Building PowerShell Azure Functions with VS Code [Series]

Published:4 October 2022 - 7 min. read

Azure Cloud Labs: these FREE, on‑demand Azure Cloud Labs will get you into a real‑world environment and account, walking you through step‑by‑step how to best protect, secure, and recover Azure data.

Writing a PowerShell script and running it on your computer is a breeze if the problem you’re solving is simple. But what happens when you need to run it on a schedule (when your computer is off), integrate it with a larger automation workflow, or require a lot more horsepower than your tired, ol’ Dell laptop?

The answer? Azure Functions!

By leveraging the serverless computing platform Azure Functions, you can build professional, robust problem-solving PowerShell scripts in the cloud for free! Let me show you how.

This tutorial is #1 in a two-part series. This tutorial will start from the beginning by showing you how to get VS Code set up and how to create your first Azure function for running PowerShell.

If you’d like to skip ahead, check out How to Execute PowerShell Azure Functions with HTTP Triggers.

Prerequisites

This tutorial is intended to be a reader walkthrough. You’ll be building a real-world example of running PowerShell in the cloud to learn how Azure Functions work with PowerShell. If you intend to follow along, you’ll need the following:

  • A Microsoft Azure subscription. A subscription is free, and so is everything you’ll be doing in Azure Functions
  • Access to an Azure account with rights to create and execute an Azure function.
  • Visual Studio (VS) Code – Although you can write PowerShell in the browser, you’ll never do this in the real-world building a real solution. You’ll do everything in VS Code for this tutorial.
  • The PowerShell extension for VS Code installed

This tutorial is best for those with a little Azure Function experience and PowerShell. You won’t learn how to write PowerShell and will be expected to know of Azure Functions and just a little bit of what they’re capable of. If you’d like an introduction to Azure Functions, check out Jeff Brown’s excellent ATA Learning tutorial.

Project Summary

This series of tutorials combine to form a mini-project. You’ll build, from scratch, a small solution requiring a single Azure function, all from within VS Code. For this project, you’ll:

  • Set up VS Code
  • Create an Azure Function for running PowerShell that will execute from an HTTP event call like a webhook
  • Execute a simple PowerShell script by HTTP endpoint just like an API

If you follow this two-part series, you’ll know the basics of creating and executing your first Azure function that runs any PowerShell script in the cloud!

Install the Azure Functions VS Code Extension

VS Code has an extension that allows you to create and manage Azure Functions without leaving VS Code. Let’s get that set up first.

Open VS Code, click on the Extension icons, type azure functions in the search box, and click on Install. This action will install the Azure Functions extension and any dependent extensions like Azure Account and Azure Resources.

Installing the Azure Functions extension
Installing the Azure Functions extension

If you don’t have any other Azure extension installed, VS Code will ask you to sign into Azure. Click the Sign In button to provide your Azure account username and password.

Signing into Azure with VS Code
Signing into Azure with VS Code

Once signed in, you should see an Azure icon along the left side with a list of all your Azure subscriptions.

The Azure Explorer icon in VS Code
The Azure Explorer icon in VS Code

Create the Azure Function App

Once you’ve installed the Azure Functions extension, it’s time to create the function app.

All functions are built inside Azure Function apps as a means of grouping like functions together that will scale together.

1. Click on the Azure icon along the left side and expand the subscription you’d like to create the function in. You’ll see a few resource categories, one of them being Function App.

2. Right-click on Function App and click on Create Function App in Azure… (Advanced). Choosing the “Advanced” option here is unnecessary but allows us to explain a little bit about each option before creation.

Creating a Function App in Azure
Creating a Function App in Azure

3. Assign your function a globally unique name. This tutorial will call the function PowerShellFunctionsDemo.

Azure Function name
Azure Function name

4. Next, provide the runtime stack. All functions inside of a function app will execute using the same runtime. For this example, choose PowerShell 7.2 because all of the code we’ll be executing will be PowerShell code.

Azure function runtime stack
Azure function runtime stack

5. Select an operating system (OS). If you need some Windows-specific functionality, choose Windows here otherwise, choose Linux for speed. For this tutorial, choose Linux.

Operating system
Operating system

6. Select the resource group to create the Function app into or create a new one. This tutorial will use the PowerShellAzFunctionsDemo resource group.

Resource group
Resource group

An Azure Function app depends on other resources that Azure will create inside of this resource group.

7. Choose your desired region.

Region
Region

8. Choose a hosting plan. This tutorial will use Consumption as it’s free up to 1M executions. In a production environment, if you need:

  • Resource-intensive applications
  • Code needs to run longer than 10 minutes
  • Custom software or configuration

You’ll need to investigate the Premium or App Service Plan options.

