Create your first function from the command line

• 11/13/2018
• 6 minutes to read
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This quickstart topic walks you through how to create your first function from the command line or terminal. You use the Azure CLI to create a function app, which is the serverless infrastructure that hosts your function. The function code project is generated from a template by using the Azure Functions Core Tools, which is also used to deploy the function app project to Azure.

You can follow the steps below using a Mac, Windows, or Linux computer.

Prerequisites

Before running this sample, you must have the following:

• Install Azure Functions Core Tools version 2.6.666 or later.

• Install the Azure CLI. This article requires the Azure CLI version 2.0 or later. Run az --version to find the version you have. You can also use the Azure Cloud Shell.

• An active Azure subscription.

If you don't have an Azure subscription, create a free account before you begin.

Create the local function app project

Run the following command from the command line to create a function app project in the MyFunctionProj folder of the current local directory. A GitHub repo is also created in MyFunctionProj.

func init MyFunctionProj

When prompted, select a worker runtime from the following language choices:

• dotnet: creates a .NET class library project (.csproj).
• node: creates a JavaScript project.

When the command executes, you see something like the following output:

Writing .gitignore
Writing host.json
Writing local.settings.json
Initialized empty Git repository in C:/functions/MyFunctionProj/.git/

Use the following command to navigate to the new MyFunctionProj project folder.

cd MyFunctionProj

Reference bindings

To reference the Azure Functions 2.x default bindings, open the host.json file and update contents to match the following code.

{
    "version": "2.0",
    "extensionBundle": {
        "id": "Microsoft.Azure.Functions.ExtensionBundle",
        "version": "[1.*, 2.0.0)"
    }
}

Create a function

The following command creates an HTTP-triggered function named MyHttpTrigger.

func new --name MyHttpTrigger --template "HttpTrigger"

When the command executes, you see something like the following output:

The function "MyHttpTrigger" was created successfully from the "HttpTrigger" template.

Run the function locally

The following command starts the function app. The app runs using the same Azure Functions runtime that is in Azure.

func host start --build

The --build option is required to compile C# projects. You don't need this option for a JavaScript project.

When the Functions host starts, it write something like the following output, which has been truncated for readability:

                  %%%%%%
                 %%%%%%
            @   %%%%%%    @
          @@   %%%%%%      @@
       @@@    %%%%%%%%%%%    @@@
     @@      %%%%%%%%%%        @@
       @@         %%%%       @@
         @@      %%%       @@
           @@    %%      @@
                %%
                %

...

Content root path: C:\functions\MyFunctionProj
Now listening on: http://0.0.0.0:7071
Application started. Press Ctrl+C to shut down.

...

Http Functions:

        HttpTrigger: http://localhost:7071/api/MyHttpTrigger

[8/27/2018 10:38:27 PM] Host started (29486ms)
[8/27/2018 10:38:27 PM] Job host started

Copy the URL of your HttpTrigger function from the runtime output and paste it into your browser's address bar. Append the query string ?name=<yourname> to this URL and execute the request. The following shows the response in the browser to the GET request returned by the local function:

Now that you have run your function locally, you can create the function app and other required resources in Azure.

Create a resource group

Create a resource group with the az group create. An Azure resource group is a logical container into which Azure resources like function apps, databases, and storage accounts are deployed and managed.

The following example creates a resource group named myResourceGroup.
If you are not using Cloud Shell, sign in first using az login.

az group create --name myResourceGroup --location westeurope

You generally create your resource group and the resources in a region near you. To see all supported locations for App Service plans, run the az appservice list-locations command.

Create an Azure Storage account

Functions uses a general-purpose account in Azure Storage to maintain state and other information about your functions. Create a general-purpose storage account in the resource group you created by using the az storage account create command.

