Configuring plugins in Red Hat Developer Hub

Red Hat Developer Hub 1.2

Red Hat Customer Content Services

Abstract

Red Hat Developer Hub is a developer platform for building developer portals. You can add and configure plugins in Developer Hub to access various software development tools.

Preface

The Red Hat Developer Hub is an enterprise-grade, integrated developer platform, extended through plugins, that helps reduce the friction and frustration of developers while boosting their productivity.

Red Hat Developer Hub support

If you experience difficulty with a procedure described in this documentation, visit the Red Hat Customer Portal. You can use the Red Hat Customer Portal for the following purposes:

To search or browse through the Red Hat Knowledgebase of technical support articles about Red Hat products.
To create a support case for Red Hat Global Support Services (GSS). For support case creation, select Red Hat Developer Hub as the product and select the appropriate product version.

Chapter 1. Plugins in Red Hat Developer Hub

The Red Hat Developer Hub application offers a unified platform with various plugins. Using the plugin ecosystem within the Developer Hub application, you can access any kind of development infrastructure or software development tool.

The plugins in Developer Hub maximize the productivity and streamline the development workflows by maintaining the consistency in the overall user experience.

Chapter 2. Dynamic plugin installation

The dynamic plugin support is based on the backend plugin manager package, which is a service that scans a configured root directory (dynamicPlugins.rootDirectory in the app config) for dynamic plugin packages and loads them dynamically.

You can use the dynamic plugins that come preinstalled with Red Hat Developer Hub or install external dynamic plugins from a public NPM registry.

2.1. Viewing installed plugins

Using the Dynamic Plugins Info front-end plugin, you can view plugins that are currently installed in your Red Hat Developer Hub application. This plugin is enabled by default.

Procedure

Open your Developer Hub application and click Administration.
Go to the Plugins tab to view a list of installed plugins and related information.

2.2. Preinstalled dynamic plugins

Red Hat Developer Hub is preinstalled with a selection of dynamic plugins. The dynamic plugins that require custom configuration are disabled by default.

For a complete list of dynamic plugins that are preinstalled in this release of Developer Hub, see the Dynamic plugins support matrix.

Upon application startup, for each plugin that is disabled by default, the install-dynamic-plugins init container within the Developer Hub pod log displays a message similar to the following:

======= Skipping disabled dynamic plugin ./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-catalog-backend-module-github-dynamic

To enable this plugin, add a package with the same name to the Helm chart and change the value in the disabled field to ‘false’. For example:

global:
  dynamic:
    includes:
      - dynamic-plugins.default.yaml
    plugins:
      - package: ./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-catalog-backend-module-github-dynamic
        disabled: false

Note

The default configuration for a plugin is extracted from the dynamic-plugins.default.yaml` file, however, you can use a pluginConfig entry to override the default configuration.

2.2.1. Preinstalled dynamic plugin descriptions and details

Important

Technology Preview features are not supported with Red Hat production service level agreements (SLAs), might not be functionally complete, and Red Hat does not recommend using them for production. These features provide early access to upcoming product features, enabling customers to test functionality and provide feedback during the development process.

For more information on Red Hat Technology Preview features, see Technology Preview Features Scope.

Additional detail on how Red Hat provides support for bundled community dynamic plugins is available on the Red Hat Developer Support Policy page.

There are 60 plugins available in Red Hat Developer Hub. See the following table for more information:

