Create your first function using the Azure CLI
This quickstart topic walks you through how to use Azure Functions to create your first function. You use the Azure CLI to create a function app, which is the serverless infrastructure that hosts your function. The function code itself is deployed from a GitHub sample repository.
You can follow the steps below using a Mac, Windows, or Linux computer.
Prerequisites
Before running this sample, you must have the following:
- An active GitHub account.
- An active Azure subscription.
If you don't have an Azure subscription, create a free account before you begin.
Open Azure Cloud Shell
Azure Cloud Shell is a free, interactive shell that you can use to run the steps in this article. Common Azure tools are preinstalled and configured in Cloud Shell for you to use with your account. Just select the Copy button to copy the code, paste it in Cloud Shell, and then press Enter to run it. There are a few ways to open Cloud Shell:
| Select Try It in the upper-right corner of a code block. |  |
| Open Cloud Shell in your browser. |  |
| Select the Cloud Shell button on the menu in the upper-right corner of the Azure portal. |  |
If you choose to install and use the CLI locally, this topic requires the Azure CLI version 2.0 or later. Run az --version to find the version you have. If you need to install or upgrade, see Install Azure CLI 2.0.
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. The deployment-source-url parameter is a sample repository in GitHub that contains a "Hello World" HTTP triggered function.
az functionapp create --deployment-source-url https://github.com/Azure-Samples/functions-quickstart \
--resource-group myResourceGroup --consumption-plan-location westeurope \
--name <app_name> --storage-account <storage_name>
Setting the consumption-plan-location parameter means that the function app is hosted in a Consumption hosting plan. In this 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.
}
Test the function
Use cURL to test the deployed function on a Mac or Linux computer or using Bash 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.
curl http://<app_name>.azurewebsites.net/api/HttpTriggerJS1?name=<yourname>
If you don't have cURL 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.
http://<app_name>.azurewebsites.net/api/HttpTriggerJS1?name=<yourname>
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.