Build Azure managed images and Azure Compute Gallery images with Packer. Use when creating custom images for Azure VMs.
View on GitHubhashicorp/agent-skills
packer-builders
February 1, 2026
Select agents to install to:
npx add-skill https://github.com/hashicorp/agent-skills/blob/main/packer/builders/skills/azure-image-builder/SKILL.md -a claude-code --skill azure-image-builderInstallation paths:
.claude/skills/azure-image-builder/# Azure Image Builder
Build Azure managed images and Azure Compute Gallery images using Packer's `azure-arm` builder.
**Reference:** [Azure ARM Builder](https://developer.hashicorp.com/packer/integrations/hashicorp/azure/latest/components/builder/arm)
> **Note:** Building Azure images incurs costs (compute, storage, data transfer). Builds typically take 15-45 minutes depending on provisioning and OS.
## Basic Managed Image
```hcl
packer {
required_plugins {
azure = {
source = "github.com/hashicorp/azure"
version = "~> 2.0"
}
}
}
variable "client_id" {
type = string
sensitive = true
}
variable "client_secret" {
type = string
sensitive = true
}
variable "subscription_id" {
type = string
}
variable "tenant_id" {
type = string
}
variable "resource_group" {
type = string
default = "packer-images-rg"
}
locals {
timestamp = regex_replace(timestamp(), "[- TZ:]", "")
}
source "azure-arm" "ubuntu" {
client_id = var.client_id
client_secret = var.client_secret
subscription_id = var.subscription_id
tenant_id = var.tenant_id
managed_image_resource_group_name = var.resource_group
managed_image_name = "my-app-${local.timestamp}"
os_type = "Linux"
image_publisher = "Canonical"
image_offer = "0001-com-ubuntu-server-jammy"
image_sku = "22_04-lts-gen2"
location = "East US"
vm_size = "Standard_B2s"
azure_tags = {
Name = "my-app"
BuildDate = local.timestamp
}
}
build {
sources = ["source.azure-arm.ubuntu"]
provisioner "shell" {
inline = [
"sudo apt-get update",
"sudo apt-get upgrade -y",
]
}
}
```
## Azure Compute Gallery
```hcl
source "azure-arm" "ubuntu" {
client_id = var.client_id
client_secret = var.client_secret
subscription_id = var.subscription_id
tenant_id = var.tenant_id
os_type = "Linux"
image_publisher = "Canonical"
image_offer = "0001-com-ubuntu-se