Azure Container Apps - Azure Table Storage Demo & Web GUI

A production-ready demo application designed for Azure Container Apps (ACA) featuring a modern, responsive Web GUI and REST API for CRUD operations against Azure Table Storage.

---

Architecture Overview

                      +-------------------------------------------------------+
                      |                 Azure Container Apps                  |
                      |                                                       |
[User Web Browser] ---> [ HTTPS Ingress : 8000 ]                              |
                      |         |                                             |
                      |    +----+----------------------------------------+    |
                      |    | FastAPI Container (Python 3.11)             |    |
                      |    |   • Web GUI (Tailwind CSS + Alpine.js)      |    |
                      |    |   • REST API + OpenAPI (/docs)              |    |
                      |    |   • Health Probes (/healthz, /ready)        |    |
                      |    +----+----------------------------------------+    |
                      |         |                                             |
                      +---------|---------------------------------------------+
                                | Managed Identity (RBAC)
                                | Storage Table Data Contributor
                                v
               +---------------------------------+
               |       Azure Table Storage       |
               | (or Azurite Emulator for local) |
               +---------------------------------+

Key Highlights

• Zero-Config Demo Mode: Starts instantly in in-memory mode if no Azure credentials are configured, pre-loaded with sample IoT & Product data.
• Multiple Authentication Modes:
  1. Azure Managed Identity (DefaultAzureCredential) — Recommended for ACA with RBAC (Storage Table Data Contributor).
  2. Connection String — Direct connection to cloud storage or Azurite.
  3. Azurite Local Emulator — Full local development stack via Docker Compose.
• Production ACA Features:
  • Unprivileged container (appuser, non-root).
  • External Ingress configuration on port 8000.
  • Native Liveness (/healthz) and Readiness (/ready) probes.
  • Infrastructure as Code (Bicep) with Log Analytics integration.
• Web GUI Features:
  • Table management: Create, select, switch, and delete tables.
  • Dynamic column discovery: Automatically parses and renders custom attributes across entities.
  • Visual Entity Builder: Form-based key-value input with type detection (String, Number, Boolean, DateTime).
  • Raw JSON Editor: Toggle between form builder and raw JSON for bulk or complex payloads.
  • OData Query Filtering: Search by PartitionKey or custom OData expressions (e.g. Price gt 50 and IsActive eq true).
  • Single & Bulk Deletions: Multi-row selection with batch deletion.
  • Seed Sample Data: One-click population of mock IoT sensors and product catalog items.

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Project Structure

.
├── app/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── main.py              # FastAPI endpoints, ACA health probes, OpenAPI docs
│   ├── storage.py           # Azure Table Storage client wrapper & fallback mock
│   ├── static/
│   │   ├── css/style.css
│   │   └── js/app.js        # Reactive client-side Alpine.js logic
│   └── templates/
│       └── index.html       # Single-page Web GUI (Tailwind CSS + Lucide Icons)
├── infra/
│   └── main.bicep           # Azure Bicep template (ACA, Storage Account, RBAC, CAE)
├── tests/
│   └── test_api.py          # Pytest integration tests (Health, Table, Entity CRUD)
├── Dockerfile               # Production multi-stage / slim container
├── docker-compose.yml       # Local dev with Azurite Table Storage emulator
├── requirements.txt         # Application dependencies
├── .env.example             # Configuration reference
├── deploy.sh                # Automated Azure CLI deployment script
└── README.md

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Quickstart

1. Run with Docker Compose (App + Azurite Emulator)

This is the fastest way to run locally with a real table storage backend:

docker compose up --build

Open your browser to:

• Web GUI: http://localhost:8000
• API Swagger Docs: http://localhost:8000/docs
• Liveness Probe: http://localhost:8000/healthz
• Readiness Probe: http://localhost:8000/ready

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2. Run Locally with Python

# 1. Create and activate virtual environment
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate

# 2. Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# 3. (Optional) Configure environment variables in .env
# If omitted, app runs in in-memory demo mode!
cp .env.example .env

# 4. Start the server
uvicorn app.main:app --reload --port 8000

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3. Run Automated Tests

source .venv/bin/activate
pip install pytest httpx
PYTHONPATH=. pytest -v

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Deploy to Azure Container Apps

Automated Deployment via Script

Ensure you are logged into Azure CLI (az login):

chmod +x deploy.sh
./deploy.sh

Manual Deployment via Azure CLI & Bicep

# 1. Set variables
RG="rg-aca-table-demo"
LOCATION="westeurope"
APP="table-explorer"

# 2. Create Resource Group
az group create --name "$RG" --location "$LOCATION"

# 3. Build & push image to Azure Container Registry
ACR="acr${APP}demo"
az acr create --resource-group "$RG" --name "$ACR" --sku Basic
az acr build --registry "$ACR" --image "$APP:latest" .

# 4. Deploy Bicep template
az deployment group create \
  --resource-group "$RG" \
  --template-file infra/main.bicep \
  --parameters appName="$APP" acrName="$ACR" containerImage="$ACR.azurecr.io/$APP:latest"

---

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default / Example
AZURE_STORAGE_ACCOUNT_NAME	Storage account name when using Managed Identity	mystorageaccount
AZURE_STORAGE_ENDPOINT_SUFFIX	Storage endpoint suffix	core.windows.net
AZURE_TABLES_CONNECTION_STRING	Full connection string or UseDevelopmentStorage=true	(optional)
TABLE_NAME	Initial/default table name	demotable
PORT	Container HTTP port	8000

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API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/	Web GUI Single-Page App
GET	/healthz	Container Apps Liveness Probe
GET	/ready	Container Apps Readiness Probe
GET	/api/status	Current storage mode and connection status
POST	/api/configure	Dynamic connection update
GET	/api/tables	List all tables in storage account
POST	/api/tables	Create a new table
DELETE	/api/tables/{table_name}	Delete a table
POST	/api/tables/{table_name}/seed	Seed mock records into table
GET	/api/tables/{table_name}/entities	Query entities (with filter & limit)
GET	/api/tables/{table_name}/entities/{pk}/{rk}	Get single entity
POST	/api/tables/{table_name}/entities	Insert new entity
PUT	/api/tables/{table_name}/entities/{pk}/{rk}	Update/upsert entity (MERGE or REPLACE)
DELETE	/api/tables/{table_name}/entities/{pk}/{rk}	Delete single entity
POST	/api/tables/{table_name}/entities/batch-delete	Batch delete selected entities