MicroHack Lab — EMEA Platform Conventions

This workspace is a microhack lab for the EMEA MicroHack platform (microsoft/MicroHack). The platform renders a front-end UI, but all resource provisioning comes from labautomation/deploy-lab.ps1. Without a working deployment script, no resources appear in the Azure portal — the platform is just a shiny front end.

Mandatory Structure

labautomation/          ← exactly this name, no dashes
  deploy-lab.ps1        ← platform entry point (optional but recommended)
  lab-defaults.json     ← platform configuration (required if folder exists)
  README.md             ← usage notes
challenges/             ← challenge instructions (Markdown)
walkthrough/            ← solutions
README.md               ← hack intro, objectives, prerequisites

deploy-lab.ps1 — Parameter Contract

The platform skips the script if the parameter block does not exactly match:

param(
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
    [ValidateSet('subscription','resourcegroup','resourcegroup-with-subscriptionowner')]
    [string]$DeploymentType,

    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
    [string]$SubscriptionId,

    [string]$ResourceGroupName = "",

    [string[]]$PreferredLocation = @(),

    [string[]]$AllowedEntraUserIds = @()
)

Platform Guarantees (before your script runs)

• Az context is already set to $SubscriptionId — do NOT call Connect-AzAccount
• For resourcegroup/resourcegroup-with-subscriptionowner: the RG exists and your script has Owner — do NOT call New-AzResourceGroup
• For subscription: your script has Owner on the subscription; you must create the RG yourself using Get-MhhStableHash for deterministic naming
• Az.Accounts and Az.Resources modules are already imported

lab-defaults.json — Required Shape

{
  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/MicroHack/refs/heads/main/lab-defaults-schema.json",
  "groups": [],
  "deploymentType": "resourcegroup",
  "labsPerSubscription": 4,
  "preferredLocation": "westeurope, swedencentral, norwayeast",
  "estimatedDailyCostsUsd": 5.0
}

• deploymentType: "resourcegroup" | "resourcegroup-with-subscriptionowner" | "subscription"
• groups: [] (Azure only), ["GHCPUsers"] (GitHub Copilot seat), ["M365-E5-Users"] (M365 E5)
• preferredLocation: comma-separated regions, priority order
• estimatedDailyCostsUsd: per-user per-day cost for the lifecycle wizard

Returning Credentials to Users

Write a hashtable to the output stream — the platform captures it and shows it on the user's dashboard:

@{ HackboxCredential = @{ name = "AdminPassword"; value = "TopSecret!"; note = "VM admin password" } }

Delivery Deadline

Labs must have at least a skeleton committed by end of July — September events are already scheduled.

Platform Compatibility

The platform supports on-site, online, and hybrid delivery. Do not hard-code corporate network or specific DNS assumptions.