Install Visual Studio and connect to Azure Stack Hub

You can use Visual Studio to write and deploy Azure Resource Manager templates to Azure Stack Hub. The steps in this article describe how to install Visual Studio on Azure Stack Hub or on an external computer if you plan to use Azure Stack Hub through VPN.

Install Visual Studio

  1. Download and run the Web Platform Installer.

  2. Open the Microsoft Web Platform Installer.

  3. Search for Visual Studio Community 2015 with Microsoft Azure SDK - 2.9.6. Click Add, and then Install.

  4. Uninstall the Microsoft Azure PowerShell that's installed as part of the Azure SDK.

    Screenshot of WebPI install steps

  5. Install PowerShell for Azure Stack Hub.

  6. Restart the computer after the installation completes.

Connect to Azure Stack Hub with Azure AD

  1. Launch Visual Studio.

  2. From the View menu, select Cloud Explorer.

  3. Select Manage Accounts, then in the new pane, sign in with your Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) credentials.

    Screenshot thas shows Cloud Explorer once logged in and connected to Azure Stack Hub

Once logged in, you can deploy templates or browse available resource types and resource groups to create your own templates.

Connect to Azure Stack Hub with AD FS

  1. Launch Visual Studio.

  2. From Tools, select Options.

  3. Expand Environment in the navigation pane and select Accounts.

  4. Select Add, and enter the User Azure Resource Manger endpoint. For the Azure Stack Development Kit (ASDK), the URL is: https://management.local.azurestack/external. For Azure Stack Hub integrated systems, the URL is: https://management.[Region}.[External FQDN].

    Add new Azure Cloud discovery endpoint

  5. Select Add.

    Visual Studio calls Azure Resource Manger and discovers the endpoints, including the authentication endpoint, for Azure Directory Federated Services (AD FS).

    Screenshot that shows the endpoints for Azure Directory Federated Services.

  6. Select Cloud Explorer from the View menu.

  7. Select Add Account and sign in with your AD FS credentials.

    Sign in to Visual Studio in Cloud Explorer

    Cloud Explorer queries the available subscriptions. You can select an available subscription to manage.

    Select subscriptions to manage in Cloud Explorer

  8. Browse your existing resources, resource groups, or deploy templates.

Next steps