[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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Status update (April 2026)

This issue is partially addressed by #720.

Newly added docs

URL	Title	Coverage
https://aspire.dev/deployment/overview/	Deployment overview	Pipeline model, publish vs deploy, compute environments, parameters, environments
https://aspire.dev/deployment/ci-cd/	CI/CD overview	Workflow-first guidance for CI/CD, command selection, env/parameter flow
https://aspire.dev/deployment/app-lifecycle/	Example app lifecycle workflow	End-to-end GitHub Actions + Docker Compose example
https://aspire.dev/deployment/environments/	Environments	Environment mapping and CI/CD environment flow
https://aspire.dev/deployment/pipelines/	Pipeline model	aspire do, step execution, and selective workflow guidance

Addressed or partially addressed

• Dedicated CI/CD guide now exists.
• GitHub Actions workflow example now exists.
• Deployment overview now explains aspire publish vs aspire deploy more clearly.
• Parameter mapping and pipeline input flow are now covered in deployment docs.
• Selective step execution is now documented in the pipeline model docs via aspire do.

Still open

1. aspire deploy follow-ups

• WaitFor behavior during deployment (vs local dev)
• aspire deploy vs azd comparison
• Handling dev-only resources during deploy
• Clarify resource-specific deployment expectations beyond selective step execution

2. CI/CD platform-specific guidance

• Azure DevOps pipeline setup guide
• Service Principal vs User principal for Azure resources in CI
• Running Aspire CLI in detached mode for E2E tests
• CI environment compatibility/troubleshooting (timeouts, terminal output, Jenkins)

3. Kubernetes publishing

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

4. Container Registry / air-gapped

• Private/internal registry configuration
• mcr.microsoft.com proxy/mirror patterns
• Air-gapped 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