> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://notes.kodekloud.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Course Introduction
> Hands on course teaching Backstage platform fundamentals, catalog, templates, plugins, TechDocs, deployment and exam prep through practical labs to prepare learners for Certified Backstage Associate certification
Welcome to the Certified Backstage Associate course.
If you're here, you're ready to dive into Backstage — the open platform for building developer portals that helps teams discover, manage, and operate software. Organizations such as Spotify, American Airlines, and Peloton use Backstage to improve developer productivity, reduce context switching, and centralize tooling and documentation.
I'm Sanjeev, and I'll guide you from beginner to confident Backstage user. Whether your goal is to boost developer experience inside your organization or to pass the Certified Backstage Associate exam, this course combines conceptual depth with practical labs to get you there.
This course emphasizes hands-on learning. Each module includes practical labs that let you experiment, make mistakes, and learn by doing — the best way to prepare for real-world Backstage adoption.
## Quick setup (local lab files)
Use these commands to copy the sample Backstage template files into your working directory:
```bash theme={null}
mkdir -p ~/backstage/templates/skaffold
cp -r ~/template-lab-skaffold/* ~/backstage/templates/skaffold/
# Copy dotfiles (use a glob that excludes '.' and '..'). The command may fail
# if no dotfiles are present, so the '|| true' prevents an error in such cases.
cp -r ~/template-lab-skaffold/.[!.]* ~/backstage/templates/skaffold/ || true
```
If your source folder contains no dotfiles (hidden files beginning with `.`), the `cp` glob may fail. The `|| true` in the command prevents the script from exiting with an error in that case.
## Course structure — what you'll learn
The course is organized so you build from fundamentals to production operations. Below is a high-level map of modules and core topics.
| Module | Key Topics |
| ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Backstage Fundamentals | Overview, architecture, benefits, use cases |
| Catalog & Entities | Registering components, entity kinds, relationships |
| Scaffolding & Templates | Creating templates, standardizing component creation, automation |
| TechDocs & Search | Writing TechDocs, configuring search and documentation discoverability |
| Plugins & UI | Custom UI, creating and integrating plugins, sidebar/navigation |
| Operations & Deployment | DB configuration, authentication, Docker, deployment strategies |
| Exam Prep & Labs | Practice exercises, exam-style questions, readiness checklist |
This architecture diagram highlights the split between the Backstage frontend and backend, integrations (e.g., GitLab), and persistent storage. Understanding these components helps you plan deployments and integrations.
You will learn how to use Backstage's Catalog to define and manage entities — registering components, systems, domains, APIs, and more — and how relationships between entities model your organization’s software landscape.
Templates and scaffolding standardize how teams create services and infrastructure. We'll walk through creating and using templates so teams consistently provision repos, CI/CD, and infrastructure.
Doc-driven development becomes easier with TechDocs and search. You'll configure TechDocs to publish documentation from source (Markdown) and tune Backstage search so teams find the information they need fast.
You will also learn how to customize the UI and extend Backstage through plugins. Building plugins allows you to integrate tools, surface custom reports, and adapt Backstage to your organization’s workflows.
Here is an example JSX snippet showing how sidebar items can be defined in a Backstage app. This demonstrates common navigation entries (Docs, Create, Register) and a Settings group:
```jsx theme={null}
{/* End global nav */}
{/* Items in this group will be scrollable if they run out of space */}
} to="/settings">
{/* Settings items go here */}
```
Finally, we'll cover essential production topics: database configuration, authentication and SSO, secrets management, logging and monitoring, and deployment options (including Docker and Kubernetes patterns) so you can operate Backstage reliably at scale.
By the end of this course you will be ready to deploy and operate Backstage, build and integrate plugins, author templates, manage the Catalog, and publish TechDocs — and you'll be well-prepared to take the Certified Backstage Associate exam.
## Links and references
* [Backstage official site — Backstage.io](https://backstage.io)
* [Backstage — The Software Catalog](https://backstage.io/docs/features/software-catalog)
* [TechDocs — Backstage documentation](https://backstage.io/docs/features/techdocs/what-is-techdocs)
* KodeKloud community forums — connect with peers, ask questions, and share progress
Join our KodeKloud community to collaborate with fellow learners and get help as you practice the labs and prepare for the exam.