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Deploy to Azure

Deploy FastSvelte using Azure's modern container and serverless services. This guide covers the essential Azure resources you'll need.

What You'll Use

  • Azure Container Apps - Run your FastAPI backend container
  • PostgreSQL Flexible Server - Managed PostgreSQL database
  • Azure Static Web Apps - Host your SvelteKit frontend and landing page
  • Azure Container Registry - Store your Docker images (built-in)

Prerequisites

  • Azure account with active subscription
  • Azure CLI installed (install guide)
  • Docker installed locally
  • Your FastSvelte codebase ready

Cost Estimate

For a small production app: - Container Apps: ~$15-30/month - PostgreSQL Flexible Server: ~$50-100/month (can use Neon for ~$20/month instead) - Static Web Apps: Free tier available, ~$10/month for standard - Container Registry: ~$5/month

Total: ~$70-145/month (or ~$50/month with Neon for database)

Architecture

Internet
  ↓
Azure Front Door (optional CDN)
  ↓
Static Web Apps (Frontend) → Container Apps (Backend) → PostgreSQL

Deployment Steps

1. Login to Azure

az login
az account set --subscription "Your Subscription Name"

2. Create Resource Group

# Create resource group in your preferred region
az group create \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --location eastus

3. Create PostgreSQL Database

# Create PostgreSQL Flexible Server
az postgres flexible-server create \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-db \
  --location eastus \
  --admin-user fsadmin \
  --admin-password <STRONG-PASSWORD> \
  --sku-name Standard_B1ms \
  --storage-size 32 \
  --version 16

# Allow Azure services to connect
az postgres flexible-server firewall-rule create \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-db \
  --rule-name AllowAzureServices \
  --start-ip-address 0.0.0.0 \
  --end-ip-address 0.0.0.0

# Create database
az postgres flexible-server db create \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --server-name fastsvelte-prod-db \
  --database-name fastsvelte

Alternative: Use Neon or Supabase for a more affordable managed Postgres option.

4. Run Database Migrations

cd db

# Add production database URL to .env
echo 'DATABASE_URL_PROD="postgres://fsadmin:<PASSWORD>@fastsvelte-prod-db.postgres.database.azure.com/fastsvelte?sslmode=require"' >> .env

# Deploy migrations
./sqitch.sh prod deploy

# Verify
./sqitch.sh prod status

5. Create Admin User

cd ../backend

# Create production admin account
python scripts/create_admin.py \
  --env prod \
  --password <ADMIN-PASSWORD> \
  --domain yourdomain.com

6. Create Container Registry

# Create Azure Container Registry
az acr create \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name faststvelteregistry \
  --sku Basic \
  --admin-enabled true

# Get registry credentials
az acr credential show --name faststvelteregistry

7. Build and Push Backend Container

# Login to registry
az acr login --name faststvelteregistry

# Build and push backend image
cd backend
docker build -t faststvelteregistry.azurecr.io/fastsvelte-api:latest .
docker push faststvelteregistry.azurecr.io/fastsvelte-api:latest

8. Create Container Apps Environment

# Create Container Apps Environment
az containerapp env create \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-env \
  --location eastus

9. Deploy Backend API

# Get registry credentials
REGISTRY_USERNAME=$(az acr credential show --name faststvelteregistry --query username -o tsv)
REGISTRY_PASSWORD=$(az acr credential show --name faststvelteregistry --query passwords[0].value -o tsv)

# Create Container App
az containerapp create \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-api \
  --environment fastsvelte-prod-env \
  --image faststvelteregistry.azurecr.io/fastsvelte-api:latest \
  --target-port 3100 \
  --ingress external \
  --min-replicas 1 \
  --max-replicas 5 \
  --cpu 1.0 \
  --memory 2Gi \
  --registry-server faststvelteregistry.azurecr.io \
  --registry-username $REGISTRY_USERNAME \
  --registry-password $REGISTRY_PASSWORD

10. Configure Environment Variables

# Set environment variables for the API
az containerapp update \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-api \
  --set-env-vars \
    FS_ENVIRONMENT=prod \
    FS_DB_URL="postgres://fsadmin:<PASSWORD>@fastsvelte-prod-db.postgres.database.azure.com/fastsvelte?sslmode=require" \
    FS_JWT_SECRET_KEY="<RANDOM-SECRET-KEY>" \
    FS_BASE_API_URL="https://<YOUR-CONTAINER-APP-URL>" \
    FS_BASE_WEB_URL="https://app.yourdomain.com" \
    FS_CORS_ORIGINS="https://app.yourdomain.com,https://yourdomain.com" \
    FS_STRIPE_API_KEY="<YOUR-STRIPE-KEY>" \
    FS_STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET="<YOUR-STRIPE-WEBHOOK-SECRET>" \
    FS_SENDGRID_API_KEY="<YOUR-SENDGRID-KEY>"

