Introduction to Bicep

Bicep is a domain-specific language (DSL) for deploying Azure resources. It provides a cleaner, more concise syntax compared to raw ARM template JSON, while compiling down to ARM templates behind the scenes. Microsoft considers Bicep the recommended authoring experience for Azure IaC.

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Why Bicep?

ARM templates work, but JSON is verbose. Consider a simple storage account:

ARM Template (JSON)

{
  "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2019-04-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
  "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
  "parameters": {
    "location": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "[resourceGroup().location]"
    }
  },
  "resources": [
    {
      "type": "Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts",
      "apiVersion": "2023-01-01",
      "name": "mystorageaccount",
      "location": "[parameters('location')]",
      "sku": { "name": "Standard_LRS" },
      "kind": "StorageV2",
      "properties": {
        "minimumTlsVersion": "TLS1_2"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Bicep Equivalent

param location string = resourceGroup().location

resource storageAccount 'Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts@2023-01-01' = {
  name: 'mystorageaccount'
  location: location
  sku: {
    name: 'Standard_LRS'
  }
  kind: 'StorageV2'
  properties: {
    minimumTlsVersion: 'TLS1_2'
  }
}

The Bicep version is shorter, easier to read, and eliminates JSON boilerplate.

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Key Benefits of Bicep