Backstage MCP Server

This is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for searching Backstage catalog entries, API specifications, and technical documentation.

Features

• Search for entities in the Backstage catalog
• Search for API specifications
• Search for technical documentation

Setup

1. Install the package:

npm install backstage-mcp-server

2. Create an mcp.json file in your project:

For authenticated Backstage instances:

{
  "servers": {
    "backstage-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["backstage-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "BACKSTAGE_URL": "http://localhost:7007",
        "BACKSTAGE_TOKEN": "your-backstage-access-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

For guest mode (no authentication required):

{
  "servers": {
    "backstage-search": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["backstage-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "BACKSTAGE_URL": "http://localhost:7007"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Configure the environment variables:

• BACKSTAGE_URL: Your Backstage instance URL (defaults to http://localhost:7007)
• BACKSTAGE_TOKEN: Your Backstage access token (required for authentication)

To obtain a Backstage access token:

1. Log in to your Backstage instance
2. Go to your user settings
3. Generate a new token with appropriate permissions for reading the catalog

Note: If your Backstage instance is configured for guest mode and allows unauthenticated access to the catalog, you can omit the BACKSTAGE_TOKEN environment variable.

4. Configure Claude for Desktop: Copy the contents of your mcp.json to your Claude for Desktop configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %AppData%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Available Tools

1. search-catalog: Search for entities in the Backstage catalog

   • Parameters:
     • query: Search query for finding entities
     • kind (optional): Filter by entity kind (e.g., 'Component', 'API')

2. search-api-specs: Search for API specifications in the catalog

   • Parameters:
     • query: Search query for finding API specs

3. search-tech-docs: Search for technical documentation

   • Parameters:
     • query: Search query for finding technical documentation

Example Queries

You can ask Claude questions like:

• "Find all API specifications related to authentication"
• "Search for components in the catalog that handle user data"
• "Find technical documentation about deployment processes"