Azure Image Builder Template Builder

ComputeAzure

Build VM Image Builder templates with platform sources, customization steps, validation, and Shared Image Gallery distribution.

Azure Image Builder Configuration

Build VM Image Builder templates with platform/marketplace sources, customization steps, validation, and Shared Image Gallery distribution.

Required Fields

templateNameresourceGroupsource.typecustomizedistribute

{
  "templateName": "it-win11-devworkstation",
  "resourceGroup": "rg-imagebuilder",
  "location": "eastus2",
  "identity": {
    "type": "UserAssigned",
    "userAssignedIdentity": "/subscriptions/a1b2c3d4/resourceGroups/rg-identity/providers/Microsoft.ManagedIdentity/userAssignedIdentities/mi-image-builder"
  },
  "source": {
    "type": "PlatformImage",
    "publisher": "microsoftwindowsdesktop",
    "offer": "windows-11",
    "sku": "win11-23h2-ent",
    "version": "latest"
  },
  "buildTimeoutInMinutes": 120,
  "vmProfile": {
    "vmSize": "Standard_D4s_v5",
    "osDiskSizeGB": 128,
    "vnetConfig": {
      "subnetId": "/subscriptions/a1b2c3d4/resourceGroups/rg-networking/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/vnet-build/subnets/snet-imagebuilder",
      "proxyVmSize": "Standard_D2s_v5"
    }
  },
  "customize": [
    {
      "type": "WindowsUpdate",
      "searchCriteria": "IsInstalled=0",
      "filters": ["exclude:$_.Title -like '*Preview*'"],
      "updateLimit": 40
    },
    {
      "type": "PowerShell",
      "name": "InstallDevTools",
      "runElevated": true,
      "inline": [
        "Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force",
        "[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072",
        "iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://community.chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))",
        "choco install git vscode nodejs-lts python3 docker-desktop -y --no-progress"
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "PowerShell",
      "name": "ConfigureSecurityBaseline",
      "runElevated": true,
      "scriptUri": "https://stcontososcripts.blob.core.windows.net/image-builder/security-baseline.ps1",
      "sha256Checksum": "ABC123DEF456..."
    },
    {
      "type": "File",
      "name": "CopyWallpaper",
      "sourceUri": "https://stcontososcripts.blob.core.windows.net/image-builder/wallpaper.jpg",
      "destination": "C:\\Windows\\Web\\Wallpaper\\Contoso\\default.jpg"
    },
    {
      "type": "WindowsRestart",
      "restartCheckCommand": "echo Azure-Image-Builder-Restarted",
      "restartTimeout": "10m"
    }
  ],
  "validate": {
    "continueDistributeOnFailure": false,
    "inVMValidations": [
      {
        "type": "PowerShell",
        "name": "ValidateInstallations",
        "inline": ["if (!(Get-Command git)) { exit 1 }", "if (!(Get-Command code)) { exit 1 }"]
      }
    ]
  },
  "distribute": [
    {
      "type": "SharedImage",
      "galleryImageId": "/subscriptions/a1b2c3d4/resourceGroups/rg-imagebuilder/providers/Microsoft.Compute/galleries/gal_contoso/images/win11-devworkstation/versions/1.0.0",
      "replicationRegions": ["eastus2", "westus2"],
      "excludeFromLatest": false,
      "storageAccountType": "Standard_LRS"
    }
  ],
  "tags": {
    "imageType": "dev-workstation",
    "os": "windows-11",
    "team": "platform-engineering"
  }
}

Generated Output

Output will appear here...

Overview

Build VM Image Builder templates with platform sources, customization steps, validation, and Shared Image Gallery distribution. This tool helps Azure engineers generate valid configurations quickly without consulting documentation, reducing errors and accelerating infrastructure deployment. All processing runs in your browser with no data sent to external servers.

How Engineers Use This

•Designing a Image Builder Template configuration for a new Azure workload where the team wants the spec reviewed before any portal click happens.
•Building a Image Builder Template reference implementation for a partner integration where you cannot rely on their portal access.
•Working out a Image Builder Template configuration during incident response, when the on-call needs a corrected version applied within minutes.
•Translating an Azure architect's whiteboard sketch into a concrete Image Builder Template spec engineers can apply.

Questions & Answers

Can I use this Image Builder Template builder for Azure Government or sovereign clouds?

Most Image Builder Template primitives behave the same across commercial, Government, and other sovereign Azure clouds, but the endpoints, available regions, and a handful of services differ. The output is portable in terms of resource shape; you must verify service availability and adjust endpoints when targeting a sovereign cloud.

Does this Image Builder Template builder consider the RBAC role needed to apply the configuration?

No — generating a Image Builder Template configuration is independent of the role required to apply it. Apply the output with a principal that has the documented permissions for that service. For least-privilege scoping, Azure's built-in roles and the Privileged Identity Management 'just enough access' workflows give you a starting point.

Related Learning Guides

Azure VM Series Guide22 min read

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Disclaimer: This tool runs entirely in your browser. No data is sent to our servers. Always verify outputs before using them in production. AWS, Azure, and GCP are trademarks of their respective owners.