Add Description property to all pipeline steps and show in diagnostics output

src/Aspire.Hosting.Azure.AppContainers/AzureContainerAppEnvironmentResource.cs

@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ public AzureContainerAppEnvironmentResource(string name, Action<AzureResourceInf
             var loginToAcrStep = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = $"login-to-acr-{name}",
+                Description = $"Logs in to Azure Container Registry for {name}.",
                 Action = context => AzureEnvironmentResourceHelpers.LoginToRegistryAsync(this, context),
                 Tags = ["acr-login"]
             };
@@ -43,6 +44,7 @@ public AzureContainerAppEnvironmentResource(string name, Action<AzureResourceInf
             var printDashboardUrlStep = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = $"print-dashboard-url-{name}",
+                Description = $"Prints the deployment summary and dashboard URL for {name}.",
                 Action = ctx => PrintDashboardUrlAsync(ctx),
                 Tags = ["print-summary"],
                 DependsOnSteps = [AzureEnvironmentResource.ProvisionInfrastructureStepName],

src/Aspire.Hosting.Azure.AppContainers/AzureContainerAppResource.cs

@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ public AzureContainerAppResource(string name, Action<AzureResourceInfrastructure
                 var pushStep = new PipelineStep
                 {
                     Name = $"push-{targetResource.Name}",
+                    Description = $"Pushes the container image for {targetResource.Name} to Azure Container Registry.",
                     Action = async ctx =>
                     {
                         var containerImageBuilder = ctx.Services.GetRequiredService<IResourceContainerImageManager>();
@@ -74,6 +75,7 @@ await AzureEnvironmentResourceHelpers.PushImageToRegistryAsync(
             var printResourceSummary = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = $"print-{targetResource.Name}-summary",
+                Description = $"Prints the deployment summary and URL for {targetResource.Name}.",
                 Action = async ctx =>
                 {
                     var containerAppEnv = (AzureContainerAppEnvironmentResource)deploymentTargetAnnotation.ComputeEnvironment!;
@@ -98,6 +100,7 @@ await AzureEnvironmentResourceHelpers.PushImageToRegistryAsync(
             var deployStep = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = $"deploy-{targetResource.Name}",
+                Description = $"Aggregation step for deploying {targetResource.Name} to Azure Container Apps.",
                 Action = _ => Task.CompletedTask,
                 Tags = [WellKnownPipelineTags.DeployCompute]
             };

src/Aspire.Hosting.Azure.AppService/AzureAppServiceEnvironmentResource.cs

@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ public AzureAppServiceEnvironmentResource(string name, Action<AzureResourceInfra
             var loginToAcrStep = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = $"login-to-acr-{name}",
+                Description = $"Logs in to Azure Container Registry for {name}.",
                 Action = context => AzureEnvironmentResourceHelpers.LoginToRegistryAsync(this, context),
                 Tags = ["acr-login"]
             };
@@ -46,6 +47,7 @@ public AzureAppServiceEnvironmentResource(string name, Action<AzureResourceInfra
             var printDashboardUrlStep = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = $"print-dashboard-url-{name}",
+                Description = $"Prints the deployment summary and dashboard URL for {name}.",
                 Action = ctx => PrintDashboardUrlAsync(ctx),
                 Tags = ["print-summary"],
                 DependsOnSteps = [AzureEnvironmentResource.ProvisionInfrastructureStepName],

src/Aspire.Hosting.Azure.AppService/AzureAppServiceWebSiteResource.cs

@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ public AzureAppServiceWebSiteResource(string name, Action<AzureResourceInfrastru
                 var pushStep = new PipelineStep
                 {
                     Name = $"push-{targetResource.Name}",
+                    Description = $"Pushes the container image for {targetResource.Name} to Azure Container Registry.",
                     Action = async ctx =>
                     {
                         var containerImageBuilder = ctx.Services.GetRequiredService<IResourceContainerImageManager>();
@@ -72,6 +73,7 @@ await AzureEnvironmentResourceHelpers.PushImageToRegistryAsync(
             var printResourceSummary = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = $"print-{targetResource.Name}-summary",
+                Description = $"Prints the deployment summary and URL for {targetResource.Name}.",
                 Action = async ctx =>
                 {
                     var computerEnv = (AzureAppServiceEnvironmentResource)deploymentTargetAnnotation.ComputeEnvironment!;
@@ -93,6 +95,7 @@ await AzureEnvironmentResourceHelpers.PushImageToRegistryAsync(
             var deployStep = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = $"deploy-{targetResource.Name}",
+                Description = $"Aggregation step for deploying {targetResource.Name} to Azure App Service.",
                 Action = _ => Task.CompletedTask,
                 Tags = [WellKnownPipelineTags.DeployCompute]
             };

