Adding possibility to run the cli in the same context as the login action

[wherka-ama]

Background

There is no doubt azure/cli action is very useful. There is no denying of this obvious fact.

However, the way it has been designed was driven by assumptions which make it near impossible to use this action safely in the context of the self-hosted runners in Kubernetes e.g. under the supervision of the Action Runner Controller.
Furthermore it also imposes a strict requirement on having docker which in some cases may not be advisable or even possible in a more restricted environments where the only purpose of the job is to login to azure and run some commands.

Proposed solution

azure/cli is very often linked with azure/login. One cannot do without the other. This implies the need for having az cli preinstalled in the runner context. It makes sense to allow leveraging this setup and invoke the commands directly rather than inside the container.
I'm not suggesting a complete rewrite, but a mere addition of the input parameter to control this behaviour.
The default behaviour would remain the same i.e. running the command in container.
However, when the caller sets the inContainer: false, then we execute the generated script directly in the same context.
This way we will not impact anyone who is used to current behaviour, but we can easily extend the consumer base. I bet there is a huge number of people who would love to see this feature implemented. I would not even mentioned the performance benefits stemming from the fact of skipping the creation of the extra container and in general making it safer.

Disclaimer

The code proposed here is very simple, yet effectively offers the functionality in scope. I'd be happy to work on it a bit more if the maintainers are interested in this direction. I can also offer it as a throw-away piece, which could be used as a basis for a cleaner option. Either way works for me. My intent is to make it work, not to take credit.

Side note: I'm not going to delve into details here(I can elaborate in priv if needs be), but currently the only option is to have a docker rootful daemon or a privileged container in the play. That comes with huge security risks. Running the az commands directly on the runners mitigates them successfully.

The PR fixes many issues across both azure/cli and azure/login e.g. Azure/login#429

[microsoft-github-policy-service]

@wherka-ama please read the following Contributor License Agreement(CLA). If you agree with the CLA, please reply with the following information.

@microsoft-github-policy-service agree [company="{your company}"]

Options:

• (default - no company specified) I have sole ownership of intellectual property rights to my Submissions and I am not making Submissions in the course of work for my employer.

@microsoft-github-policy-service agree

• (when company given) I am making Submissions in the course of work for my employer (or my employer has intellectual property rights in my Submissions by contract or applicable law). I have permission from my employer to make Submissions and enter into this Agreement on behalf of my employer. By signing below, the defined term “You” includes me and my employer.

@microsoft-github-policy-service agree company="Microsoft"

Contributor License Agreement

Contribution License Agreement

This Contribution License Agreement (“Agreement”) is agreed to by the party signing below (“You”),
and conveys certain license rights to Microsoft Corporation and its affiliates (“Microsoft”) for Your
contributions to Microsoft open source projects. This Agreement is effective as of the latest signature
date below.

1. Definitions.
   “Code” means the computer software code, whether in human-readable or machine-executable form,
   that is delivered by You to Microsoft under this Agreement.
   “Project” means any of the projects owned or managed by Microsoft and offered under a license
   approved by the Open Source Initiative (www.opensource.org).
   “Submit” is the act of uploading, submitting, transmitting, or distributing code or other content to any
   Project, including but not limited to communication on electronic mailing lists, source code control
   systems, and issue tracking systems that are managed by, or on behalf of, the Project for the purpose of
   discussing and improving that Project, but excluding communication that is conspicuously marked or
   otherwise designated in writing by You as “Not a Submission.”
   “Submission” means the Code and any other copyrightable material Submitted by You, including any
   associated comments and documentation.
2. Your Submission. You must agree to the terms of this Agreement before making a Submission to any
   Project. This Agreement covers any and all Submissions that You, now or in the future (except as
   described in Section 4 below), Submit to any Project.
3. Originality of Work. You represent that each of Your Submissions is entirely Your original work.
   Should You wish to Submit materials that are not Your original work, You may Submit them separately
   to the Project if You (a) retain all copyright and license information that was in the materials as You
   received them, (b) in the description accompanying Your Submission, include the phrase “Submission
   containing materials of a third party:” followed by the names of the third party and any licenses or other
   restrictions of which You are aware, and (c) follow any other instructions in the Project’s written
   guidelines concerning Submissions.
4. Your Employer. References to “employer” in this Agreement include Your employer or anyone else
   for whom You are acting in making Your Submission, e.g. as a contractor, vendor, or agent. If Your
   Submission is made in the course of Your work for an employer or Your employer has intellectual
   property rights in Your Submission by contract or applicable law, You must secure permission from Your
   employer to make the Submission before signing this Agreement. In that case, the term “You” in this
   Agreement will refer to You and the employer collectively. If You change employers in the future and
   desire to Submit additional Submissions for the new employer, then You agree to sign a new Agreement
   and secure permission from the new employer before Submitting those Submissions.
5. Licenses.

