bicep-avm-mastery

Skill: Bicep AVM Mastery

Azure Verified Modules (AVM), Bicep best practices, and MCP-powered infrastructure as code for Azure. Staleness Watch: See EXTERNAL-API-REGISTRY.md for source URLs and recheck cadence

Metadata

Field	Value
Skill ID	bicep-avm-mastery
Version	1.1.0
Category	Cloud/Infrastructure
Difficulty	Advanced
Prerequisites	Basic Azure, infrastructure-as-code
Related Skills	azure-architecture-patterns, infrastructure-as-code
Last Validated	Feb 2026

⚠️ Staleness Watch: The AVM registry grows monthly — module counts and version numbers change frequently. Always use mcp_bicep_list_avm_metadata to enumerate current modules rather than relying on hardcoded counts. Watch for new module categories and avm/res vs avm/ptn naming changes.

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Overview

Bicep is Azure's domain-specific language for infrastructure as code. This skill covers Bicep best practices, Azure Verified Modules (AVM), and MCP tool integration for high-quality, production-ready deployments.

Why Bicep?

Feature	Bicep	ARM JSON	Terraform
Syntax	Clean, readable	Verbose	HCL
Azure Integration	Native	Native	Provider
State Management	Azure-managed	Azure-managed	External
Learning Curve	Low	High	Medium
Tooling	VS Code, MCP	Limited	Extensive

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Module 1: Bicep Best Practices

General Rules

1. Avoid setting name for module statements — no longer required
2. Use user-defined types for grouped param/output values instead of multiple params
3. Prefer .bicepparam files over JSON parameters files

Resource Patterns

// ✅ CORRECT: Use parent property
resource subnet 'Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets@2023-09-01' = {
  parent: vnet  // Reference parent symbolically
  name: 'default'
  properties: {
    addressPrefix: '10.0.0.0/24'
  }
}

// ❌ AVOID: Slash in name property
resource subnetBad 'Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/subnets@2023-09-01' = {
  name: '${vnetName}/default'  // Don't do this
}