src/Aspire.Hosting.Azure/AzureBicepResource.cs

@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ public AzureBicepResource(string name, string? templateFile = null, string? temp
             var provisionStep = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = $"provision-{name}",
+                Description = $"Provisions the Azure Bicep resource {name} using Azure infrastructure.",
                 Action = async ctx => await ProvisionAzureBicepResourceAsync(ctx, this).ConfigureAwait(false),
                 Tags = [WellKnownPipelineTags.ProvisionInfrastructure]
             };

src/Aspire.Hosting.Azure/AzureEnvironmentResource.cs

@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ public AzureEnvironmentResource(string name, ParameterResource location, Paramet
             var publishStep = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = $"publish-{Name}",
+                Description = $"Publishes the Azure environment configuration for {Name}.",
                 Action = ctx => PublishAsync(ctx),
                 RequiredBySteps = [WellKnownPipelineSteps.Publish],
                 DependsOnSteps = [WellKnownPipelineSteps.PublishPrereq]
@@ -79,6 +80,7 @@ public AzureEnvironmentResource(string name, ParameterResource location, Paramet
             var validateStep = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = "validate-azure-login",
+                Description = "Validates Azure CLI authentication before deployment.",
                 Action = ctx => ValidateAzureLoginAsync(ctx),
                 RequiredBySteps = [WellKnownPipelineSteps.Deploy],
                 DependsOnSteps = [WellKnownPipelineSteps.DeployPrereq]
@@ -87,6 +89,7 @@ public AzureEnvironmentResource(string name, ParameterResource location, Paramet
             var createContextStep = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = CreateProvisioningContextStepName,
+                Description = "Creates the Azure provisioning context for infrastructure deployment.",
                 Action = async ctx =>
                 {
                     var provisioningContextProvider = ctx.Services.GetRequiredService<IProvisioningContextProvider>();
@@ -101,6 +104,7 @@ public AzureEnvironmentResource(string name, ParameterResource location, Paramet
             var provisionStep = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = ProvisionInfrastructureStepName,
+                Description = "Aggregation step for all Azure infrastructure provisioning operations.",
                 Action = _ => Task.CompletedTask,
                 Tags = [WellKnownPipelineTags.ProvisionInfrastructure],
                 RequiredBySteps = [WellKnownPipelineSteps.Deploy],

src/Aspire.Hosting.Docker/DockerComposeEnvironmentResource.cs

@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ public DockerComposeEnvironmentResource(string name) : base(name)
             var publishStep = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = $"publish-{Name}",
+                Description = $"Publishes the Docker Compose environment configuration for {Name}.",
                 Action = ctx => PublishAsync(ctx)
             };
             publishStep.RequiredBy(WellKnownPipelineSteps.Publish);
@@ -102,6 +103,7 @@ public DockerComposeEnvironmentResource(string name) : base(name)
             var prepareStep = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = $"prepare-{Name}",
+                Description = $"Prepares the Docker Compose environment {Name} for deployment.",
                 Action = ctx => PrepareAsync(ctx)
             };
             prepareStep.DependsOn(WellKnownPipelineSteps.Publish);

src/Aspire.Hosting.Kubernetes/KubernetesEnvironmentResource.cs

@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ public KubernetesEnvironmentResource(string name) : base(name)
             var step = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = $"publish-{Name}",
+                Description = $"Publishes the Kubernetes environment configuration for {Name}.",
                 Action = ctx => PublishAsync(ctx)
             };
             step.RequiredBy(WellKnownPipelineSteps.Publish);

src/Aspire.Hosting/ApplicationModel/ProjectResource.cs

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ public ProjectResource(string name) : base(name)
             var buildStep = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = $"build-{name}",
+                Description = $"Builds the container image for the {name} project.",
                 Action = BuildProjectImage,
                 Tags = [WellKnownPipelineTags.BuildCompute],
                 RequiredBySteps = [WellKnownPipelineSteps.Build],

src/Aspire.Hosting/ContainerResourceBuilderExtensions.cs

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ internal static IResourceBuilder<T> EnsureBuildPipelineStepAnnotation<T>(this IR
             var buildStep = new PipelineStep
             {
                 Name = $"build-{builder.Resource.Name}",
+                Description = $"Builds the container image for the {builder.Resource.Name} container.",
                 Action = async ctx =>
                 {
                     var containerImageBuilder = ctx.Services.GetRequiredService<IResourceContainerImageManager>();

src/Aspire.Hosting/Pipelines/DistributedApplicationPipeline.cs

@@ -36,12 +36,14 @@ public DistributedApplicationPipeline()
         _steps.Add(new PipelineStep
         {
             Name = WellKnownPipelineSteps.Deploy,
+            Description = "Aggregation step for all deploy operations. All deploy steps should be required by this step.",
             Action = _ => Task.CompletedTask,
         });
 