Get your Container App URL: 

az containerapp show \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-api \
  --query properties.configuration.ingress.fqdn \
  --output tsv

11. Deploy Frontend to Static Web Apps

# Create Static Web App for frontend
az staticwebapp create \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-app \
  --location eastus \
  --source https://github.com/yourusername/your-fastsvelte-fork \
  --branch main \
  --app-location "frontend" \
  --output-location "build" \
  --login-with-github

This will: 1. Connect to your GitHub repository 2. Set up GitHub Actions for automatic deployments 3. Build and deploy your frontend

Configure environment variables in Azure Portal: 1. Go to Static Web App → Configuration 2. Add application settings: - PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL: Your Container App URL - PUBLIC_APP_NAME: Your app name

12. Deploy Landing Page

# Create Static Web App for landing
az staticwebapp create \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-landing \
  --location eastus \
  --source https://github.com/yourusername/your-fastsvelte-fork \
  --branch main \
  --app-location "landing" \
  --output-location "build" \
  --login-with-github

Custom Domains (Optional)

For Container App (API)

az containerapp hostname bind \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-api \
  --hostname api.yourdomain.com

For Static Web Apps

az staticwebapp hostname set \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-app \
  --hostname app.yourdomain.com

Scaling Configuration

Container Apps auto-scale based on HTTP requests by default. Configure custom scaling:

az containerapp update \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-api \
  --min-replicas 2 \
  --max-replicas 10 \
  --scale-rule-name "http-scale" \
  --scale-rule-type "http" \
  --scale-rule-metadata "concurrentRequests=50"

Monitoring & Logs

View Container App logs:

# Stream live logs
az containerapp logs show \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-api \
  --follow

# Recent logs
az containerapp logs show \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-api \
  --tail 100

Updating Your Application

Update Backend

# Build new image
cd backend
docker build -t faststvelteregistry.azurecr.io/fastsvelte-api:v2 .
docker push faststvelteregistry.azurecr.io/fastsvelte-api:v2

# Update Container App
az containerapp update \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-api \
  --image faststvelteregistry.azurecr.io/fastsvelte-api:v2

Update Frontend

Frontend updates automatically via GitHub Actions when you push to your repository.

Security Best Practices

  1. Use Azure Key Vault for secrets instead of environment variables: 

    az keyvault create \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-vault

  2. Enable managed identity for Container Apps to access Key Vault

  3. Restrict database access to only Container Apps IP range

  4. Enable Azure Front Door for DDoS protection and CDN

  5. Set up Azure Monitor for alerts on errors and performance

Troubleshooting

Container App won't start: 

# Check logs
az containerapp logs show \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-api \
  --follow

Database connection issues: - Verify firewall rules allow Container Apps - Check connection string format - Ensure SSL mode is set to require

Static Web App build fails: - Check GitHub Actions logs in your repository - Verify app-location and output-location paths - Ensure Node.js version compatibility

Cost Optimization Tips

  1. Use Neon/Supabase for database - Save ~$30-80/month compared to Azure PostgreSQL
  2. Start with 1 replica - Scale up only when needed
  3. Use consumption-based Container Apps - Pay only for actual usage
  4. Combine frontend and landing - Host both on same Static Web App if possible
  5. Use Azure Reservations - Save up to 38% with 1-year commitment for predictable workloads

Next Steps

  • Set up monitoring and alerts
  • Configure backups for database
  • Set up CI/CD pipeline for automated deployments
  • Configure custom domains
  • Set up Azure Front Door for CDN

Useful Commands

# View all resources
az resource list --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg --output table

# Get Container App URL
az containerapp show \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-api \
  --query properties.configuration.ingress.fqdn

# Scale Container App
az containerapp update \
  --resource-group fastsvelte-prod-rg \
  --name fastsvelte-prod-api \
  --min-replicas 2 \
  --max-replicas 10

# Delete everything (careful!)
az group delete --name fastsvelte-prod-rg