Manual Deployment Notes

Manual Deployment Notes

Use this path when deploying SimpleChat to native Python Azure App Service instead of the repo’s container-based deployers.

For the combined native-vs-container decision guide, see ../../how-to/upgrade_paths.md.

Native Python App Service Startup Command

Set the App Service Stack Settings Startup command explicitly.

Do not leave the Startup command empty during an upgrade. Validate it before or during the release.

Deploy and run the application/single_app folder in App Service.

Use this Startup command:

python -m gunicorn -c gunicorn.conf.py app:app

Native Python Upgrade Checklist

Use this checklist when updating an existing native Python App Service deployment.

  1. Confirm the deployment model is native Python App Service, not container-based App Service.
  2. Confirm the application/single_app folder is the deployment unit and the Startup command is present and correct.
  3. Choose an upgrade method:
    • VS Code deployment when you want the simplest manual update path.
    • Azure CLI ZIP deploy when you want a repeatable package-and-deploy path.
    • Deployment slots when you want validation and rollback for production.
  4. If you use ZIP deploy, confirm SCM_DO_BUILD_DURING_DEPLOYMENT=true so App Service installs dependencies from requirements.txt.
  5. Validate the site after deployment.

Native Python Upgrade Methods

Visual Studio Code Deployment

Deploy the updated code from VS Code by right-clicking the existing App Service and selecting Deploy to Web App….

Azure CLI ZIP Deploy

Package the updated application into a deployment ZIP, then deploy it:

az webapp deploy \
  --resource-group <Your-Resource-Group-Name> \
  --name <Your-App-Service-Name> \
  --src-path ../deployment.zip \
  --type zip

This is an upgrade method, not only an initial deployment method.

Important Distinction

  • Native Python App Service needs the Startup command above.
  • The repo-provided azd, Bicep, Terraform, and Azure CLI deployers do not need this because they deploy a container image whose entrypoint already launches Gunicorn.