Table 2.1. Dynamic plugins support matrix
Name	Plugin	Role	Version	Support Level	Path	Required Variables	Default
3scale	@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-3scale-backend	Backend	1.5.15	Red Hat Tech Preview	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-3scale-backend-dynamic	`THREESCALE_BASE_URL` `THREESCALE_ACCESS_TOKEN`	Disabled
AAP	@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-aap-backend	Backend	1.6.15	Red Hat Tech Preview	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-aap-backend-dynamic	`AAP_BASE_URL` `AAP_AUTH_TOKEN`	Disabled
ACR	@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-acr	Frontend	1.4.13	Red Hat Tech Preview	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-acr		Disabled
Analytics Provider Segment	@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-analytics-provider-segment	Frontend	1.4.9	Production	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-analytics-provider-segment	`SEGMENT_WRITE_KEY` `SEGMENT_TEST_MODE`	Enabled
Argo CD	@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-argocd	Frontend	1.2.3	Production	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-argocd		Disabled
Argo CD	@roadiehq/backstage-plugin-argo-cd	Frontend	2.6.5	Production	./dynamic-plugins/dist/roadiehq-backstage-plugin-argo-cd		Disabled
Argo CD	@roadiehq/backstage-plugin-argo-cd-backend	Backend	3.0.2	Production	./dynamic-plugins/dist/roadiehq-backstage-plugin-argo-cd-backend-dynamic	`ARGOCD_USERNAME` `ARGOCD_PASSWORD` `ARGOCD_INSTANCE1_URL` `ARGOCD_AUTH_TOKEN` `ARGOCD_INSTANCE2_URL` `ARGOCD_AUTH_TOKEN2`	Disabled
Argo CD	@roadiehq/scaffolder-backend-argocd	Backend	1.1.27	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/roadiehq-scaffolder-backend-argocd-dynamic	`ARGOCD_USERNAME` `ARGOCD_PASSWORD` `ARGOCD_INSTANCE1_URL` `ARGOCD_AUTH_TOKEN` `ARGOCD_INSTANCE2_URL` `ARGOCD_AUTH_TOKEN2`	Disabled
Azure	@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend-module-azure	Backend	0.1.9	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-scaffolder-backend-module-azure-dynamic		Enabled
Azure Devops	@backstage/plugin-azure-devops	Frontend	0.4.4	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-azure-devops		Disabled
Azure Devops	@backstage/plugin-azure-devops-backend	Backend	0.6.5	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-azure-devops-backend-dynamic	`AZURE_TOKEN` `AZURE_ORG`	Disabled
Azure Repositories	@parfuemerie/douglas-scaffolder-backend-module-azure-repositories	Backend	0.2.7	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/parfuemerie-douglas-scaffolder-backend-module-azure-repositories		Disabled
Bitbucket Cloud	@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend-module-bitbucket-cloud	Backend	0.2.4	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-catalog-backend-module-bitbucket-cloud-dynamic	`BITBUCKET_WORKSPACE`	Disabled
Bitbucket Cloud	@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend-module-bitbucket-cloud	Backend	0.1.7	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-scaffolder-backend-module-bitbucket-cloud-dynamic		Enabled
Bitbucket Server	@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend-module-bitbucket-server	Backend	0.1.31	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-catalog-backend-module-bitbucket-server-dynamic	`BITBUCKET_HOST`	Disabled
Bitbucket Server	@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend-module-bitbucket-server	Backend	0.1.7	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-scaffolder-backend-module-bitbucket-server-dynamic		Enabled
Datadog	@roadiehq/backstage-plugin-datadog	Frontend	2.2.8	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/roadiehq-backstage-plugin-datadog		Disabled
Dynatrace	@backstage/plugin-dynatrace	Frontend	10.0.4	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-dynatrace		Disabled
Gerrit	@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend-module-gerrit	Backend	0.1.9	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-scaffolder-backend-module-gerrit-dynamic		Enabled
GitHub	@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend-module-github	Backend	0.6.0	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-catalog-backend-module-github-dynamic	`GITHUB_ORG`	Disabled
GitHub	@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend-module-github	Backend	0.2.7	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-scaffolder-backend-module-github-dynamic		Enabled
GitHub Actions	@backstage/plugin-github-actions	Frontend	0.6.16	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-github-actions		Disabled
GitHub Insights	@roadiehq/backstage-plugin-github-insights	Frontend	2.3.29	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/roadiehq-backstage-plugin-github-insights		Disabled
GitHub Issues	@backstage/plugin-github-issues	Frontend	0.4.2	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-github-issues		Disabled
GitHub Org	@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend-module-github-org	Backend	0.1.12	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-catalog-backend-module-github-org-dynamic	`GITHUB_URL` `GITHUB_ORG`	Disabled
GitHub Pull Requests	@roadiehq/backstage-plugin-github-pull-requests	Frontend	2.5.26	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/roadiehq-backstage-plugin-github-pull-requests		Disabled
GitLab	@immobiliarelabs/backstage-plugin-gitlab	Frontend	6.5.0	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/immobiliarelabs-backstage-plugin-gitlab		Disabled
GitLab	@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend-module-gitlab	Backend	0.3.15	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-catalog-backend-module-gitlab-dynamic		Disabled
GitLab	@immobiliarelabs/backstage-plugin-gitlab-backend	Backend	6.5.0	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/immobiliarelabs-backstage-plugin-gitlab-backend-dynamic	`GITLAB_HOST` `GITLAB_TOKEN`	Disabled
GitLab	@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend-module-gitlab	Backend	0.3.3	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-scaffolder-backend-module-gitlab-dynamic		Enabled
GitLab Org	@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend-module-gitlab-org	Backend	0.3.10	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-catalog-backend-module-gitlab-org-dynamic		Disabled
Http Request	@roadiehq/scaffolder-backend-module-http-request	Backend	4.3.2	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/roadiehq-scaffolder-backend-module-http-request-dynamic		Enabled
Jenkins	@backstage/plugin-jenkins	Frontend	0.9.10	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-jenkins		Disabled
Jenkins	@backstage/plugin-jenkins-backend	Backend	0.4.5	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-jenkins-backend-dynamic	`JENKINS_URL` `JENKINS_USERNAME` `JENKINS_TOKEN`	Disabled
JFrog Artifactory	@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-jfrog-artifactory	Frontend	1.4.11	Red Hat Tech Preview	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-jfrog-artifactory		Disabled
Jira	@roadiehq/backstage-plugin-jira	Frontend	2.5.8	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/roadiehq-backstage-plugin-jira		Disabled
Keycloak	@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-keycloak-backend	Backend	1.9.12	Production	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-keycloak-backend-dynamic	`KEYCLOAK_BASE_URL` `KEYCLOAK_LOGIN_REALM` `KEYCLOAK_REALM` `KEYCLOAK_CLIENT_ID` `KEYCLOAK_CLIENT_SECRET`	Disabled
Kubernetes	@backstage/plugin-kubernetes	Frontend	0.11.9	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-kubernetes		Disabled
Kubernetes	@backstage/plugin-kubernetes-backend	Backend	0.17.0	Production	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-kubernetes-backend-dynamic	`K8S_CLUSTER_NAME` `K8S_CLUSTER_URL` `K8S_CLUSTER_TOKEN`	Disabled
Lighthouse	@backstage/plugin-lighthouse	Frontend	0.4.20	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-lighthouse		Disabled
Nexus Repository Manager	@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-nexus-repository-manager	Frontend	1.6.10	Red Hat Tech Preview	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-nexus-repository-manager		Disabled
OCM	@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-ocm	Frontend	4.1.8	Production	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-ocm		Disabled
OCM	@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-ocm-backend	Backend	4.0.8	Production	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-ocm-backend-dynamic	`OCM_HUB_NAME` `OCM_HUB_URL` `moc_infra_token`	Disabled
PagerDuty	@pagerduty/backstage-plugin	Frontend	0.12.0	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/pagerduty-backstage-plugin		Disabled
Quay	@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-quay	Frontend	1.7.8	Production	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-quay		Disabled
Quay	@janus-idp/backstage-scaffolder-backend-module-quay	Backend	1.4.12	Production	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-scaffolder-backend-module-quay-dynamic		Enabled
RBAC	@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-rbac	Frontend	1.24.1	Production	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-rbac		Disabled
Regex	@janus-idp/backstage-scaffolder-backend-module-regex	Backend	1.4.12	Production	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-scaffolder-backend-module-regex-dynamic		Enabled
Scaffolder Relation Processor	@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-catalog-backend-module-scaffolder-relation-processor	Backend	1.0.3	Red Hat Tech Preview	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-catalog-backend-module-scaffolder-relation-processor-dynamic		Enabled
Security Insights	@roadiehq/backstage-plugin-security-insights	Frontend	2.3.17	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/roadiehq-backstage-plugin-security-insights		Disabled
ServiceNow	@janus-idp/backstage-scaffolder-backend-module-servicenow	Backend	1.4.14	Red Hat Tech Preview	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-scaffolder-backend-module-servicenow-dynamic	`SERVICENOW_BASE_URL` `SERVICENOW_USERNAME` `SERVICENOW_PASSWORD`	Disabled
SonarQube	@backstage/plugin-sonarqube	Frontend	0.7.17	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-sonarqube		Disabled
SonarQube	@backstage/plugin-sonarqube-backend	Backend	0.2.20	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-sonarqube-backend-dynamic	`SONARQUBE_URL` `SONARQUBE_TOKEN`	Disabled
SonarQube	@janus-idp/backstage-scaffolder-backend-module-sonarqube	Backend	1.4.12	Red Hat Tech Preview	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-scaffolder-backend-module-sonarqube-dynamic		Disabled
TechDocs	@backstage/plugin-techdocs	Frontend	1.10.4	Production	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-techdocs		Enabled
TechDocs	@backstage/plugin-techdocs-backend	Backend	1.10.4	Production	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-techdocs-backend-dynamic		Enabled
Tech Radar	@backstage/plugin-tech-radar	Frontend	0.7.4	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-tech-radar		Disabled
Tekton	@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-tekton	Frontend	3.7.7	Production	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-tekton		Disabled
Topology	@janus-idp/backstage-plugin-topology	Frontend	1.21.10	Production	./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-topology		Disabled
Utils	@roadiehq/scaffolder-backend-module-utils	Backend	1.15.3	Community Support	./dynamic-plugins/dist/roadiehq-scaffolder-backend-module-utils-dynamic		Enabled