         var parameterPromptingStep = new PipelineStep
         {
             Name = WellKnownPipelineSteps.ProcessParameters,
+            Description = "Prompts for parameter values before build, publish, or deployment operations.",
             Action = async context =>
             {
                 // Parameter processing - ensure all parameters are initialized and resolved
@@ -57,6 +59,7 @@ public DistributedApplicationPipeline()
         _steps.Add(new PipelineStep
         {
             Name = WellKnownPipelineSteps.DeployPrereq,
+            Description = "Prerequisite step that runs before any deploy operations. Initializes deployment environment and manages deployment state.",
             Action = async context =>
             {
                 // REVIEW: Break this up into smaller steps
@@ -138,32 +141,37 @@ public DistributedApplicationPipeline()
         _steps.Add(new PipelineStep
         {
             Name = WellKnownPipelineSteps.Build,
+            Description = "Aggregation step for all build operations. All build steps should be required by this step.",
             Action = _ => Task.CompletedTask,
         });
 
         _steps.Add(new PipelineStep
         {
             Name = WellKnownPipelineSteps.BuildPrereq,
+            Description = "Prerequisite step that runs before any build operations.",
             Action = context => Task.CompletedTask
         });
 
-        // Add a default "Publish" meta-step that all publish steps should be required by
+        // Add a default "Publish" aggregation step that all publish steps should be required by
         _steps.Add(new PipelineStep
         {
             Name = WellKnownPipelineSteps.Publish,
+            Description = "Aggregation step for all publish operations. All publish steps should be required by this step.",
             Action = _ => Task.CompletedTask
         });
 
         _steps.Add(new PipelineStep
         {
             Name = WellKnownPipelineSteps.PublishPrereq,
+            Description = "Prerequisite step that runs before any publish operations.",
             Action = _ => Task.CompletedTask,
         });
 
         // Add diagnostic step for dependency graph analysis
         _steps.Add(new PipelineStep
         {
             Name = WellKnownPipelineSteps.Diagnostics,
+            Description = "Dumps dependency graph information for troubleshooting pipeline execution.",
             Action = async context =>
             {
                 // Use the resolved pipeline data from the last ExecuteAsync call
@@ -805,14 +813,20 @@ private static void DumpDependencyGraphDiagnostics(
         // Detailed step analysis
         sb.AppendLine("DETAILED STEP ANALYSIS");
         sb.AppendLine("======================");
-        sb.AppendLine("Shows each step's dependencies, associated resources, and tags.");
+        sb.AppendLine("Shows each step's dependencies, associated resources, tags, and descriptions.");
         sb.AppendLine("✓ = dependency exists, ? = dependency missing");
         sb.AppendLine();
 
         foreach (var step in allSteps.OrderBy(s => s.Name, StringComparer.Ordinal))
         {
             sb.AppendLine(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, $"Step: {step.Name}");
 
+            // Show description if available
+            if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(step.Description))
+            {
+                sb.AppendLine(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture, $"    Description: {step.Description}");
+            }
+
             // Show dependencies
             if (step.DependsOnSteps.Count > 0)
             {

src/Aspire.Hosting/Pipelines/PipelineStep.cs

@@ -19,6 +19,15 @@ public class PipelineStep
     /// </summary>
     public required string Name { get; init; }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Gets or initializes the description of the step.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <remarks>
+    /// The description provides human-readable context about what the step does,
+    /// helping users and tools understand the purpose of the step.
+    /// </remarks>
+    public string? Description { get; init; }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Gets or initializes the action to execute for this step.
     /// </summary>

src/Aspire.Hosting/Pipelines/WellKnownPipelineSteps.cs

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ namespace Aspire.Hosting.Pipelines;
 public static class WellKnownPipelineSteps
 {
     /// <summary>
-    /// The meta-step that coordinates all publish operations.
+    /// Aggregation step for all publish operations.
     /// All publish steps should be required by this step.
     /// </summary>
     public const string Publish = "publish";
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ public static class WellKnownPipelineSteps
     public const string PublishPrereq = "publish-prereq";
 
     /// <summary>
-    /// The meta-step that coordinates all deploy operations.
+    /// Aggregation step for all deploy operations.
     /// All deploy steps should be required by this step.
     /// </summary>
     public const string Deploy = "deploy";

src/Aspire.Hosting/Publishing/ManifestPublishingExtensions.cs

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ public static IDistributedApplicationPipeline AddManifestPublishing(this IDistri
         var step = new PipelineStep
         {
             Name = "publish-manifest",
+            Description = "Publishes the Aspire application model as a JSON manifest file.",
             Action = async context =>
             {
                 var loggerFactory = context.Services.GetRequiredService<ILoggerFactory>();