Add support for ARM params file and Bicep params file formats

dsc/examples/hello_world.dsc.bicep

@@ -2,11 +2,13 @@
 
 targetScope = 'desiredStateConfiguration'
 
+param text string = 'Hello, world!'
+
 // use workaround where Bicep currently requires version in date format
 resource echo 'Microsoft.DSC.Debug/Echo@2025-08-27' = {
   name: 'exampleEcho'
   properties: {
-    output: 'Hello, world!'
+    output: text
   }
 }
 

dsc/examples/hello_world.dsc.bicepparam

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+using 'hello_world.dsc.bicep'
+
+param text = 'This is a parameterized hello world!'

dsc/locales/en-us.toml

@@ -40,10 +40,7 @@ mcpAbout = "Use DSC as a MCP server"
 [main]
 ctrlCReceived = "Ctrl-C received"
 failedCtrlCHandler = "Failed to set Ctrl-C handler"
-failedReadingParametersFile = "Failed to read parameters file"
-readingParametersFromStdin = "Reading parameters from STDIN"
 generatingCompleter = "Generating completion script for"
-readingParametersFile = "Reading parameters from file"
 mergingParameters = "Merging inline parameters with parameters file (inline takes precedence)"
 failedMergingParameters = "Failed to merge parameters"
 usingDscVersion = "Running DSC version"

dsc/src/main.rs

@@ -4,14 +4,14 @@
 use args::{Args, SubCommand};
 use clap::{CommandFactory, Parser};
 use clap_complete::generate;
+use dsc_lib::progress::ProgressFormat;
 use mcp::start_mcp_server;
 use rust_i18n::{i18n, t};
-use std::{io, io::Read, process::exit};
+use std::{io, process::exit};
 use sysinfo::{Process, RefreshKind, System, get_current_pid, ProcessRefreshKind};
 use tracing::{error, info, warn, debug};
-use dsc_lib::progress::ProgressFormat;
 
-use crate::util::EXIT_INVALID_INPUT;
+use crate::util::{EXIT_INVALID_INPUT, get_input};
 
 #[cfg(debug_assertions)]
 use crossterm::event;
@@ -54,38 +54,11 @@ fn main() {
             generate(shell, &mut cmd, "dsc", &mut io::stdout());
         },
         SubCommand::Config { subcommand, parameters, parameters_file, system_root, as_group, as_assert, as_include } => {
-            // Read parameters from file if provided
-            let file_params = if let Some(file_name) = &parameters_file {
-                if file_name == "-" {
-                    info!("{}", t!("main.readingParametersFromStdin"));
-                    let mut stdin = Vec::<u8>::new();
-                    match io::stdin().read_to_end(&mut stdin) {
-                        Ok(_) => {
-                            match String::from_utf8(stdin) {
-                                Ok(input) => Some(input),
-                                Err(err) => {
-                                    error!("{}: {err}", t!("util.invalidUtf8"));
-                                    exit(EXIT_INVALID_INPUT);
-                                }
-                            }
-                        },
-                        Err(err) => {
-                            error!("{}: {err}", t!("util.failedToReadStdin"));
-                            exit(EXIT_INVALID_INPUT);
-                        }
-                    }
-                } else {
-                    info!("{}: {file_name}", t!("main.readingParametersFile"));
-                    match std::fs::read_to_string(file_name) {
-                        Ok(content) => Some(content),
-                        Err(err) => {
-                            error!("{} '{file_name}': {err}", t!("main.failedReadingParametersFile"));
-                            exit(util::EXIT_INVALID_INPUT);
-                        }
-                    }
-                }
-            } else {
+            let params = get_input(None, parameters_file.as_ref());
+            let file_params = if params.is_empty() {
                 None
+            } else {
+                Some(params)
             };
 
             let merged_parameters = match (file_params, parameters) {

dsc/src/subcommand.rs

@@ -607,6 +607,7 @@ fn list_extensions(dsc: &mut DscManager, extension_name: Option<&String>, format
             let capability_types = [
                 (ExtensionCapability::Discover, "d"),
                 (ExtensionCapability::Secret, "s"),
+                (ExtensionCapability::Import, "i"),
             ];
             let mut capabilities = "-".repeat(capability_types.len());
 

dsc/tests/dsc_expressions.tests.ps1

@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ Describe 'Expressions tests' {
 "@
     $out = dsc config get -i $yaml 2>&1
     $LASTEXITCODE | Should -Be 2
-    $out | Should -BeLike "*ERROR*"
+    ,$out | Should -BeLike "*ERROR*" -Because ($out | Out-String)
   }
 