Note

To configure Keycloak, see Installation and configuration of Keycloak.
To configure Techdocs, see reference documentation. After experimenting with basic setup, use CI/CD to generate docs and an external cloud storage when deploying TechDocs for production use-case. See also this recommended deployment approach.

2.3. Configuring dynamic plugins with the Red Hat Developer Hub Operator

You can store the configuration for dynamic plugins in a ConfigMap object that your Backstage custom resource (CR) can reference.

Note

If the pluginConfig field references environment variables, you must define the variables in your secrets-rhdh secret.

Procedure

From the OpenShift Container Platform web console, select the ConfigMaps tab.
Click Create ConfigMap.

From the Create ConfigMap page, select the YAML view option in Configure via and edit the file, if needed.

Example ConfigMap object using the GitHub dynamic plugin

kind: ConfigMap
apiVersion: v1
metadata:
  name: dynamic-plugins-rhdh
data:
  dynamic-plugins.yaml: |
    includes:
      - dynamic-plugins.default.yaml
    plugins:
      - package: './dynamic-plugins/dist/backstage-plugin-catalog-backend-module-github-dynamic'
        disabled: false
        pluginConfig:
          catalog:
            providers:
              github:
                organization: "${GITHUB_ORG}"
                schedule:
                  frequency: { minutes: 1 }
                  timeout: { minutes: 1 }
                  initialDelay: { seconds: 100 }

Click Create.
Go to the Topology view.
Click on the overflow menu for the Red Hat Developer Hub instance that you want to use and select Edit Backstage to load the YAML view of the Red Hat Developer Hub instance.

