Templates

Using templates guides users through the process of creating new entities, such as microservices, libraries, and more. Templates help enforce best practices and ensure consistency across projects.

Templates can include various steps to automate the setup of new projects, such as:

Fetching base templates or boilerplate code from repositories
Generating files and directories with customized content
Initializing version control repositories
Setting up CI/CD pipelines
Registering the new component in the component catalog

Using a Template

To use a template, click Create via the dashboard sidebar, then select a desired template from the list.

Fill in the required parameters, such as the service name, and initiate the creation process. The developer platform then uses the template to scaffold a new project based on the provided parameters.

Consistency and Best Practices

By using templates, organizations ensure that new projects adhere to established standards and best practices. Templates encapsulate knowledge about the organization's preferred tools, configurations, and conventions, reducing the learning curve for new developers and increasing overall productivity.

References

If you'd like to learn more about templates, check out the Backstage Software Templates page.

Template Examples

This section provides practical examples of templates you can use and adapt for your organization.

Creating an AWS S3 Bucket Template

Follow this example to create a simple AWS S3 bucket. Venue.sh will take variables defined in your template steps and replace your template files with the actual values when used.

File Structure


.
├── providers.tf
├── main.tf
├── variables.tf
├── docs
│   └── index.md

. providers.tf

terraform {
  required_providers {
    aws = {
      source  = "hashicorp/aws"
      version = "~> 6.0"
    }
  }
}

provider "aws" {
  region = var.region

  default_tags {
    tags = {
      "BusinessUnit"  = "purplehotels-devops"
      "Department"    = "product-${{ values.environment }}"
      "Team"          = "purplehotels-devops"
      "Stage"         = "${{ values.environment }}"
      "Support:Email" = "support@purplehotels.com"
      "Support:Slack" = "purplehotels:support"
      "Support:Url"   = "https://purplehotels.atlassian.net/jira/servicedesk/projects/PH/queues/custom/4"
    }
  }
}

main.tf

resource "aws_s3_bucket" "${{ values.bucket_name }}_s3_bucket" {
  bucket = "s3-${{ values.bucket_name }}"
}

variables.tf

variable "region" {
  type = string
  default = "${{ values.region }}"
}

docs/index.md

# ${{ values.bucket_name }} (Terraform AWS S3)

## Values

- name: ${{ values.bucket_name }}
- region: ${{ values.region }}
- environment: ${{ values.environment }}

When creating a template, each ${{ values.variable }} that you define in your files must also be defined in the variables step.

In the following example, we split the variables into two steps. While you can define your variables however you desire, we recommend splitting them into multiple steps.

Creating an AWS EC2 Instance Template

Follow this example to create a simple AWS EC2 instance. Venue.sh will take variables defined in your template steps and replace your template files with the actual values when used.