   It 'Multi-line string literals work' {

dsc/tests/dsc_extension_discover.tests.ps1

@@ -24,29 +24,37 @@ Describe 'Discover extension tests' {
         $out = dsc extension list | ConvertFrom-Json
         $LASTEXITCODE | Should -Be 0
         if ($IsWindows) {
-            $out.Count | Should -Be 3 -Because ($out | Out-String)
+            $out.Count | Should -Be 4 -Because ($out | Out-String)
             $out[0].type | Should -Be 'Microsoft.DSC.Extension/Bicep'
             $out[0].version | Should -Be '0.1.0'
             $out[0].capabilities | Should -BeExactly @('import')
             $out[0].manifest | Should -Not -BeNullOrEmpty
-            $out[1].type | Should -Be 'Microsoft.Windows.Appx/Discover'
-            $out[1].version | Should -Be '0.1.0'
-            $out[1].capabilities | Should -BeExactly @('discover')
+            $out[1].type | Should -BeExactly 'Microsoft.DSC.Extension/BicepParameters'
+            $out[1].version | Should -BeExactly '0.1.0'
+            $out[1].capabilities | Should -BeExactly @('import')
             $out[1].manifest | Should -Not -BeNullOrEmpty
-            $out[2].type | Should -BeExactly 'Test/Discover'
-            $out[2].version | Should -BeExactly '0.1.0'
+            $out[2].type | Should -Be 'Microsoft.Windows.Appx/Discover'
+            $out[2].version | Should -Be '0.1.0'
             $out[2].capabilities | Should -BeExactly @('discover')
             $out[2].manifest | Should -Not -BeNullOrEmpty
+            $out[3].type | Should -BeExactly 'Test/Discover'
+            $out[3].version | Should -BeExactly '0.1.0'
+            $out[3].capabilities | Should -BeExactly @('discover')
+            $out[3].manifest | Should -Not -BeNullOrEmpty
         } else {
-            $out.Count | Should -Be 2 -Because ($out | Out-String)
+            $out.Count | Should -Be 3 -Because ($out | Out-String)
             $out[0].type | Should -Be 'Microsoft.DSC.Extension/Bicep'
             $out[0].version | Should -Be '0.1.0'
             $out[0].capabilities | Should -BeExactly @('import')
             $out[0].manifest | Should -Not -BeNullOrEmpty
-            $out[1].type | Should -BeExactly 'Test/Discover'
+            $out[1].type | Should -BeExactly 'Microsoft.DSC.Extension/BicepParameters'
             $out[1].version | Should -BeExactly '0.1.0'
-            $out[1].capabilities | Should -BeExactly @('discover')
+            $out[1].capabilities | Should -BeExactly @('import')
             $out[1].manifest | Should -Not -BeNullOrEmpty
+            $out[2].type | Should -BeExactly 'Test/Discover'
+            $out[2].version | Should -BeExactly '0.1.0'
+            $out[2].capabilities | Should -BeExactly @('discover')
+            $out[2].manifest | Should -Not -BeNullOrEmpty
         }
     }
 

dsc/tests/dsc_parameters.tests.ps1

@@ -394,6 +394,65 @@ Describe 'Parameters tests' {
       $errorMessage | Should -BeLike "*ERROR*Empty input provided*"
     }
 