Add the dynamicPluginsConfigMapName field to your Backstage CR. For example:

apiVersion: rhdh.redhat.com/v1alpha1
kind: Backstage
metadata:
  name: my-rhdh
spec:
  application:
# ...
    dynamicPluginsConfigMapName: dynamic-plugins-rhdh
# ...

Click Save.
Navigate back to the Topology view and wait for the Red Hat Developer Hub pod to start.
Click the Open URL icon to start using the Red Hat Developer Hub platform with the new configuration changes.

Verification

Ensure that the dynamic plugins configuration has been loaded, by appending /api/dynamic-plugins-info/loaded-plugins to your Red Hat Developer Hub root URL and checking the list of plugins:

Example list of plugins

[
  {
    "name": "backstage-plugin-catalog-backend-module-github-dynamic",
    "version": "0.5.2",
    "platform": "node",
    "role": "backend-plugin-module"
  },
  {
    "name": "backstage-plugin-techdocs",
    "version": "1.10.0",
    "role": "frontend-plugin",
    "platform": "web"
  },
  {
    "name": "backstage-plugin-techdocs-backend-dynamic",
    "version": "1.9.5",
    "platform": "node",
    "role": "backend-plugin"
  },
]

2.4. Installation of dynamic plugins using the Helm chart

You can deploy a Developer Hub instance using a Helm chart, which is a flexible installation method. With the Helm chart, you can sideload dynamic plugins into your Developer Hub instance without having to recompile your code or rebuild the container.

To install dynamic plugins in Developer Hub using Helm, add the following global.dynamic parameters in your Helm chart:

plugins: the dynamic plugins list intended for installation. By default, the list is empty. You can populate the plugins list with the following fields:
- package: a package specification for the dynamic plugin package that you want to install. You can use a package for either a local or an external dynamic plugin installation. For a local installation, use a path to the local folder containing the dynamic plugin. For an external installation, use a package specification from a public NPM repository.
- integrity (required for external packages): an integrity checksum in the form of <alg>-<digest> specific to the package. Supported algorithms include sha256, sha384 and sha512.
- pluginConfig: an optional plugin-specific app-config YAML fragment. See plugin configuration for more information.
- disabled: disables the dynamic plugin if set to true. Default: false.
includes: a list of YAML files utilizing the same syntax.

Note

The plugins list in the includes file is merged with the plugins list in the main Helm values. If a plugin package is mentioned in both plugins lists, the plugins fields in the main Helm values override the plugins fields in the includes file. The default configuration includes the dynamic-plugins.default.yaml file, which contains all of the dynamic plugins preinstalled in Developer Hub, whether enabled or disabled by default.

2.4.1. Obtaining the integrity checksum

To obtain the integrity checksum, enter the following command:

npm view <package name>@<version> dist.integrity

2.4.2. Example Helm chart configurations for dynamic plugin installations

The following examples demonstrate how to configure the Helm chart for specific types of dynamic plugin installations.

Configuring a local plugin and an external plugin when the external plugin requires a specific app-config

global:
  dynamic:
    plugins:
      - package: <alocal package-spec used by npm pack>
      - package: <external package-spec used by npm pack>
        integrity: sha512-<some hash>
        pluginConfig: ...

Disabling a plugin from an included file

global:
  dynamic:
    includes:
      - dynamic-plugins.default.yaml
    plugins:
      - package: <some imported plugins listed in dynamic-plugins.default.yaml>
        disabled: true

Enabling a plugin from an included file

global:
  dynamic:
    includes:
      - dynamic-plugins.default.yaml
    plugins:
      - package: <some imported plugins listed in dynamic-plugins.custom.yaml>
        disabled: false

Enabling a plugin that is disabled in an included file

global:
  dynamic:
    includes:
      - dynamic-plugins.default.yaml
    plugins:
      - package: <some imported plugins listed in dynamic-plugins.custom.yaml>
        disabled: false

2.4.3. Installing external dynamic plugins using a Helm chart

The NPM registry contains external dynamic plugins that you can use for demonstration purposes. For example, the following community plugins are available in the janus-idp organization in the NPMJS repository:

Notifications (frontend and backend)
Kubernetes actions (scaffolder actions)

