Backstage Roadmap Plugin Backend

This is the backend part of the Roadmap Plugin for Backstage, providing API endpoints to manage a public product roadmap with features, voting, and comments.

Architecture

This plugin follows a layered architecture with clear separation of concerns:

1. Database Layer

• RoadmapDatabaseClient: Handles direct database operations through Knex
• Uses transactions for all write operations to ensure data consistency
• Maps database errors to Backstage's error types for consistent error handling

2. Service Layer

• Implements business logic and validation rules
• Services include:
  • FeatureService: Feature management and validation
  • CommentService: Comment creation and retrieval
  • VoteService: Vote toggling and counting
  • PermissionService: Authorization and permission checks

3. Route Layer

• RESTful API endpoints that connect to frontend
• Routes include:
  • /features: CRUD operations for roadmap items
  • /comments: Add and retrieve comments for features
  • /votes: Toggle votes and get vote counts
  • /permissions: Check user permissions

4. Error Handling

• Uses Backstage's built-in error types and middleware
• Errors bubble up through layers and are handled centrally
• Provides consistent error responses with appropriate HTTP status codes

API Endpoints

Features

• GET /features: Get all roadmap features
• POST /features: Create a new feature suggestion
• GET /features/:id: Get a specific feature
• PUT /features/:id/status: Update feature status (admin only)

Comments

• GET /comments?featureId=123: Get comments for a feature
• POST /comments: Add a comment to a feature

Votes

• POST /votes/:featureId: Toggle a vote on a feature
• GET /votes/:featureId/count: Get vote count for a feature
• GET /votes/counts?ids=123,456: Get vote counts for multiple features
• GET /votes/:featureId/user: Check if current user has voted

Permissions

• GET /permissions/check-admin: Check if current user is an admin

Development

Database Schema

The plugin sets up three main tables:

• features: Roadmap items with title, description, status, etc.
• comments: User comments on features
• votes: User votes on features with unique constraint

Permission Model

• Uses Backstage's permission framework
• Allows configuration of admin users through app-config.yaml
• Supports both config-based permissions and Backstage's permission framework

Error Handling Strategy

This plugin follows Backstage's error handling patterns:

• InputError: For validation failures (400 errors)
• NotFoundError: When resources don't exist (404 errors)
• NotAllowedError: For authorization failures (403 errors)
• ConflictError: For database conflicts (409 errors)

Errors bubble up through layers to be handled by Backstage's middleware.