backstage/.changeset/friendly-carpets-repeat.md

@backstage/techdocs-common, @backstage/plugin-techdocs, @backstage/plugin-techdocs-backend

@backstage/techdocs-common	@backstage/plugin-techdocs	@backstage/plugin-techdocs-backend
minor	minor	minor

Breaking changes

1. Added option to use Google Cloud Storage as a choice to store the static generated files for TechDocs. It can be configured using techdocs.publisher.type option in app-config.yaml. Step-by-step guide to configure GCS is available here https://backstage.io/docs/features/techdocs/using-cloud-storage Set techdocs.publisher.type to 'local' if you want to continue using local filesystem to store TechDocs files.

2. techdocs.builder is now required and can be set to 'local' or 'external'. (Set it to 'local' for now, since CI/CD build workflow for TechDocs will be available soon (in few weeks)). If builder is set to 'local' and you open a TechDocs page, techdocs-backend will try to generate the docs, publish to storage and show the generated docs afterwords. If builder is set to 'external', techdocs-backend will only fetch the docs and will NOT try to generate and publish. In this case of 'external', we assume that docs are being built in the CI/CD pipeline of the repository. TechDocs will not assume a default value for techdocs.builder. It is better to explicitly define it in the app-config.yaml.

3. When configuring TechDocs in your backend, there is a difference in how a new publisher is created.

---  const publisher = new LocalPublish(logger, discovery);
+++  const publisher = Publisher.fromConfig(config, logger, discovery);

Based on the config techdocs.publisher.type, the publisher could be either Local publisher or Google Cloud Storage publisher.

4. techdocs.storageUrl is now a required config. Should be http://localhost:7000/api/techdocs/static/docs in most setups.

5. Parts of @backstage/plugin-techdocs-backend have been moved to a new package @backstage/techdocs-common to generate docs. Also to publish docs to-and-fro between TechDocs and a storage (either local or external). However, a Backstage app does NOT need to import the techdocs-common package - app should only import @backstage/plugin-techdocs and @backstage/plugin-techdocs-backend.

Patch changes

1. See all of TechDocs config options and its documentation https://backstage.io/docs/features/techdocs/configuration

2. Logic about serving static files and metadata retrieval have been abstracted away from the router in techdocs-backend to the instance of publisher.

3. Removed Material UI Spinner from TechDocs header. Spinners cause unnecessary UX distraction. Case 1 (when docs are built and are to be served): Spinners appear for a split second before the name of site shows up. This unnecessarily distracts eyes because spinners increase the size of the Header. A dot (.) would do fine. Definitely more can be done. Case 2 (when docs are being generated): There is already a linear progress bar (which is recommended in Storybook).