To install the Notifications and Kubernetes actions plugins, include them in the Helm chart values in the global.dynamic.plugins list as shown in the following example:

global:
  dynamic:
    plugins:
      - package: '@janus-idp/plugin-notifications-backend-dynamic@1.3.6'
        # Integrity can be found at https://registry.npmjs.org/@janus-idp/plugin-notifications-backend-dynamic
        integrity: 'sha512-Qd8pniy1yRx+x7LnwjzQ6k9zP+C1yex24MaCcx7dGDPT/XbTokwoSZr4baSSn8jUA6P45NUUevu1d629mG4JGQ=='
      - package: '@janus-idp/plugin-notifications@1.1.12
'
        # https://registry.npmjs.org/@janus-idp/plugin-notifications

        integrity: 'sha512-GCdEuHRQek3ay428C8C4wWgxjNpNwCXgIdFbUUFGCLLkBFSaOEw+XaBvWaBGtQ5BLgE3jQEUxa+422uzSYC5oQ=='
        pluginConfig:
          dynamicPlugins:
            frontend:
              janus-idp.backstage-plugin-notifications:
                appIcons:
                  - name: notificationsIcon
                    module: NotificationsPlugin
                    importName: NotificationsActiveIcon
                dynamicRoutes:
                  - path: /notifications
                    importName: NotificationsPage
                    module: NotificationsPlugin
                    menuItem:
                      icon: notificationsIcon
                      text: Notifications
                    config:
                      pollingIntervalMs: 5000
      - package: '@janus-idp/backstage-scaffolder-backend-module-kubernetes-dynamic@1.3.5'
        # https://registry.npmjs.org/@janus-idp/backstage-scaffolder-backend-module-kubernetes-dynamic
        integrity: 'sha512-19ie+FM3QHxWYPyYzE0uNdI5K8M4vGZ0SPeeTw85XPROY1DrIY7rMm2G0XT85L0ZmntHVwc9qW+SbHolPg/qRA=='
          proxy:
            endpoints:
              /explore-backend-completed:
                target: 'http://localhost:7017'
      - package: '@dfatwork-pkgs/search-backend-module-explore-wrapped-dynamic@0.1.3-next.1'
        # https://registry.npmjs.org/@dfatwork-pkgs/search-backend-module-explore-wrapped-dynamic
        integrity: 'sha512-mv6LS8UOve+eumoMCVypGcd7b/L36lH2z11tGKVrt+m65VzQI4FgAJr9kNCrjUZPMyh36KVGIjYqsu9+kgzH5A=='
      - package: '@dfatwork-pkgs/plugin-catalog-backend-module-test-dynamic@0.0.0'
        # https://registry.npmjs.org/@dfatwork-pkgs/plugin-catalog-backend-module-test-dynamic
        integrity: 'sha512-YsrZMThxJk7cYJU9FtAcsTCx9lCChpytK254TfGb3iMAYQyVcZnr5AA/AU+hezFnXLsr6gj8PP7z/mCZieuuDA=='

2.5. Using a custom NPM registry for dynamic plugin packages

Note

You can install external plugins in an air-gapped environment by setting up a custom NPM registry.

You can configure the NPM registry URL and authentication information for dynamic plugin packages using a Helm chart. For dynamic plugin packages obtained through npm pack, you can use a .npmrc file.

Using the Helm chart, add the .npmrc file to the NPM registry by creating a secret named dynamic-plugins-npmrc with the following content:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: dynamic-plugins-npmrc
type: Opaque
stringData:
  .npmrc: |
    registry=<registry-url>
    //<registry-url>:_authToken=<auth-token>
          ...

2.6. Basic configuration of dynamic plugins

Some dynamic plugins require environment variables to be set. If a mandatory environment variable is not set, and the plugin is enabled, then the application might fail at startup.

The mandatory environment variables for each plugin are listed in the Dynamic plugins support matrix.

Note

Zib-bomb detection When installing some dynamic plugin containing large files, if the installation script considers the package archive to be a Zib-Bomb, the installation fails.

To increase the maximum permitted size of a file inside a package archive, you can increase the MAX_ENTRY_SIZE environment value of the deployment install-dynamic-plugins initContainer from the default size of 20000000 bytes.

2.7. Installing and using Ansibe plug-ins for Red Hat Developer Hub

Ansible plug-ins for Red Hat Developer Hub deliver an Ansible-specific portal experience with curated learning paths, push-button content creation, integrated development tools, and other opinionated resources.

Important

The Ansible plug-ins are a Technology Preview feature only.

For more information on Red Hat Technology Preview features, see Technology Preview Features Scope.

Additional detail on how Red Hat provides support for bundled community dynamic plugins is available on the Red Hat Developer Support Policy page.

2.7.1. For administrators

To install and configure the Ansible plugins, see Installing Ansible plug-ins for Red Hat Developer Hub.

2.7.2. For users

To use the Ansible plugins, see Using Ansible plug-ins for Red Hat Developer Hub.

2.8. Installation and configuration of Keycloak

The Keycloak backend plugin, which integrates Keycloak into Developer Hub, has the following capabilities:

Synchronization of Keycloak users in a realm.
Synchronization of Keycloak groups and their users in a realm.

2.8.1. For administrators

2.8.1.1. Installation

The Keycloak plugin is pre-loaded in Developer Hub with basic configuration properties. To enable it, set the disabled property to false as follows:

global:
  dynamic:
    includes:
      - dynamic-plugins.default.yaml
    plugins:
      - package: ./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-keycloak-backend-dynamic
        disabled: false

2.8.1.2. Basic configuration

To enable the Keycloak plugin, you must set the following environment variables:

KEYCLOAK_BASE_URL
KEYCLOAK_LOGIN_REALM
KEYCLOAK_REALM
KEYCLOAK_CLIENT_ID
KEYCLOAK_CLIENT_SECRET

2.8.1.3. Advanced configuration

Schedule configuration

You can configure a schedule in the app-config.yaml file, as follows:

     catalog:
       providers:
         keycloakOrg:
           default:
             # ...
             # highlight-add-start
             schedule: # optional; same options as in TaskScheduleDefinition
               # supports cron, ISO duration, "human duration" as used in code
               frequency: { minutes: 1 }
               # supports ISO duration, "human duration" as used in code
               timeout: { minutes: 1 }
               initialDelay: { seconds: 15 }
               # highlight-add-end

Note

If you have made any changes to the schedule in the app-config.yaml file, then restart to apply the changes.

