What’s New in 2.5.0

Everything added since 2.1.0, across the 2.2.0, 2.3.0, 2.4.0 and 2.5.0 releases. Full release history is on the GitHub Releases page.

GitOps with Argo CD, no setup required

Argo CD is now available out of the box — you no longer need to turn on a setting first.

  • AKS: Create Argo CD Application scaffolds an application — on a folder’s context menu in the Explorer, or from the Command Palette. It asks you where your manifests are and where to write the output, and generates <app-name>.yaml. It no longer assumes your manifests live in a separate repository, and the README it produces is now optional.
  • AKS: Apply Argo CD Application to Cluster deploys the generated YAML — on a YAML file’s context menu in the Explorer or editor.
  • Right-click your AKS cluster > Develop & Deploy > AKS: Check Argo CD Status to see how the sync is going.

Argo CD itself still needs to be installed on your cluster; if it isn’t, the extension tells you and points you at the install steps.

See Argo CD GitOps Integration.

Deploy an app with the Kickstart agent (preview)

Kickstart is a Copilot chat agent that takes an application you already have and walks you all the way to it running on AKS Automatic — working out how to containerise it, creating the Azure resources, generating the manifests and pipeline, and deploying. Before it creates anything it shows you an estimated cost, and it favours regions that currently have capacity so you are less likely to hit a provisioning failure.

Kickstart is off by default. To try it, add this to your settings and reload:

{
  "aks.kickstartEnabledPreview": true
}

You will then have AKS: Launch Kickstart Agent and AKS: Configure Kickstart Cluster in the Command Palette.

Container Assist is easier to fit to your project

  • Azure Container Registry is now optional, and you can pick which files you want generated instead of taking the whole set.
  • Generated manifests no longer pick up build output. Directories like dist/, target/ and bin/ are skipped, so you get manifests for your application rather than for compiled artifacts.
  • Deployment Safeguards validation now shows you what it found instead of stopping with an error, so you can see every policy issue at once and decide what to fix.
  • Your own namespace annotations and labels are preserved when the extension updates a managed namespace.

See Container Assist Integration (Preview).

Cluster commands are grouped by task

The cluster context menu now groups commands into Develop & Deploy, Troubleshoot & Diagnose and Manage Cluster, so there is less to scan when you know what kind of task you are doing.

If you prefer the old layout, run AKS: Switch to Classic Menu at any time.

See Simplified AKS Menu Structure.

Where to go next