git clone https://github.com/spotify/backstage.git
cd contrib/chart/backstage
helm install backstage . \
--set appConfig.app.baseUrl="https://backstage.mydomain.com" \
--set appConfig.backend.baseUrl="https://backstage.mydomain.com" \
--set appConfig.backend.cors.origin.baseUrl="https://backstage.mydomain.com" \

This command will deploy the following pieces:

Backstage frontend
Backstage backend with scaffolder and auth plugins
(optional) a PostgreSQL instance
lighthouse plugin
ingress

After a few minutes Backstage should be up and running in your cluster under the DNS specified earlier.

Make sure to create the appropriate DNS entry in your infrastructure. To find the IP address run

$ kubectl get ingress
NAME                HOSTS   ADDRESS         PORTS   AGE
backstage-ingress   *       34.77.171.192   80      17m

Note

: this is not a production ready deployment.

Customization

Custom PostgreSQL instance

Configuring a connection to an existing PostgreSQL instance is possible through the chart's values.

First create a yaml file with the configuration you want to override, for example backstage-prod.yaml:

postgresql:
  enabled: false

appConfig:
  app:
    baseUrl: https://backstage-demo.mydomain.com
    title: Backstage
  backend:
    baseUrl: https://backstage-demo.mydomain.com
    cors:
      origin: https://backstage-demo.mydomain.com
    database:
      client: pg
      connection:
        database: backstage_plugin_catalog
        host: <host>
        user: <pg user>
        password: <password>
lighthouse:
  database:
    client: pg
    connection:
      host: <host>
      user: <pg user>
      password: <password>
      database: lighthouse_audit_service

For the CA, create a configMap named <helm_release_name>-postgres-ca with a file called ca.crt:

kubectl create configmap my-backstage --from-file=ca.crt"

Now install the helm chart:

cd contrib/chart/backstage
helm install -f backstage-prod.yaml my-backstage .

Different namespace

To install the charts a specific namespace use --namespace <ns>:

helm install -f my_values.yaml --namespace demos backstage .

Disable loading of demo data

To deploy backstage with the pre-loaded demo data disable backend.demoData:

helm install -f my_values.yaml --set backend.demoData=false backstage .

Troubleshooting

Unable to verify signature

Backend failed to start up Error: unable to verify the first certificate
    at TLSSocket.onConnectSecure (_tls_wrap.js:1501:34)
    at TLSSocket.emit (events.js:315:20)
    at TLSSocket._finishInit (_tls_wrap.js:936:8)
    at TLSWrap.ssl.onhandshakedone (_tls_wrap.js:710:12) {
  code: 'UNABLE_TO_VERIFY_LEAF_SIGNATURE'

This error happens in the backend when it tries to connect to the configured PostgreSQL database and the specified CA is not correct. The solution is to make sure that the contents of the configmap that holds the certificate match the CA for the PostgreSQL instance. A workaround is to set appConfig.backend.database.connection.ssl.rejectUnauthorized to false in the chart's values.