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Deploying a Node.js Application to Azure

The Node.js WebApp Deployment is a template for workflows designed for building and deploying Node.js web applications (including Next.js) from a Turborepo monorepo to Azure App Services.

How It Works​

Build and Deployment Overview:

  • The workflow checks out your code, prunes the monorepo to include only the relevant workspace and its dependencies, and sets up Node.js.
  • Dependencies are installed using Yarn, and the application is built using the workspace’s build script.
  • The build output is packaged into a zip artifact:
    • For Next.js standalone apps, the workflow packages the .next/standalone and .next/static directories.
    • For other Node.js apps, it uses esbuild to bundle the code, creates a minimal package.json with production dependencies, and includes node_modules and any required files.
  • The artifact is uploaded for deployment.
  • The deployment job logs into Azure using OIDC and deploys the artifact to the specified Azure Web App, supporting both direct and staged deployments (with slot swapping).

Requirements:

  • Your project must be structured as a Turborepo monorepo.
  • The workspace being deployed must have a build script in its package.json.
  • For Next.js apps, set output: "standalone" in next.config.js for optimal packaging.
  • For non-Next.js apps, ensure a main entry point is defined in the workspace’s package.json.

Key Features​

  • Automatic Staging Approval: The workflow provides an auto-approval step for deployments to the staging slot. This enables fully automated continuous deployment pipelines, allowing code to be promoted to staging without manual intervention. Requires to set a protection rule on the GitHub environment.
  • Flexible Runner Selection: The workflow supports both GitHub-hosted and private runners for deployment, configurable via input parameters.
  • Consistent Build and Packaging: The build and artifact packaging process supports both Next.js standalone and generic Node.js applications.
  • Slot Swapping: After deploying to the staging slot, the workflow can automatically swap the staging and production slots, promoting the new version to production.

How to use Auto Deployment Approval to Staging Slot​

To use the Auto-Approval for staging slot deployments, you need a PAT with required permissions stored in your GitHub repository:

  1. Go to your project BOT GitHub user account settings.
  2. Navigate to Developer settings > Personal access tokens > Fine-grained tokens.
  3. Click Generate new token.
  4. Select the repository where the workflow is located and grant the following permissions:
    • Actions: Read
    • Contentes: Read
    • Deployments: Read and write
    • Environments: Read
  5. Copy the generated token and store it securely in a Azure KeyVault.
  6. Add the token as a secret in your repository settings under the name GH_TOKEN_DEPLOYMENT_APPROVAL via Terraform - next to Bootstrap module if you are using it.

Usage​

To use this workflow, invoke it from your own GitHub Actions workflow file.

name: Deploy My App Service

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  deploy_app:
    uses: pagopa/dx/.github/workflows/web_app_deploy.yaml@main
    name: Deploy Web App
    with:
      workspace_name: "my-web-app-workspace"
      environment: "prod"
      resource_group_name: "my-resource-group"
      web_app_name: "my-web-app"
      # use_staging_slot: true # Optional: default is true
      # use_private_agent: true # Optional: default is true