Hosting plan
Hosting plan

9. Create a new storage account or choose an existing one. The tutorial will create a new storage account called psazfunctionsdemo since the storage account name has a maximum of 24 characters and can only be lowercase.

Azure Function apps use a storage account to store code. Even though you will be billed for storage use, the amount is only a few cents/month since the code will just be PowerShell code.

Storage account
Storage account

10. Select an Application Insights resource (if you have one), create a new one, or skip this step. For this tutorial, click on Create new Application Insights resource to enable Application Insights on the function app.

Microsoft recommends using Application Insights to send function logs for better visibility and to store them but is not required.

Once you’ve answered all of the questions, VS Code will reach out to Azure and begin building the Function app. You should see the progress in the Azure Activity Log.

Click on the Function App in the Azure resource explorer again and you should now see your function app!

Application Insights resource
Application Insights resource

Once you’ve answered all of the questions, VS Code will reach out to Azure and begin building the Function app. You should see the progress in the Azure Activity Log.

Azure Function creation success
Azure Function creation success

Click on the Function App in the Azure resource explorer again and you should now see your function app!

Azure Function in VS Code
Azure Function in VS Code

Create a PowerShell Azure Function

At this point, you’d think you could right-click on the Function app just created and choose something like New Function, but you’d be mistaken! To create a function inside a Function app, you’ll need to create a Workspace first.

1. To create a workspace, click on the + on the WORKSPACE title bar and click on Create Function, as shown below.

Creating a new function
Creating a new function

2. Click on Create new project as VS Code will force you first to create a project to hold the function.

Creating a new VS Code Azure Function project
Creating a new VS Code Azure Function project

A project is VS Code’s way of storing functions inside a Function app. Azure doesn’t know anything about this project as the “project” will only be referenced in your local VS Code instance.

3. Select a folder somewhere on your computer to store the project and all of the files that will be associated with your function.

4. After you select the folder, choose PowerShell as the type of project.

VS Code Azure Function project language
VS Code Azure Function project language

5. Now choose a trigger. Azure Functions require a trigger or means of execution for every function. A trigger is used as an event to know when to execute, in this case, a PowerShell script.

This tutorial will show you to execute a PowerShell script based on an HTTP call, so choose HTTP trigger.

Choosing a trigger
Choosing a trigger

6. Give the function a description name.

Function name
Function name

7. Provide an Authorization level of Function for this tutorial. The function authorization level will require authentication before the HTTP trigger will execute.

You can call Azure functions with HTTP triggers anonymously. An explanation of authorization levels is out of scope for this tutorial but if you’re interested, check out the blog post, Azure Functions HTTP – Authorization Levels, or if you want a deep dive, the Microsoft docs.

Function authorization level
Function authorization level

8. Finally, tell VS Code how to open your project. For this tutorial, choose Open in current window.

Opening the VS Code Azure Functions project
Opening the VS Code Azure Functions project

VS Code will now present you with a fresh template to start building your function!

A new HTTP triggered Azure function
A new HTTP triggered Azure function

You’ll now see a shiny new Azure function app when logging into the Azure Portal.

Azure function in the Azure Portal
Azure function in the Azure Portal

Deploy an Azure Function

You might think you’re done at this point, but you’re not! VS Code deployed a new Azure Function app for you, but the function is still just a combination of folders and files on your local PC. Just like using version control, you must now deploy that function to the function app.

To deploy your newly created function to Azure:

1. Click on the Azure icon, then on the cloud with an arrow pointing up inside the WORKSPACE title bar as shown below.

Deploying the function
Deploying the function

2. Click on Deploy to Function App….

3. Choose the subscription that you created the Azure function app in.

Azure subscription
Azure subscription

4. Choose the Azure function app to deploy it to.

Choosing the Azure Function app
Choosing the Azure Function app

5. Click Deploy to confirm the function deployment and VS Code will immediately begin packaging up the function and sending to Azure.

Confirming deployment
Confirming deployment

While the function is deploying, you’ll see a simple progress bar at the bottom, as shown below.

Azure function deployment progress
Azure function deployment progress

Now navigate to the Azure Portal, and you’ll see the function created inside of the function app.

New Azure function in the Azure portal
New Azure function in the Azure portal

Summary

You’re on your way to building an Azure Function in PowerShell. This tutorial was step one in the process, which included getting all of the initial prerequisites out of the way and creating an Azure function template.

The next tutorial in this series will focus on executing and testing the Azure function.

Hate ads? Want to support the writer? Get many of our tutorials packaged as an ATA Guidebook.

Explore ATA Guidebooks

Looks like you're offline!