcctName
    ResourceGroupName = $ResourceGroupName
    Location = $Location
    SkuName = 'Standard_RAGRS'
    Kind = 'StorageV2'
}
$StorageAccount = New-AzStorageAccount @StorageAcctArgs

Configure a user-assigned identity for the node app

While Container Apps supports both user-assigned and system-assigned managed identity, a user-assigned identity provides the Dapr-enabled Node.js app with permissions to access the blob storage account.

1. Create a user-assigned identity.

   Bash

   az identity create --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP --name "nodeAppIdentity"     --output json
   

   Azure PowerShell

   Install-Module -Name AZ.ManagedServiceIdentity
   
   New-AzUserAssignedIdentity -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroupName -Name     'nodeAppIdentity' -Location $Location
   
   

2. Retrieve the principalId and id properties and store in variables.

   Bash

   PRINCIPAL_ID=$(az identity show -n "nodeAppIdentity" --resource-group     $RESOURCE_GROUP --query principalId | tr -d \")
   IDENTITY_ID=$(az identity show -n "nodeAppIdentity" --resource-group     $RESOURCE_GROUP --query id | tr -d \")
   CLIENT_ID=$(az identity show -n "nodeAppIdentity" --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP     --query clientId | tr -d \")
   

   Azure PowerShell

   $PrincipalId = (Get-AzUserAssignedIdentity -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroupName     -Name 'nodeAppIdentity').PrincipalId
   $IdentityId = (Get-AzUserAssignedIdentity -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroupName     -Name 'nodeAppIdentity').Id
   $ClientId = (Get-AzUserAssignedIdentity -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroupName -Name     'nodeAppIdentity').ClientId
   

3. Retrieve the subscription ID for your current subscription.

   Bash

   SUBSCRIPTION_ID=$(az account show --query id --output tsv)
   

   Azure PowerShell

   $SubscriptionId=$(Get-AzContext).Subscription.id
   

4. Assign the Storage Blob Data Contributor role to the user-assigned identity.

   Bash

   az role assignment create --assignee $PRINCIPAL_ID  \
   --role "Storage Blob Data Contributor" \
   --scope "/subscriptions/$SUBSCRIPTION_ID/resourceGroups/$RESOURCE_GROUP/providers/    Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/$STORAGE_ACCOUNT_NAME"
   

   Azure PowerShell

   Install-Module Az.Resources
   
   New-AzRoleAssignment -ObjectId $PrincipalId -RoleDefinitionName 'Storage Blob Data     Contributor' -Scope "/subscriptions/$SubscriptionId/resourceGroups/    $ResourceGroupName/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/$StorageAcctName"
   

Configure the state store component

While you have multiple options for authenticating to external resources via Dapr. This example uses an Azure-based state store, so you can provide direct access from the Node.js app to the Blob store using Managed Identity.

1. In a text editor, create a file named statestore.yaml with the properties that you sourced from the previous steps.

   # statestore.yaml for Azure Blob storage component
   componentType: state.azure.blobstorage
   version: v1
   metadata:
     - name: accountName
       value: "<STORAGE_ACCOUNT_NAME>"
     - name: containerName
       value: mycontainer
     - name: azureClientId
       value: "<MANAGED_IDENTITY_CLIENT_ID>"
   scopes:
     - nodeapp
   

   This file helps enable your Dapr app to access your state store.

2. Navigate to the directory in which you stored the yaml file and run the following command to configure the Dapr component in the Container Apps environment.

   Bash

   az containerapp env dapr-component set \
       --name $CONTAINERAPPS_ENVIRONMENT --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP \
       --dapr-component-name statestore \
       --yaml statestore.yaml
   

   Azure PowerShell

   
   $AcctName = New-AzContainerAppDaprMetadataObject -Name "accountName" -Value     $StorageAcctName
   
   $ContainerName = New-AzContainerAppDaprMetadataObject -Name "containerName" -Value     'mycontainer'
   
   $ClientId = New-AzContainerAppDaprMetadataObject -Name "azureClientId" -Value     $ClientId
   
   $DaprArgs = @{
       EnvName = $ContainerAppsEnvironment
       ResourceGroupName = $ResourceGroupName
       DaprName = 'statestore'
       Metadata = $AcctName, $ContainerName, $ClientId
       Scope = 'nodeapp'
       Version = 'v1'
       ComponentType = 'state.azure.blobstorage'
   }
   
   New-AzContainerAppManagedEnvDapr @DaprArgs
   

Deploy the Node.js application

Bash

az containerapp create \
  --name nodeapp \
  --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP \
  --user-assigned $IDENTITY_ID \
  --environment $CONTAINERAPPS_ENVIRONMENT \
  --image dapriosamples/hello-k8s-node:latest \
  --min-replicas 1 \
  --max-replicas 1 \
  --enable-dapr \
  --dapr-app-id nodeapp \
  --dapr-app-port 3000 \
  --env-vars 'APP_PORT=3000'

If you're using an Azure Container Registry, include the --registry-server <REGISTRY_NAME>.azurecr.io flag in the command.

