scaffolder-backend-module-copier

Welcome to the fetch:copier action for the scaffolder-backend.

Getting started

You need to configure the action in your backend:

From your Backstage root directory

# From your Backstage root directory
yarn add --cwd packages/backend @diamondlightsource/plugin-scaffolder-backend-module-copier

Configure the action within packages/backend/src/plugins/scaffolder.ts: (you can check the docs to see all options):

import { CatalogClient } from '@backstage/catalog-client';
import { ScmIntegrations } from '@backstage/integration';
import {
  createBuiltinActions,
  createRouter,
} from '@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend';
import { createFetchCopierAction } from '@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend-module-copier';
import { Router } from 'express';
import type { PluginEnvironment } from '../types';

export default async function createPlugin(
  env: PluginEnvironment,
): Promise<Router> {
  const catalogClient = new CatalogClient({
    discoveryApi: env.discovery,
  });
  const integrations = ScmIntegrations.fromConfig(env.config);
  
  const builtInActions = createBuiltinActions({
    integrations,
    catalogClient,
    config: env.config,
    reader: env.reader,
  });
  const actions = [
    ...builtInActions, 
    createFetchCopierAction({ integrations, reader: env.reader })
  ];
  
  return await createRouter({
    catalogClient,
    actions,
    logger: env.logger,
    config: env.config,
    database: env.database,
    reader: env.reader,
    identity: env.identity,
    scheduler: env.scheduler,
  });
}

After that you can use the action in your template:

apiVersion: scaffolder.backstage.io/v1beta3
kind: Template
metadata:
  name: copier-demo
  title: Copier Test
  description: Copier example
spec:
  owner: backstage/techdocs-core
  type: service

  parameters:
    - title: Fill in some steps
      required:
        - name
        - owner
      properties:
        name:
          title: Name
          type: string
          description: Unique name of the component
          ui:autofocus: true
          ui:options:
            rows: 5
        owner:
          title: Owner
          type: string
          description: Owner of the component
          ui:field: OwnerPicker
          ui:options:
            allowedKinds:
              - Group
        system:
          title: System
          type: string
          description: System of the component
          ui:field: EntityPicker
          ui:options:
            allowedKinds:
              - System
            defaultKind: System

    - title: Choose a location
      required:
        - repoUrl
        - dryRun
      properties:
        repoUrl:
          title: Repository Location
          type: string
          ui:field: RepoUrlPicker
          ui:options:
            allowedHosts:
              - github.com
        dryRun:
          title: Only perform a dry run, don't publish anything
          type: boolean
          default: false

  steps:
    - id: fetch-base
      name: Fetch Base
      action: fetch:copier
      input:
        url: "<complete url to template repo>"
        values:
          name: ${{ parameters.name }}
          owner: ${{ parameters.owner }}
          system: ${{ parameters.system }}
          destination: ${{ parameters.repoUrl | parseRepoUrl }}

    - id: publish
      if: ${{ parameters.dryRun !== true }}
      name: Publish
      action: publish:github
      input:
        allowedHosts:
          - github.com
        description: This is ${{ parameters.name }}
        repoUrl: ${{ parameters.repoUrl }}

    - name: Results
      if: ${{ parameters.dryRun }}
      action: debug:log
      input:
        listWorkspace: true

  output:
    links:
      - title: Repository
        url: ${{ steps.publish.output.remoteUrl }}

You can also visit the /create/actions route in your Backstage application to find out more about the parameters this action accepts when it's installed to configure how you like.

Environment setup

The environment needs to have copier installed and be available in the PATH.

You can do so by including the following lines in the last step of your Dockerfile:

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends python3-pip
RUN pip install --break-system-packages copier