Backstage ScaleOps Plugin

ScaleOps is a platform for Kubernetes resource optimization. It tunes pod requests in real time, adjusts replicas, improves placement, and tracks costs. The goal is simple. Keep performance steady while cutting waste. It works across many clusters and can run in your own environment.

The ScaleOps Backstage plugin brings that context into your service pages. It shows potential savings and realized savings for the Kubernetes pieces tied to a component. You can jump to the ScaleOps dashboard for deeper views when you need them. The plugin works with a single ScaleOps endpoint and supports multi cluster setups, so teams get a clear picture across environments inside Backstage.

Typical use cases start with day to day ownership. A service owner can check where a workload is over requested and see the expected impact of rightsizing before making changes. A FinOps or platform lead can review savings and trends during weekly checks without leaving the portal. During incidents, engineers can confirm whether resources match current demand, then drill into the ScaleOps app for details when required. This keeps cost and capacity data next to docs, builds, and runbooks, which reduces context switching and helps teams act faster.

Installation Instructions

These instructions apply to self-hosted Backstage only.

Install the frontend package

Add the plugin to the app package

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yarn add --cwd packages/app @terasky/backstage-plugin-scaleops-frontend

Add the ScaleOps card to entity pages

Open packages/app/src/components/catalog/EntityPage.tsx
Import the card

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// packages/app/src/components/catalog/EntityPage.tsx
import React from 'react';
import Grid from '@material-ui/core/Grid';
import { EntityLayout } from '@backstage/plugin-catalog';
import { EntitySwitch, isKind } from '@backstage/plugin-catalog';
import { EntityAboutCard } from '@backstage/plugin-catalog';
import { EntityScaleOpsCard } from '@terasky/backstage-plugin-scaleops-frontend';

Render the card on the overview tab for services

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// inside your ServiceEntityPage component in EntityPage.tsx

const serviceOverviewContent = (
  <Grid container spacing={3} alignItems="stretch">
    <Grid item xs={12} md={6}>
      <EntityAboutCard variant="gridItem" />
    </Grid>

    <Grid item xs={12} md={6}>
      <EntityScaleOpsCard />
    </Grid>
  </Grid>
);

export const ServiceEntityPage = () => (
  <EntityLayout>
    <EntityLayout.Route path="/" title="Overview">
      {serviceOverviewContent}
    </EntityLayout.Route>
  </EntityLayout>
);

// ensure you route to ServiceEntityPage for kind Service
export const EntityPage = () => (
  <EntitySwitch>
    <EntitySwitch.Case if={isKind('service')}>
      <ServiceEntityPage />
    </EntitySwitch.Case>
    {/* keep your other cases here */}
  </EntitySwitch>
);

You can also add the card to other kinds if it makes sense in your portal layout

Configure the ScaleOps endpoint through the Backstage proxy

The plugin reads data from a single ScaleOps endpoint. Use the Backstage proxy so the browser does not call the ScaleOps API directly

Add a proxy entry in app-config.yaml

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# app-config.yaml
proxy:
  '/scaleops':
    target: ${SCALEOPS_BASE_URL}
    headers:
      Authorization: Bearer ${SCALEOPS_TOKEN}

Set environment variables for local development

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# .env
SCALEOPS_BASE_URL=https://your-scaleops-api.example.com
SCALEOPS_TOKEN=your scaleops api token

In the frontend, call the proxy path when you need to query ScaleOps. The card component will handle this if it is wired to the proxy path

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// example of fetching through the proxy if you need to customize anything later
import { useApi, configApiRef, fetchApiRef } from '@backstage/core-plugin-api';

const MyHook = () => {
  const fetchApi = useApi(fetchApiRef);
  const { getString } = useApi(configApiRef);

  // backend base url comes from config
  const baseUrl = getString('backend.baseUrl');
  const url = `${baseUrl}/api/proxy/scaleops/v1/some endpoint`;

  const load = async () => {
    const res = await fetchApi.fetch(url);
    const data = await res.json();
    return data;
  };

  return { load };
};