Keycloak query parameters

You can override the default Keycloak query parameters in the app-config.yaml file, as follows:

   catalog:
     providers:
       keycloakOrg:
         default:
           # ...
           # highlight-add-start
           userQuerySize: 500 # Optional
           groupQuerySize: 250 # Optional
           # highlight-add-end

Communication between Developer Hub and Keycloak is enabled by using the Keycloak API. Username and password, or client credentials are supported authentication methods.

The following table describes the parameters that you can configure to enable the plugin under catalog.providers.keycloakOrg.<ENVIRONMENT_NAME> object in the app-config.yaml file:

Name	Description	Default Value	Required
`baseUrl`	Location of the Keycloak server, such as `https://localhost:8443/auth`. Note that the newer versions of Keycloak omit the `/auth` context path.	""	Yes
`realm`	Realm to synchronize	`master`	No
`loginRealm`	Realm used to authenticate	`master`	No
`username`	Username to authenticate	""	Yes if using password based authentication
`password`	Password to authenticate	""	Yes if using password based authentication
`clientId`	Client ID to authenticate	""	Yes if using client credentials based authentication
`clientSecret`	Client Secret to authenticate	""	Yes if using client credentials based authentication
`userQuerySize`	Number of users to query at a time	`100`	No
`groupQuerySize`	Number of groups to query at a time	`100`	No

When using client credentials, the access type must be set to confidential and service accounts must be enabled. You must also add the following roles from the realm-management client role:

query-groups
query-users
view-users

2.8.1.4. Limitations

If you have self-signed or corporate certificate issues, you can set the following environment variable before starting Developer Hub:

NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=0

Note

The solution of setting the environment variable is not recommended.

2.8.2. For users

2.8.2.1. Import of users and groups in Developer Hub using the Keycloak plugin

After configuring the plugin successfully, the plugin imports the users and groups each time when started.

Note

If you set up a schedule, users and groups will also be imported.

After the first import is complete, you can select User to list the users from the catalog page:

You can see the list of users on the page:

When you select a user, you can see the information imported from Keycloak:

You can also select a group, view the list, and select or view the information imported from Keycloak for a group:

2.9. Installation and configuration of Nexus Repository Manager

The Nexus Repository Manager plugin displays the information about your build artifacts in your Developer Hub application. The build artifacts are available in the Nexus Repository Manager.

Important

The Nexus Repository Manager plugin is a Technology Preview feature only.

For more information on Red Hat Technology Preview features, see Technology Preview Features Scope.

Additional detail on how Red Hat provides support for bundled community dynamic plugins is available on the Red Hat Developer Support Policy page.

2.9.1. For administrators

2.9.1.1. Installing and configuring the Nexus Repository Manager plugin

Installation

The Nexus Repository Manager plugin is pre-loaded in Developer Hub with basic configuration properties. To enable it, set the disabled property to false as follows:

global:
  dynamic:
    includes:
      - dynamic-plugins.default.yaml
    plugins:
      - package: ./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-nexus-repository-manager
        disabled: false

Configuration

Set the proxy to the desired Nexus Repository Manager server in the app-config.yaml file as follows:

proxy:
    '/nexus-repository-manager':
    target: 'https://<NEXUS_REPOSITORY_MANAGER_URL>'
    headers:
        X-Requested-With: 'XMLHttpRequest'
        # Uncomment the following line to access a private Nexus Repository Manager using a token
        # Authorization: 'Bearer <YOUR TOKEN>'
    changeOrigin: true
    # Change to "false" in case of using self hosted Nexus Repository Manager instance with a self-signed certificate
    secure: true

Optional: Change the base URL of Nexus Repository Manager proxy as follows:

nexusRepositoryManager:
    # default path is `/nexus-repository-manager`
    proxyPath: /custom-path

Optional: Enable the following experimental annotations:

nexusRepositoryManager:
    experimentalAnnotations: true

Annotate your entity using the following annotations:

metadata:
    annotations:
    # insert the chosen annotations here
    # example
    nexus-repository-manager/docker.image-name: `<ORGANIZATION>/<REPOSITORY>`,

2.9.2. For users

2.9.2.1. Using the Nexus Repository Manager plugin in Developer Hub

The Nexus Repository Manager is a front-end plugin that enables you to view the information about build artifacts.

Prerequisites

Your Developer Hub application is installed and running.
You have installed the Nexus Repository Manager plugin. For the installation process, see Section 2.9.1.1, “Installing and configuring the Nexus Repository Manager plugin”.

