How to Clone an Azure Web App: Download, Modify, and Deploy to Another App

📅 November 23, 2025 ⏱️ 6 min read ✍️ Mykola Aleksandrov

Sometimes you need to create a copy of an existing Azure Web App — maybe to test a new feature, build a staging environment, or duplicate production with minor changes. This article shows how to download everything, modify locally, and deploy to another Azure Web App.

Option 1: Use "Clone App" (Fastest if your plan supports it)

Azure App Service includes a built-in Clone app feature available on Standard and higher tiers. It duplicates files, app settings, connection strings, and more.

Steps:

Open your Web App in Azure Portal
Go to Development Tools → Clone app
Select the new Web App name, resource group and app service plan
Confirm and create

Note: Not all configurations support Clone App, and some features may not copy across (particularly some Linux stacks).

Option 2: Download, Modify, and Upload Using Kudu (Full Control)

If you want complete control or your plan doesn't support Clone App, use Kudu.

Step 1 — Download the Web App Files via Kudu

Open Kudu for your app: https://<your-app>.scm.azurewebsites.net

In Azure Portal, open the Web App
Go to Development Tools → Advanced Tools → Go
In Kudu, open Debug Console → CMD
Navigate to: site → wwwroot
Click the Download icon to get a ZIP of deployed files

Step 2 — Modify Files Locally

Extract the ZIP and make the changes you need. For compiled runtimes (.NET), remember this will be a compiled build output rather than the original source project.

Step 3 — Create the Target Web App

Azure Portal → Create a resource → Web App
Choose the same runtime as the original site
Reconfigure app settings, connection strings, managed identities and TLS certs as needed

Step 4 — Deploy the Modified Files (Zip Deploy)

Zip Deploy uploads and extracts a ZIP directly to the Web App.

Option A — Kudu UI

Open Kudu for the target Web App
Go to Tools → Zip Push Deploy
Upload your ZIP

Option B — Command Line (curl)

curl -X POST -u "<deploy-user>:<deploy-password>" -T "myapp.zip" "https://<app-name>.scm.azurewebsites.net/api/publish?type=zip"

Get credentials from your publish profile or use a deployment user.

Don’t Forget to Copy Configuration

The wwwroot ZIP includes runtime files only — configuration and other settings must be copied separately.

App Settings & Connection Strings: Azure Portal → Web App → Configuration
Managed Identity: Re-enable the identity and reassign permissions
TLS Certificates & Custom Domains: Re-bind certificates and domains
External Storage/Databases: Update connection strings if needed

Summary

If available, Clone App is the fastest approach. For the most control, use Kudu → Download → Modify → Zip Deploy. Both methods are valid depending on your scenario and app configuration.