[Discord Feedback] Deployment & CI/CD documentation gaps

[davidfowl]

Summary

Based on analysis of 20,415 Discord messages + 147 #help threads (April 2025 - February 2026).

Question counts:

Topic	Questions
Azure DevOps/Pipelines	87
azd integration	75
ACA/Container Apps	70
Kubernetes	54
aspire deploy	44
Container Registry	42
GitHub Actions	22

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Docs That Exist

Slug	Title	Coverage
deploy-using-the-aspire-cli	Deploy using the Aspire CLI	✅ Basic ACA deployment
building-custom-deployment-pipelines	Building custom deployment pipelines	✅ Image building, progress reporting
publishing-and-deployment	Publishing and deployment	✅ Overview
deployment-manifest-format	Deployment manifest format	✅ Manifest structure
kubernetes-integration	Kubernetes integration	⚠️ Hosting only, not publishing

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Gaps in Existing Docs

1. aspire deploy - Missing Topics (44 questions)

Customer Quotes:

"how does aspire deploy handle WaitFor? for example, if i set a database migration service to run before an api and frontend, how is this handled when deploying to i.e. azure?"

"did aspire deploy not get resource specific deploys like azd?"

Missing from deploy-using-the-aspire-cli:

• WaitFor behavior during deployment (vs local dev)
• Selective/resource-specific deployment
• aspire deploy vs azd comparison table
• Parameters file format and examples (partially mentioned but unclear per user feedback)
• Handling dev-only resources during deploy

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2. CI/CD Integration - No Dedicated Docs (109 questions)

Verified: grep -i "github action\|azure devops\|ci\|cd\|pipeline" aspire-docs-list.txt returns no dedicated CI/CD guide.

Customer Quotes:

"Trying to work my way through some issues using the aspire cli in my Azure DevOps pipeline."

"Tests pass locally but fail in Azure DevOps because Cosmos uses principalType 'User' but CI uses Service Principal"

From #help threads:

• Tests run indefinitely in GitHub Actions
• CLI output formatting issues in Jenkins

Action Items:

• Azure DevOps pipeline setup guide
• GitHub Actions workflow examples
• Service Principal vs User principal for Azure resources in CI
• Running aspire CLI in detached mode for E2E tests
• CI environment compatibility (timeouts, terminal output)

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3. Kubernetes Publishing - Incomplete (54 questions)

Verified: kubernetes-integration exists but covers hosting only, not publishing/deployment.

Customer Quotes:

"I was wondering if anyone has considered an option where you could orchestrate resources in an actual Kubernetes cluster running locally (with MiniKube, Kind, Docker Desktop)"

From #help threads:

• "How to get Kubernetes integration to use container registry image names?"
• AddKubernetesEnvironment() mentioned but undocumented

Action Items:

• AddKubernetesEnvironment() documentation
• Helm chart generation patterns
• Local Kubernetes (MiniKube, Kind) workflows
• cert-manager integration
• Aspirate mention/comparison

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4. Container Registry / Airgapped (42 questions)

Verified: azure-container-registry-integration exists for ACR, but no private/airgapped patterns.

Customer Quotes:

"Is there an easy way to override container registry hostnames? Internally we use a jfrog artifactory proxy for mcr.microsoft.com."

"Could someone have a look at dotnet/aspire#14128? This would help us to support container registry mirrors in airgapped environments."

Action Items:

• Private/internal registry configuration
• mcr.microsoft.com proxy/mirror patterns
• Airgapped environment setup
• Enterprise registry authentication patterns

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Data Source

• Discord channels: #��│general, #🔵│azure, #🔨│building-resources
• Help threads: 147 from #🆘│help
• Total messages: 20,415
• Date range: April 2025 - February 2026
• Verified against: aspire-list_docs and aspire-search_docs