+    It 'Parameters in ARM syntax are supported' {
+      $config_yaml = @"
+        `$schema: https://aka.ms/dsc/schemas/v3/bundled/config/document.json
+        parameters:
+          myString:
+            type: string
+          myObject:
+            type: object
+          myArray:
+            type: array
+          myInt:
+            type: int
+          myBool:
+            type: bool
+        resources:
+        - name: echo
+          type: Microsoft.DSC.Debug/Echo
+          properties:
+            output: >-
+              [concat(
+                parameters('myString'),
+                '-',
+                parameters('myObject').prop1,
+                '-',
+                parameters('myArray')[0],
+                parameters('myArray')[1],
+                '-',
+                string(parameters('myInt')),
+                '-',
+                string(parameters('myBool')
+              )]
+"@
+      $params = @{
+        parameters = @{
+          myString = @{
+            value = 'Hello'
+          }
+          myObject = @{
+            value = @{
+              prop1 = 'World'
+            }
+          }
+          myArray = @{
+            value = @('Item1', 'Item2')
+          }
+          myInt = @{
+            value = 123
+          }
+          myBool = @{
+            value = $true
+          }
+        }
+      } | ConvertTo-Json -Compress -Depth 5
+
+      $out = $config_yaml | dsc -l trace config -p $params get -f - 2> $TestDrive/error.log | ConvertFrom-Json
+      $LASTEXITCODE | Should -Be 0 -Because (Get-Content -Path $TestDrive/error.log -Raw | Out-String)
+      $out.results[0].result.actualState.output | Should -BeExactly 'Hello-World-Item1Item2-123-true'
+    }
+
     It 'Invalid parameters read from STDIN result in error' {
       $params = @{
         osFamily = 'Windows'
@@ -403,7 +462,7 @@ Describe 'Parameters tests' {
       $LASTEXITCODE | Should -Be 4
       $out | Should -BeNullOrEmpty
       $errorMessage = Get-Content -Path $TestDrive/error.log -Raw
-      $errorMessage | Should -BeLike "*ERROR*Parameter input failure: JSON: missing field ````parameters````*"
+      $errorMessage | Should -BeLike "*ERROR*Invalid parameters format: missing field ````parameters````*"
     }
 
     It 'Parameters can reference other parameters in defaultValue: simple nested' {
@@ -935,7 +994,7 @@ parameters:
         }
         else {
             $expectedOutput = "{0}-{1}" -f $fileValue, $inlineValue
-        } 
+        }
         $out.results[0].result.actualState.output | Should -BeExactly $expectedOutput
     }
 

extensions/bicep/.project.data.json

@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@
     "Kind": "Extension",
     "CopyFiles": {
         "All": [
-            "bicep.dsc.extension.json"
+            "bicep.dsc.extension.json",
+            "bicepparams.dsc.extension.json"
         ]
     }
 }

extensions/bicep/bicep.tests.ps1

@@ -94,4 +94,12 @@ resource invalid 'Microsoft.DSC.Extension/Bicep:1.0' = {
         $content | Should -Match "Importing file '$bicepFile' with extension 'Microsoft.DSC.Extension/Bicep'"
         $content | Should -Match "BCP033"
     }
+
+    It 'Example bicep parameters file should work' {
+        $bicepFile = Resolve-Path -Path "$PSScriptRoot\..\..\dsc\examples\hello_world.dsc.bicep"
+        $bicepParamFile = Resolve-Path -Path "$PSScriptRoot\..\..\dsc\examples\hello_world.dsc.bicepparam"
+        $out = dsc -l trace config --parameters-file $bicepParamFile get --file $bicepFile 2>$TestDrive/error.log | ConvertFrom-Json
+        $LASTEXITCODE | Should -Be 0 -Because (Get-Content -Path $TestDrive/error.log -Raw | Out-String)
+        $out.results[0].result.actualState.output | Should -BeExactly 'This is a parameterized hello world!'
+    }
 }

extensions/bicep/bicepparams.dsc.extension.json

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+{
+    "$schema": "https://aka.ms/dsc/schemas/v3/bundled/extension/manifest.json",
+    "type": "Microsoft.DSC.Extension/BicepParameters",
+    "version": "0.1.0",
+    "description": "Enable passing Bicep parameters file directly to DSC, but requires bicep executable to be available.",
+    "condition": "[not(equals(tryWhich('bicep'), null()))]",
+    "import": {
+        "fileExtensions": ["bicepparam"],
+        "executable": "bicep",
+        "args": [
+            "build-params",
+            {
+                "fileArg": ""
+            },
+            "--stdout"
+        ],
+        "output": "[json(json(stdout()).parametersJson)]"
+    }
+}

lib/dsc-lib/locales/en-us.toml

@@ -85,6 +85,11 @@ secureOutputSkipped = "Secure output '%{name}' is skipped"
 outputTypeNotMatch = "Output '%{name}' type does not match expected type '%{expected_type}'"
 copyNotSupported = "Copy for output '%{name}' is currently not supported"
 
