Rhdh plugin authoring

RHDH Plugin Authoring

Own plugin source code: creating a new Backstage dynamic plugin for RHDH and implementing features inside an existing one. Backend and frontend are branches of the same job — the same conventions, the same build gates, the same repo — so choose the branch from the request rather than asking for a skill.

Start here

1. Read the target repository's AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md and any linked specification or issue. Repository rules beat anything written here.
2. Run python scripts/detect-rhdh-context.py --path <plugin-or-workspace> in an existing checkout. Record role, frontend system, plugin ID, dynamic status, MUI version, and package manager.
3. Establish the target RHDH and Backstage versions. Prefer an explicit user or repository value; otherwise invoke /rhdh-context for repository, tool, and version facts. If it is unavailable, ask the user instead of guessing.
4. Inspect branch and status before modifying files, and protect uncommitted work.

For a new plugin or a change to a public API where materially different designs are valid and the request does not settle the choice, invoke /grilling as a design gate, use the constraints it produces, and show the design before implementing. If /grilling is not installed, say so, name /setup-rhdh-skills install as the human's next step, and pause that branch.

Route by outcome

Outcome	Load and follow
Scaffold a backend dynamic plugin	references/backend.md; run scripts/scaffold.py
Scaffold a frontend dynamic plugin	references/frontend.md; run scripts/scaffold.py
Decide what kind of extension to build	references/plugin-types.md
Implement or review plugin code	references/development-patterns.md, then only the relevant reference below
Style with Backstage UI or MUI	references/bui.md
Write NFS code in a new plugin	references/nfs.md
Apply RHDH-specific patterns	references/rhdh.md
Run or extend the plugin dev app	references/dev-app.md
Write tests for plugin code	references/testing.md
Write or read a frontend feature spec	references/frontend-specs.md

Infer the branch from the request. Ask only when the missing choice changes the implementation, such as backend versus frontend.

Boundaries

• This skill writes plugin source. It does not export artifacts, generate deployment configuration, or publish anything.
• /rhdh-plugin-export owns exporting and packaging a plugin for RHDH.
• /rhdh-plugin-wiring owns generating dynamic-plugins.yaml configuration and mount points for a finished frontend plugin. Reach for it by name rather than writing wiring configuration here.
• /rhdh-plugin-nfs-migration owns converting an existing legacy frontend plugin to the New Frontend System. This skill writes NFS code in a plugin that is already on it.
• /rhdh-backstage-upgrade owns moving @backstage/* dependency versions.
• /rhdh-test-placement advises which repository and layer a permanent test belongs in, before you write it here.
• /rhdh-pr-create owns changesets, staging, signed-off commits, and pull requests. Leave changed files unstaged and list them when you finish.

Invoke a named skill and describe the handoff in the conversation. Never open another skill's files.

Invariants

• Backend code uses the new backend system only — createBackendPlugin or createBackendModule from @backstage/backend-plugin-api. Never the legacy backend system.
• A default export from src/index.ts is required. Its absence is the most common cause of a dynamic plugin that will not load in RHDH.
• The Scalprum name must match the key used in dynamic-plugins.yaml wiring.
• Match the neighbouring implementation: check two or three sibling workspaces before inventing a configuration, fixture path, or utility pattern.
• Build incrementally. Write one component or hook, type check, and verify a visual change in a running app before writing the next.
• Mirror a current neighbouring test rather than recalling a Backstage test API from memory; that surface moves between releases.
• Run the workspace build gates in order and stop at the first failure: yarn prettier:fix, yarn tsc:full, yarn build:all, yarn test --watchAll=false, yarn build:api-reports:only.
• Do not stage, commit, push, or open a pull request here.

Completion

Report the branch taken, the files created or changed and left unstaged, the build gates run and their results, any public API surface added, the remaining risks, and the named skill to invoke next for wiring, export, testing, or publication.