Azure Container Instances

This guide deploys the Docker image to Azure Container Instances (ACI) with an Azure Files share mounted at /app/.od for persistent Open Design data.

ACI is the daemon upstream in this topology. The browser-facing app URL must be served by an authenticated TLS reverse proxy that forwards traffic to ACI, injects the daemon bearer token on /api/* requests, and sends a browser origin listed in OD_ALLOWED_ORIGINS.

Before You Start

Azure CLI installed and signed in
Permission to create a resource group, storage account, file share, and container group
A public Docker image, or an image in a registry that ACI can pull

Step 1: Choose Names

export RESOURCE_GROUP=open-design-aci
export LOCATION=eastus
export DEPLOYMENT_NAME=open-design-aci
export DNS_LABEL=open-design-$RANDOM
export BROWSER_ORIGIN=https://od.example.com
export OD_API_TOKEN="$(openssl rand -hex 32)"

The DNS label must be unique in the Azure region. BROWSER_ORIGIN is the HTTPS origin users will open after a trusted proxy is in front of the daemon. The API token is required because the daemon binds to 0.0.0.0 inside the container; keep this token in your proxy or deployment secrets and do not expose it to browser code.

Step 2: Create The Resource Group

az group create \
  --name "$RESOURCE_GROUP" \
  --location "$LOCATION"

Step 3: Deploy The Bicep Template

Run this from the repository root:

az deployment group create \
  --name "$DEPLOYMENT_NAME" \
  --resource-group "$RESOURCE_GROUP" \
  --template-file deploy/azure/container-instance.bicep \
  --parameters \
    location="$LOCATION" \
    dnsNameLabel="$DNS_LABEL" \
    allowedOrigins="$BROWSER_ORIGIN" \
    odApiToken="$OD_API_TOKEN"

The template creates:

Azure Storage account
Azure Files share for /app/.od
Linux Azure Container Instances container group
Public upstream DNS name and TCP port 7456
Liveness probe against /api/health

Step 4: Fetch The ACI Upstream

Fetch the daemon upstream host for your reverse proxy:

export ACI_FQDN="$(az deployment group show \
  --resource-group "$RESOURCE_GROUP" \
  --name "$DEPLOYMENT_NAME" \
  --query "properties.outputs.daemonFqdn.value" \
  --output tsv)"
export ACI_UPSTREAM_URL="http://${ACI_FQDN}:7456"

Do not open this URL directly in a browser. The daemon requires Authorization: Bearer <OD_API_TOKEN> on non-loopback /api/* requests, and the web UI does not put that secret in browser requests.

Step 5: Put A Trusted Proxy In Front

Serve BROWSER_ORIGIN from a TLS reverse proxy that authenticates users before forwarding traffic to the ACI upstream. The proxy must add the daemon token to API requests:

upstream open_design_aci {
  server <aci-fqdn>:7456;
}

server {
  listen 443 ssl;
  server_name od.example.com;

  # Add your organization's authentication layer here before proxying.

  location /api/ {
    proxy_set_header Authorization "Bearer <OD_API_TOKEN>";
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    proxy_http_version 1.1;
    proxy_set_header Connection "";
    proxy_buffering off;
    proxy_cache off;
    proxy_read_timeout 1h;
    proxy_send_timeout 1h;
    gzip off;
    proxy_pass http://open_design_aci;
  }

  location / {
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    proxy_pass http://open_design_aci;
  }
}

Replace <aci-fqdn> with ACI_FQDN, replace <OD_API_TOKEN> with the same secret passed to the Bicep deployment, and keep BROWSER_ORIGIN equal to the origin served by the proxy. Keep the /api/ buffering, gzip, HTTP/1.1, and timeout directives in place so streamed generation responses are not cut off by nginx. After the proxy is configured, open BROWSER_ORIGIN in your browser.

Optional Parameters

az deployment group create \
  --name "$DEPLOYMENT_NAME" \
  --resource-group "$RESOURCE_GROUP" \
  --template-file deploy/azure/container-instance.bicep \
  --parameters \
    odApiToken="$OD_API_TOKEN" \
    dnsNameLabel="$DNS_LABEL" \
    allowedOrigins="$BROWSER_ORIGIN" \
    image="docker.io/vanjayak/open-design:latest" \
    cpuCores=1 \
    memoryInGB=1 \
    fileShareQuotaGB=10

Set allowedOrigins to the comma-separated browser origins served by trusted proxies. A direct public ACI browser URL is not supported because browser API calls cannot safely carry the daemon token.

Azure DevOps

Use deploy/azure/azure-pipelines.yml as a starting point.

Before running it:

Create an Azure Resource Manager service connection.
Set OD_API_TOKEN as a secret pipeline variable.
Update resourceGroupName, location, openDesignImage, and browserOrigin.
Replace <your-azure-service-connection> with your service connection name.

Operations

View logs:

az container logs \
  --resource-group "$RESOURCE_GROUP" \
  --name open-design

Restart the container group:

az container restart \
  --resource-group "$RESOURCE_GROUP" \
  --name open-design

Delete all Azure resources created by this guide:

az group delete \
  --name "$RESOURCE_GROUP"

Security Notes

Do not expose the raw ACI endpoint as the browser-facing app URL. Use it as the upstream for a trusted proxy or for token-authenticated operational checks.
Keep OD_API_TOKEN secret. The proxy may use it upstream, but browser clients must not receive it. Rotate it by redeploying with a new value.
Keep allowedOrigins aligned with the browser-visible proxy origin; otherwise the daemon origin guard will reject browser API requests.
The Azure Files share persists project data after container restarts and image updates.

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