Using Bicep MCP Server with Codex CLI

This guide explains how to configure and use the Azure Bicep MCP server with Codex CLI.

Prerequisites

• Codex CLI installed and authenticated
• .NET 10.0 SDK or later
• Bicep MCP Server available via one of the options in README.md

Quick Setup

Choose one of the following options:

Quick Option 1 (recommended): Use dnx

codex mcp add bicep-nuget -- dnx Azure.Bicep.McpServer --yes

Quick Option 2: Use a local DLL

codex mcp add bicep -- dotnet /path/to/Azure.Bicep.McpServer.dll

Note: Replace the path with your actual path to Azure.Bicep.McpServer.dll

Step-by-Step Setup

1. Find Your MCP Server Path

Only use this step if you are using Option 2 or 3 from the README.md to get the Bicep MCP server DLL.

# Navigate to your project
cd <Path to your cloned azure-bicep-mcp-local repository>

# Find the built DLL
find bicep/src/Bicep.McpServer/bin/Release -name "Azure.Bicep.McpServer.dll"

If you use the VS Code extension method, the path may look like this:

~/.vscode/extensions/ms-azuretools.vscode-bicep-0.39.26/bicepMcpServer/Azure.Bicep.McpServer.dll

2. Add the MCP Server

Pick one of the following commands:

Step Option 1 (recommended): Use dnx

codex mcp add bicep -- dnx Azure.Bicep.McpServer --yes

Step Option 2 & 3: Use a local DLL

codex mcp add bicep -- dotnet /path/to/Azure.Bicep.McpServer.dll

3. Verify the Server is Configured

# List all configured MCP servers
codex mcp list

# Get details for the Bicep server
codex mcp get bicep

4. Check Server Status in Codex CLI

Within a Codex CLI session, use:

/mcp

This displays all connected MCP servers and their status.

Available Tools

Once connected, Codex CLI has access to these Bicep tools:

Tool	Description
list_az_resource_types_for_provider	Lists all Azure resource types for a specific provider (e.g., Microsoft.Storage)
get_az_resource_type_schema	Gets the schema for a specific Azure resource type and API version
get_bicep_best_practices	Returns Bicep coding best practices and guidelines
decompile_arm_parameters_file	Converts ARM template parameter JSON files into Bicep parameters format (.bicepparam).
decompile_arm_template_file	Converts ARM template JSON files into Bicep syntax (.bicep).
format_bicep_file	Applies consistent formatting (indentation, spacing, line breaks) to Bicep files.
get_bicep_file_diagnostics	Analyzes a Bicep file and returns all compilation diagnostics.
get_file_references	Analyzes a Bicep file and returns a list of all referenced files including modules, parameter files, and other dependencies.
get_deployment_snapshot	Creates a snapshot from a .bicepparam file to preview resources and compare Bicep implementations.
list_avm_metadata	Lists metadata for all Azure Verified Modules (AVM)

Example Usage

Once the MCP server is connected, you can ask Codex CLI things like:

> What are the best practices for writing Bicep code?

> Show me the schema for Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts@2023-01-01

> List all resource types in the Microsoft.Web provider

> What Azure Verified Modules are available for networking?

> Help me create a Bicep template for an Azure Function App