Skill Exchange Actions - Spotify for Backstage

@spotify/backstage-plugin-skill-exchange-backend-module-actions The Skill Exchange Actions module integrates with Backstage’s Actions Registry, enabling programmatic discovery of skills and experts within your organization. These actions are ideal for integration with AI assistants, automation workflows, and custom backend plugins.

Installation

To use these actions, install the actions module as described in Setup & Installation.

packages/backend/src/index.ts

backend.add(
  import('@spotify/backstage-plugin-skill-exchange-backend-module-actions'),
);

Available Actions

Each action declares attributes that indicate its behavior:

readOnly: The action only reads data and does not make modifications
idempotent: Repeated calls with the same input produce the same result
destructive: The action can delete or permanently modify data

Action	Attributes	Description
`search-skills`	`readOnly: true`, `idempotent: true`, `destructive: false`	Discover skills by name, category, or relationships
`search-experts`	`readOnly: true`, `idempotent: true`, `destructive: false`	Find experts based on skills or team membership

Always check an action’s attributes before using it in automated workflows to understand its potential side effects.

search-skills Action

Discover skills in your organization by name, category, or relationships.

Use Cases

Skill discovery: Find skills that match specific criteria for team planning
Related technologies: Discover skills related to ones your team already uses
Onboarding: Help new team members explore available learning paths
Automation: Power AI assistants and chatbots with skill discovery

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`query`	`string`	No	Search term for skill name (partial matching)
`category`	`string`	No	Filter by category: `DISCIPLINE`, `FRAMEWORKS`, `INFRASTRUCTURE`, `LANGUAGES`, `TECHNIQUES`
`limit`	`number`	No	Maximum results to return (1-100, default: 50)
`relatedToSkillIds`	`number[]`	No	Find skills related to these skill IDs

Output

Key	Type	Description
`skills`	`Array<{ id: number; name: string; category: string }>`	List of matching skills
`total`	`number`	Total count of matching results

search-experts Action

Find experts in your organization based on skills or team membership.

Use Cases

Expert discovery: Find subject matter experts for specific technologies
Team formation: Identify potential team members with required skills
Code review: Find qualified reviewers for specific technology areas
Mentorship: Connect mentees with mentors who have relevant expertise
Knowledge sharing: Identify experts who can lead workshops or training

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`query`	`string`	No	Search term for expert name or description
`teams`	`string[]`	No	Filter by team membership
`skillNames`	`string[]`	No	Filter by specific skill names
`limit`	`number`	No	Maximum results to return (1-100, default: 20)

Output

Key	Type	Description
`experts`	`Array<{ displayName: string; name: string; skills: string[]; teams: string[] }>`	List of matching experts
`total`	`number`	Total count of matching results

Programmatic Usage in Backend Plugins

You can use these actions programmatically in your own backend plugins by accessing the Actions Registry Service:

import {
  createBackendPlugin,
  coreServices,
} from '@backstage/backend-plugin-api';
import { actionsRegistryServiceRef } from '@backstage/backend-plugin-api/alpha';

export const myPlugin = createBackendPlugin({
  pluginId: 'my-plugin',
  register(env) {
    env.registerInit({
      deps: {
        actionsRegistry: actionsRegistryServiceRef,
        logger: coreServices.logger,
      },
      async init({ actionsRegistry, logger }) {
        // Get reference to skill exchange actions
        const searchSkillsAction = actionsRegistry.get('search-skills');
        const searchExpertsAction = actionsRegistry.get('search-experts');

        // Use the actions in your logic
        const skillsResult = await searchSkillsAction?.action({
          input: {
            query: 'React',
            category: 'FRAMEWORKS',
            limit: 20,
          },
          logger,
          credentials: {
            /* your credentials */
          },
        });

        logger.info(`Found ${skillsResult?.output.total} skills`);
      },
    });
  },
});

Integration with AI Assistants

These actions work seamlessly with AI assistants and automation tools. When integrating actions into AI-powered workflows, check each action’s attributes to understand its behavior:

Actions with readOnly: true can be called safely without modifying data
Actions with idempotent: true can be retried safely on failure
Actions with destructive: true should require explicit user confirmation before execution

​Installation

​Available Actions

​search-skills Action

​Use Cases

​Parameters

​Output

​search-experts Action

​Use Cases

​Parameters

​Output

​Programmatic Usage in Backend Plugins

​Integration with AI Assistants

Installation

Available Actions

search-skills Action

Use Cases

Parameters

Output

search-experts Action

Use Cases

Parameters

Output

Programmatic Usage in Backend Plugins

Integration with AI Assistants