Create your first function from the command line

11/13/2018
6 minutes to read
Contributors

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 Core Tools version 2.x.
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

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.

Update the function

By default, the template creates a function that requires a function key when making requests. To make it easier to test the function in Azure, you need to update the function to allow anonymous access. The way that you make this change depends on your functions project language.

C#

Open the MyHttpTrigger.cs code file that is your new function and update the AuthorizationLevel attribute in the function definition to a value of Anonymous and save your changes.

[FunctionName("MyHttpTrigger")]
public static async Task<IActionResult> Run(
    [HttpTrigger(AuthorizationLevel.Anonymous, "get", "post", Route = null)] HttpRequest req,
    ILogger log)

JavaScript

Open the function.json file for your new function in a text editor, update the authLevel property in bindings to anonymous, and save your changes.

  "bindings": [
    {
      "authLevel": "anonymous",
      "type": "httpTrigger",
      "direction": "in",
      "name": "req",
      "methods": [
        "get",
        "post"
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "http",
      "direction": "out",
      "name": "$return"
    }
  ]

Now you can call the function in Azure without having to supply the function key. The function key is never required when running locally.

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:

Test locally in the browser

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 command to deploy your project code to Azure.

func azure functionapp publish <FunctionAppName>

You see something like the following output, which has been truncated for readability.

Getting site publishing info...

...

Preparing archive...
Uploading content...
Upload completed successfully.
Deployment completed successfully.
Syncing triggers...

You can now test your functions in Azure.

Test the function

Use cURL to test the deployed function on a Mac or Linux computer or using Powershell on Windows. Execute the following cURL command, replacing the <app_name> placeholder with the name of your function app. Append the query string &name=<yourname> to the URL.

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://<app_name>.azurewebsites.net/api/MyHttpTrigger?name=<yourname>"

curl https://<app_name>.azurewebsites.net/api/MyHttpTrigger?name=<yourname>

Function response shown in a browser.

If you don't have cURLor Invoke-WebRequest available in your command line, enter the same URL in the address of your web browser. Again, replace the <app_name> placeholder with the name of your function app, and append the query string &name=<yourname> to the URL and execute the request.

https://<app_name>.azurewebsites.net/api/MyHttpTrigger?name=<yourname>

Function response shown in a browser.

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.

Code and test Azure Functions locally