In the following command, substitute a globally unique storage account name where you see the <storage_name> placeholder. Storage account names must be between 3 and 24 characters in length and may contain numbers and lowercase letters only.

az storage account create --name <storage_name> --location westeurope --resource-group myResourceGroup --sku Standard_LRS

After the storage account has been created, the Azure CLI shows information similar to the following example:

{
  "creationTime": "2017-04-15T17:14:39.320307+00:00",
  "id": "/subscriptions/bbbef702-e769-477b-9f16-bc4d3aa97387/resourceGroups/myresourcegroup/...",
  "kind": "Storage",
  "location": "westeurope",
  "name": "myfunctionappstorage",
  "primaryEndpoints": {
    "blob": "https://myfunctionappstorage.blob.core.windows.net/",
    "file": "https://myfunctionappstorage.file.core.windows.net/",
    "queue": "https://myfunctionappstorage.queue.core.windows.net/",
    "table": "https://myfunctionappstorage.table.core.windows.net/"
  },
     ....
    // Remaining output has been truncated for readability.
}

Create a function app

You must have a function app to host the execution of your functions. The function app provides an environment for serverless execution of your function code. It lets you group functions as a logic unit for easier management, deployment, and sharing of resources. Create a function app by using the az functionapp create command.

In the following command, substitute a unique function app name where you see the <APP_NAME> placeholder and the storage account name for <STORAGE_NAME>. The <APP_NAME> is used as the default DNS domain for the function app, and so the name needs to be unique across all apps in Azure. You should also set the <language> runtime for your function app, from dotnet (C#) or node (JavaScript).

az functionapp create --resource-group myResourceGroup --consumption-plan-location westeurope \
--name <APP_NAME> --storage-account  <STORAGE_NAME> --runtime <language>

Setting the consumption-plan-location parameter means that the function app is hosted in a Consumption hosting plan. In this serverless plan, resources are added dynamically as required by your functions and you only pay when functions are running. For more information, see Choose the correct hosting plan.

After the function app has been created, the Azure CLI shows information similar to the following example:

{
  "availabilityState": "Normal",
  "clientAffinityEnabled": true,
  "clientCertEnabled": false,
  "containerSize": 1536,
  "dailyMemoryTimeQuota": 0,
  "defaultHostName": "quickstart.azurewebsites.net",
  "enabled": true,
  "enabledHostNames": [
    "quickstart.azurewebsites.net",
    "quickstart.scm.azurewebsites.net"
  ],
   ....
    // Remaining output has been truncated for readability.
}

Deploy the function app project to Azure

After the function app is created in Azure, you can use the func azure functionapp publish Core Tools command to deploy your project code to Azure. In the following command, replace <APP_NAME> with the name of your app from the previous step.

func azure functionapp publish <APP_NAME>

You will see output similar to the following, which has been truncated for readability.

Getting site publishing info...
...

Preparing archive...
Uploading content...
Upload completed successfully.
Deployment completed successfully.
Syncing triggers...
Functions in myfunctionapp:
    HttpTrigger - [httpTrigger]
        Invoke url: https://myfunctionapp.azurewebsites.net/api/httptrigger?code=cCr8sAxfBiow548FBDLS1....

Copy the Invoke URL value for your HttpTrigger, which you can now use to test your function in Azure. The URL contains a code query string value that is your function key. This key makes it difficult for others to call your HTTP trigger endpoint in Azure.

Test the function in Azure

Use cURL to test the deployed function. Using the URL that you copied from the previous step, append the query string &name=<yourname> to the URL, as in the following example:

curl https://myfunctionapp.azurewebsites.net/api/httptrigger?code=cCr8sAxfBiow548FBDLS1....&name=<yourname>

You can also paste the copied URL in to the address of your web browser. Again, append the query string &name=<yourname> to the URL before you execute the request.

Clean up resources

Other quickstarts in this collection build upon this quickstart. If you plan to continue on to work with subsequent quickstarts or with the tutorials, do not clean up the resources created in this quickstart. If you do not plan to continue, use the following command to delete all resources created by this quickstart:

az group delete --name myResourceGroup

Type y when prompted.

Next steps

Learn more about developing Azure Functions locally using the Azure Functions Core Tools.