Today we’re excited to announce our latest plugin which enables Backstage users to manage Infrastructure as Code (IaC) workflows directly within their developer platform. With this new official integration option, developers can deploy and manage IaC assets just like they manage application software and other resources, right from the familiar Backstage interface.
The key promise of this integration is to enhance env0’s self-service capabilities, a cornerstone of our platform. The new plugin makes all of env0’s self-service features easily accessible to teams using Backstage, empowering engineers to deploy infrastructure independently and at speed.
From the point of view of infrastructure and platform engineering teams, this also enables full use of env0’s governance features such as runtime policies and cost controls. Together, these help pave the golden path for IaC usage while upholding best practices, as well as security and compliance standards.
Let’s take a closer look at some key use cases for this new integration:
For engineers deploying in a self-service model
- Streamlined IaC deployment flows with Backstage templates, in the context of the specific service or feature in development
- A simple way to spin off ephemeral environments for debugging purposes
- Easy discovery of IaC environments in the Backstage catalog
- Quick access to detailed environment views, including deployment history
For teams responsible for infrastructure and cloud operations
- Empower teams to create and manage IaC environments directly from Backstage
- Easily creation of custom Backstage templates tailored to organizational needs
- Use env0 governance features to optimize cloud cost and uphold security, reliability, and compliance
How It Works
The plugin is available in this public repository and enables managing environments in env0 directly within Backstage. Once installed, the plugin provides several capabilities, as described below.
Create New Environments Using Backstage Templates
The env0 plugin enables users to create environments using templates preconfigured by Backstage admin. To streamline the deployment flow, admins can customize a series of form questions to define the required inputs, such as environment names and variable values. This helps users deploy environments with ease, through a structured and easy-to-follow process.
Once submitted, env0 handles the deployment behind the scenes, and the environment is automatically registered in Backstage for tracking and management.
Creating an env0 environment using a Backstage form
Importantly, within this process, sensitive variables will be flagged with a warning icon, ensuring that they can be clearly identified and handled in accordance with their respective privacy policies.
Search, Filter, and Browse Environments
All environments deployed through env0 are listed in the Backstage catalog. This enables users to browse through environments using filters (e.g., tags or owners) and search queries. Doing so makes it easy to locate specific environments and manage them alongside other resources.
Viewing and managing env0 environments within the Backstage catalog
Access Detailed Environment Views
To access detailed environment information, users can start with the Overview tab, where they see the environment’s status and general information.
Environment details with status, drift information, and VCS data
They can then navigate to the env0 tab to review deployment history, including statuses, timestamps, resource changes for each deployment, and check for any errors
Overview of deployment history, including statuses and timestamps
If infrastructure adjustments or fixes are needed, users can update their previous form answers in the env0 tab and redeploy to apply the changes to the environment.
Redeployment with updated variables in the env0 tab
Final Thoughts
Today's release addresses a popular demand from our customers and improves on custom integrations some built using the env0 API. Now, with an official plugin, all customers have access to a fully maintained solution, eliminating the effort and complexities of custom development.
The new plugin allows admins to ensure compliance and uphold best practices, while developers gain autonomy to manage IaC workflows in a self-service model—creating environments, viewing deployment history, and monitoring infrastructure—all within the familiar Backstage interface.
Want to learn more? Schedule a technical demo to see env0 in action.
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