• Copyright License. You grant Microsoft, and those who receive the Submission directly or
  indirectly from Microsoft, a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable license in the
  Submission to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, and distribute
  the Submission and such derivative works, and to sublicense any or all of the foregoing rights to third
  parties.
• Patent License. You grant Microsoft, and those who receive the Submission directly or
  indirectly from Microsoft, a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, irrevocable license under
  Your patent claims that are necessarily infringed by the Submission or the combination of the
  Submission with the Project to which it was Submitted to make, have made, use, offer to sell, sell and
  import or otherwise dispose of the Submission alone or with the Project.
• Other Rights Reserved. Each party reserves all rights not expressly granted in this Agreement.
  No additional licenses or rights whatsoever (including, without limitation, any implied licenses) are
  granted by implication, exhaustion, estoppel or otherwise.

6. Representations and Warranties. You represent that You are legally entitled to grant the above
   licenses. You represent that each of Your Submissions is entirely Your original work (except as You may
   have disclosed under Section 3). You represent that You have secured permission from Your employer to
   make the Submission in cases where Your Submission is made in the course of Your work for Your
   employer or Your employer has intellectual property rights in Your Submission by contract or applicable
   law. If You are signing this Agreement on behalf of Your employer, You represent and warrant that You
   have the necessary authority to bind the listed employer to the obligations contained in this Agreement.
   You are not expected to provide support for Your Submission, unless You choose to do so. UNLESS
   REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING, AND EXCEPT FOR THE WARRANTIES
   EXPRESSLY STATED IN SECTIONS 3, 4, AND 6, THE SUBMISSION PROVIDED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT IS
   PROVIDED WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTY OF
   NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
7. Notice to Microsoft. You agree to notify Microsoft in writing of any facts or circumstances of which
   You later become aware that would make Your representations in this Agreement inaccurate in any
   respect.
8. Information about Submissions. You agree that contributions to Projects and information about
   contributions may be maintained indefinitely and disclosed publicly, including Your name and other
   information that You submit with Your Submission.
9. Governing Law/Jurisdiction. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Washington, and
   the parties consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the federal courts sitting in King County,
   Washington, unless no federal subject matter jurisdiction exists, in which case the parties consent to
   exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the Superior Court of King County, Washington. The parties waive all
   defenses of lack of personal jurisdiction and forum non-conveniens.
10. Entire Agreement/Assignment. This Agreement is the entire agreement between the parties, and
    supersedes any and all prior agreements, understandings or communications, written or oral, between
    the parties relating to the subject matter hereof. This Agreement may be assigned by Microsoft.

[MoChilia]

Hi @wherka-ama, thank you for your contribution! Your suggestion to run azure/cli in the same context as azure/login does make sense. However, the azure/cli action is designed to support running multiple versions on an agent. Your proposed change would disable the azcliversion parameter. I am wondering if it would be better to use the local pre-installed az cli without calling docker when the user doesn't pass the specific azcliversion parameter.

Add our product manager @Jacekey23 here for awareness.

[wherka-ama]

Hi @wherka-ama, thank you for your contribution! Your suggestion to run azure/cli in the same context as azure/login does make sense. However, the azure/cli action is designed to support running multiple versions on an agent. Your proposed change would disable the azcliversion parameter. I am wondering if it would be better to use the local pre-installed az cli without calling docker when the user doesn't pass the specific azcliversion parameter.

Add our product manager @Jacekey23 here for awareness.

Hi @MoChilia , thank you for your time spent on reviewing my proposal so promptly. Much appreciated :)
I'm not suggesting changing the current behavior i.e. the ability to target multiple versions of az cli. This is a very useful feature indeed.
I am merely suggesting the extension of the currently offered options to simplify the flow for cases where the sufficient version of the tool is already present.

If I understood your intention, instead of adding a new input parameter, we would simply check if the azcliversion input. If not set and if az cli is present, then we use it, otherwise we invoke inside the container.

I'd be more than happy with this flow :)

Cheers

[wherka-ama]

@MoChilia , @Jacekey23: just to let you know I've pushed a little tweak to make it aligned with your recommendation. I also tweaked the README to reflect it.

Please do let me know if that's what you meant.

BTW: I'm clarifying the CLA with my management. The moment I have a green light I'll sign it and will let you get on with the next steps. That's of course subject to our agreement that we are on the same page with this enhancement.

Thanks again for your prompt response and openness. That's really appreciated ❤️

[MoChilia]

@wherka-ama, you correctly understand my intent, and thanks for your work on this. But this is actually a breaking change, we need to slow down and discuss within the team. I will keep you informed once we have reached a decision.

[wherka-ama]

@wherka-ama, you correctly understand my intent, and thanks for your work on this. But this is actually a breaking change, we need to slow down and discuss within the team. I will keep you informed once we have reached a decision.

Hi @MoChilia , sure :-)
Please take your time. I didn't mean to rush you into anything you are not comfortable with. I need to switch the context for a bit, and so I wanted to push this change from my side to free my mind. However, it doesn't mean I intended to create a sense of urgency.

Let's try to have a proper think about it and do it cleanly - in a safe manner.

Thanks again 👍

[wherka-ama]

@MoChilia , @Jacekey23 : just checking in.. did you by any chance have a little chat on the subject? I would love to have your feedback and align with your chosen strategy.

The last thing on my mind would be to fork this action, but I'm afraid that's what I'm using right now, and I really hate it :(