New backend system setup

If your app uses the new backend system

Install the proxy backend plugin

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yarn add --cwd packages/backend @backstage/plugin-proxy-backend

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// packages/backend/src/index.ts
import { createBackend } from '@backstage/backend-defaults';

const backend = createBackend();

// register the proxy backend plugin
backend.add(import('@backstage/plugin-proxy-backend/alpha'));

backend.start();

The proxy reads the config you added in app-config.yaml. No extra code is needed for the ScaleOps route

Old backend system setup

If your app uses the legacy backend

Install the proxy backend plugin

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yarn add --cwd packages/backend @backstage/plugin-proxy-backend

Create a proxy plugin module

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// packages/backend/src/plugins/proxy.ts
import { createRouter } from '@backstage/plugin-proxy-backend';
import { PluginEnvironment } from '../types';

export default async function createPlugin(env: PluginEnvironment) {
  return await createRouter({
    config: env.config,
    logger: env.logger,
    discovery: env.discovery,
    tokenManager: env.tokenManager,
  });
}

Wire it in backend index

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// packages/backend/src/index.ts
import proxy from './plugins/proxy';

// inside the main bootstrap where you create apiRouter
const proxyRouter = await proxy(env);
apiRouter.use('/proxy', proxyRouter);

The proxy will forward requests from the frontend to the ScaleOps target you set in app-config.yaml

Add catalog annotations if your setup needs them

Some teams map catalog entities to ScaleOps by annotations or labels. If your data model needs that, add them to your catalog entity yaml. Replace keys and values to fit your ScaleOps setup

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# catalog-info.yaml
apiVersion: backstage.io/v1alpha1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: my service
  annotations:
    scaleops.com/project: my project
    scaleops.com/cluster: prod
    scaleops.com/namespace: default
    scaleops.com/workload: my service
spec:
  owner: team a
  system: payments

Run the app

Start the backend and the frontend. Then open a service entity page that has ScaleOps data. You should see the ScaleOps card on the overview tab

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yarn dev

Changelog

This changelog is produced from commits made to the ScaleOps plugin since 9 months ago, and based on the code located here. It may not contain information about all commits. Releases and version bumps are intentionally omitted. This changelog is generated by AI.

Breaking changes

Move kyverno kro and crossplane to a backend plugin architecture. You need to install the backend plugin and set permissions. This enables MCP actions and tighter control. #89 merged 2 weeks ago
Scaffolder actions now use zod schemas. Update any templates that relied on json schema. #54 merged 4 months ago
Kubernetes Ingestor now uses the Kubernetes backend plugin proxy. Make sure the Kubernetes backend plugin is set up with your cluster locator and auth. #82 merged 1 month ago

Features

Add MCP Action support in kyverno kro and crossplane. #89 merged 2 weeks ago
Add new frontend system support in all frontend plugins. #83 merged 1 month ago
Add annotations to override generated component details in the Kubernetes Ingestor
terasky.backstage.io/name
terasky.backstage.io/title
#82 merged 1 month ago
Add cluster and kind tags for XR and Claim based components in the Kubernetes Ingestor. #82 merged 1 month ago

Improvements

Auto link Crossplane functions and providers from the crossplane contrib org to their source GitHub repo. #82 merged 1 month ago
Render YAML manifests in a clearer order for Crossplane resources. #82 merged 1 month ago
Use a backend plugin for kyverno kro and crossplane for better security and permission control. #89 merged 2 weeks ago

Bug fixes

Fix missing kind and apiVersion for some Kubernetes workload types in the Kubernetes Ingestor. #82 merged 1 month ago
Fix scaffolder manifest generation for cluster scoped custom resources that do not use XRDs. #82 merged 1 month ago

Upgrades

Upgrade Backstage to 1.43.3. #89 merged 2 weeks ago
Upgrade all plugins to Backstage 1.42.5 with dependency bumps. #82 merged 1 month ago
Upgrade to Backstage 1.40 and migrate scaffolder actions to zod. #54 merged 4 months ago
Routine dependency updates for plugins. #19 merged 8 months ago
More dependency updates. #14 merged 9 months ago

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