Getting Started
There are two different ways to get started with Backstage, either by creating a standalone app, or by cloning this repo. Which method you use depends on what you're planning to do.
Creating a standalone instance makes it simpler to customize the application for
your needs whilst staying up to date with the project. You will also depend on
@backstage packages from npm, making the project much smaller. This is the
recommended approach if you want to kick the tyres of Backstage or setup your
own instance.
On the other hand, if you want to contribute plugins or to the project in general, it's easier to fork and clone this project. That will let you stay up to date with the latest changes, and gives you an easier path to make Pull Requests towards this repo.
Creating a Standalone App
Backstage provides the @backstage/create-app package to scaffold standalone
instances of Backstage. You will need to have
Node.js Active LTS Release installed
(currently v14), Yarn and
Python (although you likely have it
already). You will also need to have
Docker installed to use some features
like Software Templates and TechDocs.
Using npx you can then run the following to create an app in a chosen
subdirectory of your current working directory:
npx @backstage/create-app
You will be taken through a wizard to create your app, and the output should look something like this. You can read more about this process in Create an app.
Contributing to Backstage
You can read more in our CONTRIBUTING guide, which can help you get setup with a Backstage development environment.
Next steps
Take a look at the Running Backstage Locally guide to learn how to set up Backstage, and how to develop on the platform.