Azure PowerShell

$EnvId = (Get-AzContainerAppManagedEnv -ResourceGroupName $ResourceGroupName -EnvName $ContainerAppsEnvironment).Id

$EnvVars = New-AzContainerAppEnvironmentVarObject -Name APP_PORT -Value 3000

$TemplateArgs = @{
  Name = 'nodeapp'
  Image = 'dapriosamples/hello-k8s-node:latest'
  Env = $EnvVars
}
$ServiceTemplateObj = New-AzContainerAppTemplateObject @TemplateArgs

$ServiceArgs = @{
    Name = 'nodeapp'
    ResourceGroupName = $ResourceGroupName
    Location = $Location
    ManagedEnvironmentId = $EnvId
    TemplateContainer = $ServiceTemplateObj
    ScaleMinReplica = 1
    ScaleMaxReplica = 1
    DaprEnabled = $true
    DaprAppId = 'nodeapp'
    DaprAppPort = 3000
    IdentityType = 'UserAssigned'
    IdentityUserAssignedIdentity = @{
        $IdentityId = @{}
    }
}
New-AzContainerApp @ServiceArgs

If you're using an Azure Container Registry, include the RegistryServer = '<REGISTRY_NAME>.azurecr.io' flag in the command.

By default, the image is pulled from Docker Hub.

Deploy the Python application

Bash

az containerapp create \
  --name pythonapp \
  --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP \
  --environment $CONTAINERAPPS_ENVIRONMENT \
  --image dapriosamples/hello-k8s-python:latest \
  --min-replicas 1 \
  --max-replicas 1 \
  --enable-dapr \
  --dapr-app-id pythonapp

If you're using an Azure Container Registry, include the --registry-server <REGISTRY_NAME>.azurecr.io flag in the command.

Azure PowerShell

$TemplateArgs = @{
  Name = 'pythonapp'
  Image = 'dapriosamples/hello-k8s-python:latest'
}

$ClientTemplateObj = New-AzContainerAppTemplateObject @TemplateArgs


$ClientArgs = @{
    Name = 'pythonapp'
    ResourceGroupName = $ResourceGroupName
    Location = $Location
    ManagedEnvironmentId = $EnvId
    TemplateContainer = $ClientTemplateObj
    ScaleMinReplica = 1
    ScaleMaxReplica = 1
    DaprEnabled = $true
    DaprAppId = 'pythonapp'
}
New-AzContainerApp @ClientArgs

If you're using an Azure Container Registry, include the RegistryServer = '<REGISTRY_NAME>.azurecr.io' flag in the command.

Verify the results

Confirm successful state persistence

You can confirm that the services are working correctly by viewing data in your Azure Storage account.

1. Open the Azure portal in your browser and navigate to your storage account.

2. Select Data Storage > Containers in the left side menu.

3. Select the container app.

4. Verify that you can see the file named order in the container.

5. Select the file.

6. Select the Edit tab.

7. Select the Refresh button to observe how the data automatically updates.

View Logs

Logs from container apps are stored in the ContainerAppConsoleLogs_CL custom table in the Log Analytics workspace. You can view logs through the Azure portal or via the CLI. There may be a small delay initially for the table to appear in the workspace.

View logs using the command line using the following CLI command.

Bash

LOG_ANALYTICS_WORKSPACE_CLIENT_ID=`az containerapp env show --name $CONTAINERAPPS_ENVIRONMENT --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP --query properties.appLogsConfiguration.logAnalyticsConfiguration.customerId --out tsv`

az monitor log-analytics query \
  --workspace $LOG_ANALYTICS_WORKSPACE_CLIENT_ID \
  --analytics-query "ContainerAppConsoleLogs_CL | where ContainerAppName_s == 'nodeapp' and (Log_s contains 'persisted' or Log_s contains 'order') | project ContainerAppName_s, Log_s, TimeGenerated | sort by TimeGenerated | take 5" \
  --out table

Azure PowerShell

$queryResults = Invoke-AzOperationalInsightsQuery -WorkspaceId $WorkspaceId  -Query "ContainerAppConsoleLogs_CL | where ContainerAppName_s == 'nodeapp' and (Log_s contains 'persisted' or Log_s contains 'order') | project ContainerAppName_s, Log_s, TimeGenerated | take 5 "
$queryResults.Results

The following output demonstrates the type of response to expect from the CLI command.

ContainerAppName_s    Log_s                            TableName      TimeGenerated
--------------------  -------------------------------  -------------  ------------------------
nodeapp               Got a new order! Order ID: 61    PrimaryResult  2021-10-22T21:31:46.184Z
nodeapp               Successfully persisted state.    PrimaryResult  2021-10-22T21:31:46.184Z
nodeapp               Got a new order! Order ID: 62    PrimaryResult  2021-10-22T22:01:57.174Z
nodeapp               Successfully persisted state.    PrimaryResult  2021-10-22T22:01:57.174Z
nodeapp               Got a new order! Order ID: 63    PrimaryResult  2021-10-22T22:45:44.618Z

Clean up resources

Since pythonapp continuously makes calls to nodeapp with messages that get persisted into your configured state store, it is important to complete these cleanup steps to avoid ongoing billable operations.

If you'd like to delete the resources created as a part of this walkthrough, run the following command.

Caution

This command deletes the specified resource group and all resources contained within it. If resources outside the scope of this tutorial exist in the specified resource group, they will also be deleted.

Bash

az group delete --resource-group $RESOURCE_GROUP

Azure PowerShell

Remove-AzResourceGroup -Name $ResourceGroupName -Force

Tip

Having issues? Let us know on GitHub by opening an issue in the Azure Container Apps repo.

Next steps

Learn more about Dapr components in Azure Container Apps