This is a quick blog to share some of my favourite Bicep resources for deployment patterns, governance, advanced templates, and deeper discussions on topics that reflect the real world rather than just theory. Enjoy!
1. Azure Deployment Framework
One of my favourite goldmines of insights and patterns is from Ben Wilkinson, who has developed a deployment framework around Bicep and supporting scripts. It provides invaluable insight into different deployment approaches, with some excellent real world examples of how to leverage shared variable file patterns at scale to help standardise and simplify deployments. There are even YAML pipelines and scripts included for inspiration. While it is not updated as frequently these days, it remains a fantastic resource and has been one of my go tos for years for reference materials.
2. PSRule
I’ve been asked before: why PSRule over a tool like Checkov or others?
Checkov is very cool and works across more than just Bicep. However, for me, PSRule is king. There are a few key reasons why I always advocate for it over others:
- Many first party Microsoft repositories use PSRule as their go to tool, including the Azure Verified Modules and ALZ repos.
- It has active, ongoing development from Bernie White (Microsoft FTE). The tool adapts quickly to changes in frameworks and Azure resources, with excellent documentation and CI/CD integrations out the box.
- It directly references frameworks and documentation when reporting on errors or misconfigurations, bridging the gap between theory and practice.
PSRule for Azure – PSRule for Azure
I’ve previously written a detailed blog about PSRule as well.
3. Social Media
It’s undeniable how useful social media can be when you really lock in and curate your feeds to your niche tech interests. Personally, I’ve found LinkedIn to be a great hub for the Microsoft tech community. Following thought leaders, bloggers, Microsoft employees, MVPs, and other active voices in the Azure space has been invaluable for me.
For Bicep specifically, there are a few go to resources I use often (and yes, there are some shameless plugs here 😂):
- Azure/bicep · Discussions · GitHub – This is a fantastic place to find Bicep discussions. Chances are, someone else has already run into the same problem or question you have, and the community has stepped in with invaluable insights or solutions.
- LinkedIn Bicep Users Group – John Lokerse and I started this community in early 2024 and it’s now nearly 3,000 members strong. It’s a great way to keep up to date with Bicep via a platform that, for me, nicely separates personal interests from work aligned tech interests. The group is full of useful posts from the community, including blogs, GitHub samples, and more.
- r/AzureBicep Reddit the subreddit has been around for a few years but was fairly abandoned in terms of content and moderation. Recently we’ve taken it over, and together with John we’re aiming to give it a fresh relaunch for the community. Not everyone is a fan of LinkedIn in the tech world, so hopefully this will offer an alternative space for discussion.
4. Azure Verified Modules
Ok, nothing new here, right? AVM is well known at this point. Well… yes and no. When I say AVM in this context, I’m talking about a few goodies that I really value from the initiative:
- AVM provides an excellent example from Microsoft of how to structure repositories, write documentation, and set up automated pipelines, versioning and testing suites for Infrastructure as Code. The repo is a goldmine if you want to see how the AVM teams version, test, and document their modules at scale. Even if it’s not directly applicable to your repo, there’s plenty of inspiration to take from the CI/CD processes. If you’ve contributed to AVM, you’ll know just how neat the testing procedure is for module changes.
- The end-to-end test Bicep files. If you’re unsure about a parameter, property, or object structure (and the example values to use), these test files are a quick and easy way to check what to include in your deployment. They often save you from digging through the resource type docs or REST API. (Also don’t forget you can F12 on a module block that uses AVM to view the source template directly in VS Code too!)
- By reviewing the
main.bicepfiles for modules, you can start to unpick advanced functions and features used at scale. Spotting utility patterns and seeing how they’re applied in practice is insightful.
5. Bicep Community Call (Product Group Interaction)
Surprisingly, a lot of people are unaware that the product group hold monthly calls with the community to propose ideas, gather feedback, demonstrate experimental features, and answer Q&As. The sessions usually alternate between UK/EU-friendly time zones and PST, so wherever you are in the world there’s always a chance to join at least every other month. Alternatively, you can catch up by watching the recordings on YouTube, which are normally uploaded within a few days.
I think it’s really important to join if you’re invested in Bicep as an organisation. Your voice matters, and it helps the team prioritise features and roadmap items. On top of that, it’s awesome to learn about upcoming features and proposals that you may soon be able to use in your own Bicep workflows to enhance them – staying ahead of the game.
Monthly Meeting Sign Up: https://aka.ms/armnews