Blank ARM Template

4 minutes to complete

An ARM Template is a JSON file that describes the resources that you want to create as part of a single deployment. The file has a specific schema that you must follow.

I recommend using Visual Studio Code with the Azure Resource Manager Tools extension to make for the best authoring experience.

Create a Template

Pick or make a folder on your local disk and create a new file called azureDeploy.json. Copy-and-paste the following lines in it:

{
    "$schema": "https://schema.management.azure.com/schemas/2015-01-01/deploymentTemplate.json#",
    "contentVersion": "1.0.0.0",
    "resources": [
    ]
}

This snippet defines a blank template with no resources to create.

Deploy the Template

Before we start defining resources, let’s deploy the empty template to get familiar with the workflow. From the folder where azureDeploy.json file is located, run the following command:

$ az group deployment create --template-file azureDeploy.json -g arm-workshop -o table

You should see - Running .. output for some time and then get the confirmation of the success:

Name         ResourceGroup     State      Timestamp            Mode
-----------  ----------------  ---------  -------------------  -----------
azureDeploy  arm-workshop      Succeeded  2019-09-01T08:53:38  Incremental

Checkpoint

You’ve deployed an empty template and got the state Succeeded in the output.

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