Procedure

Open your Developer Hub application and select a component from the Catalog page.
Go to the BUILD ARTIFACTS tab.
The BUILD ARTIFACTS tab contains a list of build artifacts and related information, such as VERSION, REPOSITORY, REPOSITORY TYPE, MANIFEST, MODIFIED, and SIZE.

2.10. Installation and configuration of Tekton

You can use the Tekton plugin to visualize the results of CI/CD pipeline runs on your Kubernetes or OpenShift clusters. The plugin allows users to visually see high level status of all associated tasks in the pipeline for their applications.

2.10.1. For administrators

2.10.1.1. Installation

Prerequsites

You have installed and configured the @backstage/plugin-kubernetes and @backstage/plugin-kubernetes-backend dynamic plugins.
You have configured the Kubernetes plugin to connect to the cluster using a ServiceAccount.
The ClusterRole must be granted for custom resources (PipelineRuns and TaskRuns) to the ServiceAccount accessing the cluster.
Note
If you have the RHDH Kubernetes plugin configured, then the ClusterRole is already granted.
To view the pod logs, you have granted permissions for pods/log.

You can use the following code to grant the ClusterRole for custom resources and pod logs:

kubernetes:
   ...
   customResources:
     - group: 'tekton.dev'
       apiVersion: 'v1'
       plural: 'pipelineruns'
     - group: 'tekton.dev'
       apiVersion: 'v1'


 ...
  apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
  kind: ClusterRole
  metadata:
    name: backstage-read-only
  rules:
    - apiGroups:
        - ""
      resources:
        - pods/log
      verbs:
        - get
        - list
        - watch
    ...
    - apiGroups:
        - tekton.dev
      resources:
        - pipelineruns
        - taskruns
      verbs:
        - get
        - list

You can use the prepared manifest for a read-only ClusterRole, which provides access for both Kubernetes plugin and Tekton plugin.

Add the following annotation to the entity’s catalog-info.yaml file to identify whether an entity contains the Kubernetes resources:
```
annotations:
  ...

  backstage.io/kubernetes-id: <BACKSTAGE_ENTITY_NAME>
```
You can also add the backstage.io/kubernetes-namespace annotation to identify the Kubernetes resources using the defined namespace.
```
annotations:
  ...

  backstage.io/kubernetes-namespace: <RESOURCE_NS>
```
Add the following annotation to the catalog-info.yaml file of the entity to enable the Tekton related features in RHDH. The value of the annotation identifies the name of the RHDH entity:
```
annotations:
  ...

  janus-idp.io/tekton : <BACKSTAGE_ENTITY_NAME>
```
Add a custom label selector, which RHDH uses to find the Kubernetes resources. The label selector takes precedence over the ID annotations.
```
annotations:
  ...

  backstage.io/kubernetes-label-selector: 'app=my-app,component=front-end'
```
Add the following label to the resources so that the Kubernetes plugin gets the Kubernetes resources from the requested entity:
```
labels:
  ...

  backstage.io/kubernetes-id: <BACKSTAGE_ENTITY_NAME>
```
Note
When you use the label selector, the mentioned labels must be present on the resource.

Procedure

The Tekton plugin is pre-loaded in RHDH with basic configuration properties. To enable it, set the disabled property to false as follows:

global:
  dynamic:
    includes:
      - dynamic-plugins.default.yaml
    plugins:
      - package: ./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-tekton
        disabled: false

2.10.2. For users

2.10.2.1. Using the Tekton plugin in RHDH

You can use the Tekton front-end plugin to view PipelineRun resources.

Prerequisites

You have installed the Red Hat Developer Hub (RHDH).
You have installed the Tekton plugin. For the installation process, see Installing and configuring the Tekton plugin.

Procedure

Open your RHDH application and select a component from the Catalog page.
Go to the CI tab.
The CI tab displays the list of PipelineRun resources associated with a Kubernetes cluster. The list contains pipeline run details, such as NAME, VULNERABILITIES, STATUS, TASK STATUS, STARTED, and DURATION.
Click the expand row button besides PipelineRun name in the list to view the PipelineRun visualization. The pipeline run resource includes tasks to complete. When you hover the mouse pointer on a task card, you can view the steps to complete that particular task.

2.11. Enabling and configuring Argo CD plugin

You can use the Argo CD plugin to visualize the Continuous Delivery (CD) workflows in OpenShift GitOps. This plugin provides a visual overview of the application’s status, deployment details, commit message, author of the commit, container image promoted to environment and deployment history.

