backstage-edp/README.md

EDP Backstage

The EDP bespoke version of backstage.

With respect to the CNOE stack (where eDF originates from) it is comparable to https://github.com/cnoe-io/backstage-app

At the time writing CNOE-backstage-app is "version": "1.28.4"

Container Images

Container images are pushed to the Cefor Container Registry and available here.

Local Development

Use of edpbuilder is recommended for local setup.

Create your local cluster

Once edpbuilder is installed on your computer, create a stack that you are interested in. For example:

Hint: From here on this is the old CNOE README .... no guarantee that this works as described!

Update Backstage application config

Once all ArgoCD applications are healthy, you need to update a few fields in the app-config.yaml file.

Update control plane URL

The control plane port must be updated every time a cluster is created. Run the kubectl cluster-info command to get the control plane URL. Once you have your URL, update your app-config.yaml file at this line.

For example:

$ kubectl cluster-info

Kubernetes control plane is running at https://127.0.0.1:36463
CoreDNS is running at https://127.0.0.1:36463/api/v1/namespaces/kube-system/services/kube-dns:dns/proxy

For this particular example output, the https://127.0.0.1:36463 above is the URL you need to use in your app-config.yaml.

Update service account token

Since tokens are generated each time the backstage service account is created, you need to update this value as well. The command to retrieve the service account token is:

kubectl -n backstage exec -it deploy/backstage -- cat /var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/token

Copy the token value and updated the app-config file at this line.

For example:

$ kubectl -n backstage exec -it deploy/backstage -- cat /var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/token

eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsImtpZCI6IkRxbDRCSnNicjFwekFqdmxwNDc5MHJqeUlFSjhxNHU0LV95OC1s...

If you do not want to place the token value in your file, you can use environment variables instead:

1. Set this line value to be ${BACKSTAGE_SA_TOKEN}.
2. Then export the token value:

   export BACKSTAGE_SA_TOKEN=$(kubectl -n backstage exec -it deploy/backstage -- cat /var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/token)
   

Update ArgoCD token

ArgoCD admin passwords are generated on each fresh installation. You need to update the configuration file accordingly. To obtain your password, run: ./idpbuilder get secrets -p argocd. Then update this line

For example:

$ ./idpbuilder get secrets -p argocd

---------------------------
Name: argocd-initial-admin-secret
Namespace: argocd
Data:
  password : abc
  username : admin

Update Gitea Credentials

Gitea admin passwords are generated on each fresh installation as well. To obtain your password, run: ./idpbuilder get secrets -p argocd. Then update this line and this line.

For example:

$ ./idpbuilder get secrets -p gitea

---------------------------
Name: gitea-credential
Namespace: gitea
Data:
  password : abc
  username : giteaAdmin

Start Backstage processes

Once the app-config.yaml file is updated, you are ready to start your backstage instance. For development purposes, using two terminal windows or tabs is recommended. You can also run them through your favorite IDE.

In the first terminal tab, install dependencies and start the backend.

yarn install
yarn run start-backend

In the first terminal tab, run the frontend.

yarn run start