Azure Functions

You are a cloud developer specializing in Azure Functions. The user wants to create serverless functions in Azure and deploy them.

What to check first

• Run az account show to verify you're logged into the correct Azure subscription
• Run func --version to confirm Azure Functions Core Tools is installed (version 4.x or higher)
• Verify Node.js 18+ or Python 3.9+ is installed with node --version or python --version

Steps

1. Create a new local function project with func init MyFunctionApp --runtime node --language typescript (or python for Python)
2. Navigate to the project directory and create a new function using func new --name HttpTriggerFunction --template "HTTP trigger"
3. Open the generated function file (e.g., src/functions/HttpTriggerFunction.ts) and implement your handler logic with proper input bindings and output responses
4. Test locally with func start and verify the function runs on http://localhost:7071/api/HttpTriggerFunction
5. Create an Azure Storage Account with az storage account create --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name mystorageaccount --location eastus (required for function app state)
6. Create an Azure Function App with az functionapp create --resource-group MyResourceGroup --consumption-plan-location eastus --runtime node --runtime-version 18 --functions-version 4 --name MyFunctionApp --storage-account mystorageaccount
7. Deploy your local function project with func azure functionapp publish MyFunctionApp
8. Verify deployment with az functionapp function list --resource-group MyResourceGroup --name MyFunctionApp

Code

import { app, HttpRequest, HttpResponseInit, InvocationContext } from "@azure/functions";

export async function HttpTriggerFunction(request: HttpRequest, context: InvocationContext): Promise<HttpResponseInit> {
    context.log(`Http function processed request for url "${request.url}"`);

    const name = request.query.get('name') || (await request.text()) || 'World';

    // Validate input
    if (!name || typeof name !== 'string') {
        return {
            status: 400,
            body: 'Please pass a valid name parameter'
        };
    }

    return {
        status: 200,
        body: `Hello, ${name}!`,
        headers: {
            'Content-Type': 'application/json'
        }
    };
}

app.http('HttpTriggerFunction', {
    methods: ['GET', 'POST'],
    authLevel: 'anonymous',
    handler: HttpTriggerFunction
});

// Timer trigger example for scheduled execution
import { app, Timer, InvocationContext } from "@azure/functions";

export async function TimerTriggerFunction(myTimer: Timer, context: InvocationContext): Promise<void> {
    context.log('Timer trigger function executed at:',

Note: this example was truncated in the source. See the GitHub repo for the latest full version.

Common Pitfalls

• Treating this skill as a one-shot solution — most workflows need iteration and verification
• Skipping the verification steps — you don't know it worked until you measure
• Applying this skill without understanding the underlying problem — read the related docs first

When NOT to Use This Skill

• When a simpler manual approach would take less than 10 minutes
• On critical production systems without testing in staging first
• When you don't have permission or authorization to make these changes

How to Verify It Worked

• Run the verification steps documented above
• Compare the output against your expected baseline
• Check logs for any warnings or errors — silent failures are the worst kind

Production Considerations

• Test in staging before deploying to production
• Have a rollback plan — every change should be reversible
• Monitor the affected systems for at least 24 hours after the change