2.11.1. For administrators

2.11.1.1. Enabling Argo CD plugin

Prerequisites

Add Argo CD instance information to your app-config.yaml configmap as shown in the following example:

argocd:
  appLocatorMethods:
    - type: 'config'
      instances:
        - name: argoInstance1
          url: https://argoInstance1.com
          username: ${ARGOCD_USERNAME}
          password: ${ARGOCD_PASSWORD}
        - name: argoInstance2
          url: https://argoInstance2.com
          username: ${ARGOCD_USERNAME}
          password: ${ARGOCD_PASSWORD}

Add the following annotation to the entity’s catalog-info.yaml file to identify the Argo CD applications.

annotations:
  ...
  # The label that Argo CD uses to fetch all the applications. The format to be used is label.key=label.value. For example, rht-gitops.com/janus-argocd=quarkus-app.

  argocd/app-selector: '${ARGOCD_LABEL_SELECTOR}'

(Optional) Add the following annotation to the entity’s catalog-info.yaml file to switch between Argo CD instances as shown in the following example:
```
 annotations:
   ...
    # The Argo CD instance name used in `app-config.yaml`.

    argocd/instance-name: '${ARGOCD_INSTANCE}'
```
Note
If you do not set this annotation, the Argo CD plugin defaults to the first Argo CD instance configured in app-config.yaml.

Procedure

Add the following to your dynamic-plugins ConfigMap to enable the Argo CD plugin.

global:
  dynamic:
    includes:
      - dynamic-plugins.default.yaml
    plugins:
      - package: ./dynamic-plugins/dist/roadiehq-backstage-plugin-argo-cd-backend-dynamic
        disabled: false
      - package: ./dynamic-plugins/dist/janus-idp-backstage-plugin-argocd
        disabled: false

2.11.2. For Users

Prerequisites

You have enabled the Argo CD plugin in Red Hat Developer Hub RHDH.

Procedures

Select the Catalog tab and choose the component that you want to use.
Select the CD tab to view insights into deployments managed by Argo CD.
Select an appropriate card to view the deployment details (for example, commit message, author name, and deployment history).
1. Click the link icon ( ) to open the deployment details in Argo CD.
Select the Overview tab and navigate to the Deployment summary section to review the summary of your application’s deployment across namespaces. Additionally, select an appropriate Argo CD app to open the deployment details in Argo CD, or select a commit ID from the Revision column to review the changes in GitLab or GitHub.

Additional resources

For more information on dynamic plugins, see Dynamic plugin installation.

Legal Notice

The text of and illustrations in this document are licensed by Red Hat under a Creative Commons Attribution–Share Alike 3.0 Unported license ("CC-BY-SA"). An explanation of CC-BY-SA is available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. In accordance with CC-BY-SA, if you distribute this document or an adaptation of it, you must provide the URL for the original version.

Red Hat, as the licensor of this document, waives the right to enforce, and agrees not to assert, Section 4d of CC-BY-SA to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

Red Hat, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the Shadowman logo, the Red Hat logo, JBoss, OpenShift, Fedora, the Infinity logo, and RHCE are trademarks of Red Hat, Inc., registered in the United States and other countries.

Linux® is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States and other countries.

Java® is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

XFS® is a trademark of Silicon Graphics International Corp. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries.

MySQL® is a registered trademark of MySQL AB in the United States, the European Union and other countries.

Node.js® is an official trademark of Joyent. Red Hat is not formally related to or endorsed by the official Joyent Node.js open source or commercial project.

The OpenStack® Word Mark and OpenStack logo are either registered trademarks/service marks or trademarks/service marks of the OpenStack Foundation, in the United States and other countries and are used with the OpenStack Foundation's permission. We are not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by the OpenStack Foundation, or the OpenStack community.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Configuring plugins in Red Hat Developer Hub

Preface

Red Hat Developer Hub support

Chapter 1. Plugins in Red Hat Developer Hub

Chapter 2. Dynamic plugin installation

2.1. Viewing installed plugins

2.2. Preinstalled dynamic plugins

2.2.1. Preinstalled dynamic plugin descriptions and details

2.3. Configuring dynamic plugins with the Red Hat Developer Hub Operator

2.4. Installation of dynamic plugins using the Helm chart

2.4.1. Obtaining the integrity checksum

2.4.2. Example Helm chart configurations for dynamic plugin installations

2.4.3. Installing external dynamic plugins using a Helm chart

2.5. Using a custom NPM registry for dynamic plugin packages

2.6. Basic configuration of dynamic plugins

2.7. Installing and using Ansibe plug-ins for Red Hat Developer Hub

2.7.1. For administrators

2.7.2. For users

2.8. Installation and configuration of Keycloak

2.8.1. For administrators

2.8.1.1. Installation

2.8.1.2. Basic configuration

2.8.1.3. Advanced configuration

2.8.1.4. Limitations

2.8.2. For users

2.8.2.1. Import of users and groups in Developer Hub using the Keycloak plugin

2.9. Installation and configuration of Nexus Repository Manager

2.9.1. For administrators

2.9.1.1. Installing and configuring the Nexus Repository Manager plugin

2.9.2. For users

2.9.2.1. Using the Nexus Repository Manager plugin in Developer Hub

2.10. Installation and configuration of Tekton

2.10.1. For administrators

2.10.1.1. Installation

2.10.2. For users

2.10.2.1. Using the Tekton plugin in RHDH

2.11. Enabling and configuring Argo CD plugin

2.11.1. For administrators

2.11.1.1. Enabling Argo CD plugin

2.11.2. For Users

Legal Notice

Learn

Try, buy, & sell

Communities

About Red Hat Documentation

Making open source more inclusive

About Red Hat

Red Hat legal and privacy links

Red Hat legal and privacy links