+[configure.parameters]
+importingParametersFromComplexInput = "Importing parameters from complex input"
+importingParametersFromInput = "Importing parameters from simple input"
+invalidParamsFormat = "Invalid parameters format: %{error}"
+
 [discovery.commandDiscovery]
 couldNotReadSetting = "Could not read 'resourcePath' setting"
 appendingEnvPath = "Appending PATH to resourcePath"
@@ -224,6 +229,7 @@ importingFile = "Importing file '%{file}' with extension '%{extension}'"
 importNotSupported = "Import is not supported by extension '%{extension}' for file '%{file}'"
 importNoResults = "Extension '%{extension}' returned no results for import"
 secretMultipleLinesReturned = "Extension '%{extension}' returned multiple lines which is not supported for secrets"
+importProcessingOutput = "Processing output from extension '%{extension}'"
 
 [extensions.extension_manifest]
 extensionManifestSchemaTitle = "Extension manifest schema URI"
@@ -538,6 +544,10 @@ invoked = "skip function"
 invalidNumberToSkip = "Second argument must be an integer"
 invalidOriginalValue = "First argument must be an array or string"
 
+[functions.stdout]
+description = "Returns the standard output from the last executed resource.  Can only be used in output definitions."
+noStdoutAvailable = "No standard output is available from the last executed resource"
+
 [functions.string]
 description = "Converts a value to a string"
 
@@ -657,6 +667,10 @@ indexOutOfBounds = "Index is out of bounds"
 indexOnNonArray = "Index access on non-array value"
 invalidIndexType = "Invalid index type"
 propertyNameNotString = "Property name is not a string"
+accessorResult = "Accessor result: %{result}"
+evaluatingMemberAccessor = "Evaluating member accessor: %{name}"
+evaluatingIndexAccessor = "Evaluating index accessor: %{index}"
+evaluatingIndexExpression = "Evaluating index expression: %{expression}"
 
 [parser.functions]
 foundErrorNode = "Found error node parsing function"

lib/dsc-lib/src/configure/context.rs

@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ pub struct Context {
     pub restart_required: Option<Vec<RestartRequired>>,
     pub security_context: SecurityContextKind,
     pub start_datetime: DateTime<Local>,
+    pub stdout: Option<String>,
     pub system_root: PathBuf,
     pub user_functions: HashMap<String, UserFunctionDefinition>,
     pub variables: Map<String, Value>,
@@ -60,6 +61,7 @@ impl Context {
                 SecurityContext::User => SecurityContextKind::Restricted,
             },
             start_datetime: chrono::Local::now(),
+            stdout: None,
             system_root: get_default_os_system_root(),
             user_functions: HashMap::new(),
             variables: Map::new(),

lib/dsc-lib/src/configure/mod.rs

@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 // Licensed under the MIT License.
 
 use crate::configure::context::{Context, ProcessMode};
-use crate::configure::{config_doc::{ExecutionKind, IntOrExpression, Metadata, Parameter, Resource, RestartRequired, ValueOrCopy}, parameters::Input};
+use crate::configure::parameters::import_parameters;
+use crate::configure::{config_doc::{ExecutionKind, IntOrExpression, Metadata, Parameter, Resource, RestartRequired, ValueOrCopy}};
 use crate::discovery::discovery_trait::DiscoveryFilter;
 use crate::dscerror::DscError;
 use crate::dscresources::{
@@ -836,7 +837,7 @@ impl Configurator {
         // process input parameters first
         if let Some(parameters_input) = parameters_input {
             trace!("parameters_input: {parameters_input}");
-            let input_parameters: HashMap<String, Value> = serde_json::from_value::<Input>(parameters_input.clone())?.parameters;
+            let input_parameters: HashMap<String, Value> = import_parameters(parameters_input)?;
 
             for (name, value) in input_parameters {
                 if let Some(constraint) = parameters.get(&name) {