Can you update the web.config file for an Azure web app without redeploying?

Question

I would like to update a database connection string in the web.config file for an application that is currently hosted in Azure as a web app.

Seems that you can RDP into an Azure cloud service role but not a web app. If you can't RDP into an Azure web app, is there another way to update the connection string without redeploying?

Answer 1

Another option is to actually update your deployment pipeline to make any type of modifications you need to your .config files. Here is the link to StackOverflow thread that describes in detail how to perform this.

Answer 2

The best practise would be to use a FTP client such as File Zilla, where you can grab it, edit, save and push it back to the host without the hassle of logging into a portal and editing it directly on the server or portal.

Please note that editing a file without backing it up first, and editing a file directly on the server can cause many many problems.

Answer 3

As Russell Young said, on Azure portal, we could use App Service Editor that provides an in-browser editing experience for our App code. And we could specify connection string in App settings section to override existing settings.

Besides, we could also to access and update Web.config file (under D:\home\site\wwwroot folder) via Kudu Debug console.

Answer 4

You can use the portal, there is a tool called "App Service Editor" in preview that lets you edit any of the files you've deployed. I do wonder why you want to do this though, it's not considered good practice to modify source files on the fly like this! Config and app settings are exposed via the portal as well and can be modified without dropping to the app service editor tool. (under Settings/Application Settings in portal). Updating these does not update the web.config but will override web.config settings.