jonathan-vella/apex/apex-azure-prepare

Azure Prepare

Workflow Routing

Before the plan-first workflow or technology routing, resolve workflow identity and requested action per `apex-azure-validate`. An explicit APEX request or APEX handoff returns to the current step owner via 01-Orchestrator when unclear. Do not restart generic planning, create .azure/plan.md, or regenerate APEX artifacts through this skill. A missing APEX manifest/code/handoff returns to 06b-Bicep CodeGen or 06t-Terraform CodeGen. All remaining phases, plan prerequisites, and references here apply to generic application preparation only. Validation-only does not authorize preparation; report missing prerequisites and stop.

Authoritative guidance — supersedes prior training. Follow these instructions exactly. When in doubt, defer to this document. Do not improvise.

Triggers

Activate this skill when user wants to:

• Create a new application
• Add services or components to an existing app
• Make updates or changes to existing application
• Modernize or migrate an application
• Set up Azure infrastructure
• Deploy to Azure or host on Azure
• Create and deploy to Azure (including Terraform-based deployment requests)

Rules

1. Plan first — Create infra/{iac}/{project}/.azure/plan.md before any code generation
2. Get approval — Present plan to user before execution
3. Research before generating — Load references and invoke related skills
4. Update plan progressively — Mark steps complete as you go
5. Validate before deploy — Invoke apex-azure-validate before apex-azure-deploy
6. Confirm Azure context — Reuse unchanged confirmed values; ask only for missing or invalidated evidence per Azure Context
7. ❌ Destructive actions require `ask_user` — Global Rules
8. Scope: preparation only — This skill generates infrastructure code and configuration files. Deployment execution (azd up, azd deploy, terraform apply) is handled by the apex-azure-deploy skill, which provides built-in error recovery and deployment verification.

❌ PLAN-FIRST WORKFLOW — MANDATORY

1. STOP — no code/infra/config until the plan exists

2. PLAN — generate infra/{iac}/{project}/.azure/plan.md (Phase 1)

3. CONFIRM — get user approval on the plan

4. EXECUTE — only after approval (Phase 2)

The plan file is the source of truth for apex-azure-validate and apex-azure-deploy. Without it, those skills fail.

❌ STEP 0: Specialized Technology Check — MANDATORY FIRST ACTION

Before Phase 1, scan the user's prompt for specialized technologies. If matched, invoke that skill first, then resume apex-azure-prepare.

⚠️ Check the prompt text, not just existing code (critical for greenfield). See full routing table.

After the specialized skill completes, resume at Phase 1 Step 4 (Select Recipe).

Steps

Two-phase workflow (full step tables in `references/phases.md`):

1. Step 0 — Specialized Technology Check (route to apex-azure-cloud-migrate when the prompt matches; otherwise continue)
2. Phase 1 (Planning, BLOCKING) — Analyze workspace → gather requirements → scan codebase → select recipe (AZD/AZCLI/Bicep/Terraform) → plan architecture → write infra/{iac}/{project}/.azure/plan.md → present plan + ask for approval
3. ⛔ Approval gate — do NOT proceed until the user approves the plan
4. Phase 2 (Execution, post-approval) — Research components → confirm Azure context → generate artifacts → harden security → mark plan Ready for Validation
5. Hand off to `apex-azure-validate` — prerequisite: plan status is Ready for Validation. Deployment of the validated artifacts is apex-azure-deploy's job.

Outputs

SDK References

See references/sdk/ for azd deployment and App Configuration (Java, Python, TypeScript). Azure Identity quick references live in apex-azure-deploy.

Next

For generic preparation, update plan status to Ready for Validation, then invoke apex-azure-validate. Deployment continuation requires an explicit deployment request and approval; preparation alone does not authorize apply.

Reference Index

Load on demand. All references live under `references/`.