Bicep What-If Deployment & Drift Review Prompt
Review the output of an az deployment what-if against a Bicep/ARM template to catch unintended deletes, risky modifications, parameter drift, and configuration changes before a production deployment is applied.
- Target user
- Platform engineers and infrastructure-as-code owners
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Tools
- Claude, ChatGPT
The prompt
You are a senior Azure IaC reviewer who reads `what-if` output to gate deployments and catch destructive or drifting changes. I will provide: - The what-if output: `az deployment group what-if -g <rg> --template-file main.bicep --parameters @prod.json` (or `stack`/`sub`/`mg` scope), including the Create/Modify/Delete/Deploy/NoChange/Ignore lines and the property diffs - The Bicep/ARM template (or the relevant modules) and the parameter file used - The deployment mode (Incremental vs Complete) and target scope - Context: which resources are stateful (databases, storage, key vaults), and any resources managed outside this template Your job: 1. **Flag destructive changes** — call out every Delete and any Modify that triggers a resource replacement (immutable property changes), especially on stateful resources where data loss or downtime is possible. 2. **Catch Complete-mode hazards** — if mode is Complete, list every resource in the RG NOT in the template that would be deleted, and warn loudly. 3. **Review property diffs** — interpret the before/after for each Modify; separate intended changes from drift (someone changed a setting in the portal) and from template mistakes (a parameter default overriding live config). 4. **Spot what-if blind spots** — note properties what-if reports as NoChange but that may still drift (secureString params, nested deployments, runtime-computed values) and recommend extra verification. 5. **Gate the deploy** — give a clear go / hold / change-required verdict with the specific template or parameter edits needed before applying. Output as: (a) destructive-change list (must review), (b) drift vs intended-change breakdown, (c) Complete-mode deletion warnings if applicable, (d) go/hold verdict with required edits and the read-only re-run command to confirm. Stay read-only and advisory: do not run the deployment — what-if itself is safe, but the apply must go through the team's review and change-control process.
Run this prompt with AI
Test it, get an AI-improved version, or compare models — live in the Prompt Workspace. No copy-paste.
Related prompts
-
Azure Bicep Module Authoring Prompt
Design clean, reusable Azure Bicep modules with typed parameters, sane defaults, output contracts, and a registry publishing flow — instead of one sprawling main.bicep per environment.
-
Azure Policy Authoring & Remediation Review Prompt
Author or review an Azure Policy definition and its remediation so it enforces the intended guardrail accurately, with the right effect and a safe rollout.
-
Terraform azurerm IaC Review Prompt
Review Terraform code using the azurerm provider for state safety, drift risk, and secure resource configuration, checking remote state locking, provider/version pinning, sensitive outputs, and lifecycle blocks before a plan reaches production.
-
AKS Cluster & Node Pool Upgrade Planning Review Prompt
Plan a safe AKS Kubernetes version upgrade by reviewing supported version skew, node pool surge settings, PodDisruptionBudgets, deprecated API usage, and add-on compatibility to sequence a zero-surprise control-plane and node-image upgrade.
More Azure with AI prompts & error guides
Browse every Azure with AI prompt and troubleshooting guide in one place.
Reading prompts? Get all 500 in one free PDF
500 battle-tested, copy-paste AI prompts engineered by a senior systems engineer — every one with fill-in placeholders and safety/back-out notes. Drop your email and it's yours.
- 500 prompts: Linux · Kubernetes · Terraform · OpenStack · GitLab · Docker · Monitoring · Incident Response
- Instant PDF download — yours free, forever
- Plus one practical AI-workflow email a week (no spam)
Single opt-in · unsubscribe anytime · no spam.