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Ensure you have Backstage installed and running before following along. Refer to the Backstage Installation Guide for setup instructions.
In this demo, we’ll navigate Backstage’s Internal Developer Portal (IDP) features—from your company catalog to creating new services with templates. You’ll learn how to:
  • Browse and filter entities
  • Inspect component and API dashboards
  • Search documentation with TechDocs
  • Scaffold projects using built-in templates
  • Customize your personal settings

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Homepage and Company Catalog

When you first log in, Backstage presents the My Company Catalog, listing all software entities your organization manages. In our demo, you’ll see:
  • example-website (a sample website component)
Clicking any entry surfaces metadata such as owner, system, component type, and lifecycle stage, enabling quick discovery of relationships across your platform.

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Component Details

Select example-website to open its dashboard:
The image shows a dashboard interface for a component named "example-website" in Backstage, displaying details like description, owner, lifecycle, and relations in a graph format.
On the Overview tab you can:
  • Jump to the source code repository
  • Open TechDocs for in-depth documentation
  • Review metadata: owner, system affiliation, type (website, API, library), and lifecycle (e.g., experimental)
Backstage also generates a relationship graph:
  • Owned by the Guests group
  • Belongs to the Example system
  • Provides the example-grpc-api service/API
Click any node to navigate directly to related entities.

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API Exploration

Back at the homepage, filter by APIs and choose example-grpc-api:
The image shows a dashboard interface for an API named "example-grpc-api" in Backstage, displaying an overview, relations graph, and details about the API's owner, system, and lifecycle.
View the API’s definition in Protobuf: 
syntax = "proto3";

service Example {
  rpc Example (ExampleMessage) returns (ExampleMessage);
}

message ExampleMessage {
  string example = 1;
}
For REST APIs, Backstage displays an OpenAPI/Swagger specification or similar docs instead.

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Exploring Other Entities

Backstage models everything as an Entity. Use the sidebar to browse:
Entity TypeDescriptionExample Entry
ComponentsServices, websites, libraries with metadata dashboardsexample-website
APIsgRPC or REST endpoints along with their specificationsexample-grpc-api
GroupsTeams or organizational units owning components/APIsGuests
UsersIndividual developer profiles with access and settings[email protected]
Filter or search (e.g., “example”) to quickly locate relevant entities and documentation.

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My Company Catalog Interface

The image shows a software interface titled "My Company Catalog" with a list of components, including an "example-website." A dropdown menu is open, displaying options like API, Component, and Group.
Viewing a Group (such as Guests) reveals:
  • A list of owned components and APIs
  • Associated users
Here’s a snippet of a sample group YAML configuration: 
metadata:
  name: example
links:
  - url: https://dashboard.example.com
    title: My Dashboard
    icon: dashboard

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Documentation (TechDocs)

All project documentation is accessible under Docs or via the View TechDocs button on any component or API dashboard. The global search indexes TechDocs, making it easy to find keywords and navigate directly to the relevant content.
The image shows a documentation search interface on a platform called Backstage, with search results for the term "example" including options like "Example Node.js Template" and "example-website."
Use inline Markdown links and headings in your TechDocs to improve searchability and SEO for your internal documentation.

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Software Templates

Backstage’s Create menu lets you scaffold new projects from predefined templates. By default, an example Node.js template is available:
The image shows a web interface for creating a new component using an "Example Node.js Template" in Backstage, with fields for specifying the repository location on GitHub.
Steps to scaffold:
  1. Select the template (e.g., Example Node.js Template).
  2. Fill in required fields: project name, repository URL, etc.
  3. Review and confirm to provision a new service automatically.
When customizing templates, ensure your cookiecutter values and catalog-info.yaml annotations are valid YAML to avoid provisioning errors.

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User Settings and Personalization

Under Settings, configure:
  • Your profile and authentication provider
  • UI preferences (light/dark theme)
The image shows a settings page from a software interface called "Backstage," featuring options for profile management, backstage identity, and appearance settings, including theme selection.
Additional personalization:
  • Star your favorite components for quick access
  • Filter the catalog to display only entities owned by your team

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Next Steps

You’ve now covered Backstage’s core features:
  • Company catalog and entity dashboards
  • TechDocs-powered documentation search
  • Project scaffolding with software templates
  • Personal settings and UI customizations
In upcoming sections, we’ll dive deeper into advanced catalog configurations, custom plugin development, and CI/CD integration to help you master Backstage end to end.

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