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Troubleshooting

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This guide covers common issues you might encounter when using Spotify Portal for Backstage and provides solutions to help you resolve them quickly.

Authentication Issues​

Authentication misconfiguration​

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If access is lost due to an authentication misconfiguration, the recovery mode can be enabled.

Once signed in using the root user, make sure that the configuration applied is in a functioning state by signing in using the configured authentication provider, keeping the recovery mode enabled until a successful sign in has been achieved.

User entities in the catalog​

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If you receive an error message similar to the one below when trying to use a newly configured authentication provider, the current provider's sign in resolver function is unable to locate a matching user in the catalog.

Login failed; caused by Error: Failed to sign-in, unable to resolve user identity

Make sure that a user is present in the catalog that matches the resolver function's requirements.

Access Control Issues​

Unable to visit the Config Manager​

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If the Config Manager (/config-manager) is unavailable, make sure that the current user is included in the authorizedUsers configuration section.

Catalog Issues​

Missing Team​

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If you are unable to find your team, there could be a few factors:

  1. The software catalog might still be ingesting teams from the 3rd party provider (i.e. GitHub), so it might need some time to process. Try waiting and refreshing if you had just started.

  2. If you are still unable to find your team, you either need to create that team in the 3rd party source or ask an administrator to create it for you. Once updated, you should be able to view your team within 1 hour.

Team Management Issues​

Handling multiple representations of the same logical team​

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Why do I see multiple entries for what I believe is the same team in the catalog-onboarding-wizard?​

This situation arises due to the way teams are represented and managed across different platforms:

  • Logical Team: The real-life group of individuals working together
  • GitHub Team: The representation of a logical team within GitHub, managed under specific GitHub organizations
  • Backstage Team: The representation of a logical team within Backstage, inferred from third-party sources like GitHub

When you use the Setup Wizard to connect your Portal with GitHub/GHE, you select the GitHub organizations relevant to your operations. During this process, the catalog-onboarding-wizard pulls team data from the chosen GitHub organizations via the GitHub API. The names of these teams are then constructed in the format: GithubOrgName/GithubTeamName.

For instance, a logical team named "Chipmunks" could exist in multiple GitHub organizations, appearing in different forms such as:

  • backstage/chipmunks
  • chipmunks/chipmunks
  • tools/chipmunks

When these are ingested into Backstage, each representation is treated as a distinct team, which can lead to confusion during the component onboarding process.

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How should I handle multiple Backstage team entries that represent the same logical team?​

Here's our recommended approach:

  1. Identification: Recognize that the multiple entries you see are due to the logical team being represented across different GitHub organizations.
  2. Selection: Choose the most appropriate team representation based on the context of your project or component. Typically, this would be the team within the GitHub organization that is most relevant to your current work.
  3. Consistency: For future onboarding processes, try to consistently select the same team representation to avoid fragmentation.
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What if I make a mistake and select different Backstage teams for the same logical team?​

We understand that this can happen, and it's a known issue we are actively working to resolve. For now, you can manage this situation by:

  1. Documentation: Keep a record of the team selections you make during the onboarding process to ensure consistency.
  2. Review: Periodically review the catalog-info.yaml files to identify and correct any inconsistencies in team ownership.
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Is there a long-term solution to this issue?​

We are aware of this challenge and are working towards a more robust solution. In future updates, we aim to provide improved mechanisms for recognizing and consolidating logical teams across different GitHub organizations, thereby reducing the confusion and effort required to manage team ownership accurately.

Additional Troubleshooting Resources​

For more specific troubleshooting guides, please refer to: