OpenFeedback Plugin for Backstage

Hello! 👋

OpenFeedback is a plugin for Backstage designed to simplify the process of collecting and managing feedback within your Backstage application, for your Backstage application. It's composed of several components, including a backend, frontend, and common utilities.

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Key Features

• Feedback Collection: OpenFeedback provides two interfaces for users to easily submit feedback, helping you gather valuable insights to improve your application.
• OpenFeedbackModal: This component can be added to the sidebar and pops up a dialog box for users to send feedback. It can be easily integrated into your packages/app/src/components/Root/Root.tsx file.
• OpenFeedbackForm: This is a form component that can be added to any page (More specifically designed for the Backstage HomePage), providing a flexible way to collect feedback across your application.
• Feedback Management: The OpenFeedbackPage component provides a comprehensive view of all collected feedback. This page uses the FeedbackCards component to display each piece of feedback. Administrators can view all feedback collected from users on this page, making it a central hub for feedback management.
• Integrated Solution: OpenFeedback is built to integrate seamlessly with Backstage, allowing you to manage feedback directly within your Backstage application.

Screenshots

OpenFeedbackModal

This is the modal that pops up when the user clicks on the feedback button in the sidebar. It allows users to send feedback directly from the Backstage application as their logged in user or anonymously. It includes a location field to specify the page where the feedback was collected.

OpenFeedbackPage

This is the page where all the feedback is displayed. It uses card components to display each piece of feedback. Administrators can view all feedback collected from users on this page, making it a central hub for feedback management. It will also display a "location" field to specify the page where the feedback was collected.

Components

• backend: This component, located in the plugins/open-feedback-backend directory, handles data processing and storage, ensuring that feedback data is securely stored and readily accessible.

• frontend: This component, located in the plugins/open-feedback directory, provides the user interface for collecting and managing feedback. It includes the OpenFeedbackModal and OpenFeedbackForm components for flexible feedback collection.

• common: This component, located in the plugins/open-feedback-common directory, contains shared types and permissions used by both the backend and frontend.

Installation

Run the following yarn commands to add all the required packages to your Backstage application:

From the root of your repository you can run the following commands:

yarn --cwd packages/app add @parsifal-m/backstage-plugin-open-feedback

yarn --cwd packages/backend add @parsifal-m/backstage-plugin-open-feedback-backend

Adding the OpenFeedback Backend to your Backstage Application

To add the OpenFeedback backend to your Backstage application, you need to add the following code to your packages/backend/src/plugins/index.ts file:

import { createBackend } from '@backstage/backend-defaults';

const backend = createBackend();

// Other plugins
backend.add(import('@parsifal-m/backstage-plugin-open-feedback-backend'));

backend.start();

Adding the OpenFeedback Frontend to your Backstage Application

Firstly you will want to add the OpenFeedbackPage component to your packages/app/src/App.tsx file under the routes. This will add the feedback page to your Backstage application.

In the OpenFeedbackPage you will be able to see all the feedback that has been collected from users, and you will also have the option to delete feedback if needed.

const routes = (
  <FlatRoutes>
    // Other routes
    <Route
      path="/open-feedback"
      element={
        <OpenFeedbackPage
          title="My Super Feedback Title!" // Optional
          subtitle="A Super Subtitle!" // Optional
        />
      }
    />
  </FlatRoutes>
);

Using the OpenFeedbackModal Component

To use the OpenFeedbackModal component, you will need to add it to your packages/app/src/components/Root/Root.tsx file. This will add the feedback modal to your Backstage application, personally I like to add it under the search button, or above/with the user settings button.

Clicking on it will open a dialog box for users to send feedback.

In the sidebar

import { OpenFeedbackModal } from '@parsifal-m/backstage-plugin-open-feedback';

// Inside your Root component
<Sidebar>
  <SidebarLogo />
  <SidebarGroup label="Search" icon={<SearchIcon />} to="/search">
    <SidebarSearchModal />
    <OpenFeedbackModal
      floating // Setting this to true will make a floating button (FAB), setting it to false will make a sidebar item
      title="Super Feedback!" // Optional, defaults to "Feedback"
      color="primary" // Optional, defaults to "primary"
      icon={FeedbackIcon} // Optional, defaults to the feedback icon
      style={{ position: 'fixed', bottom: 20, right: 20, color: 'primary' }}
    />;
  </SidebarGroup>
</Sidebar>;

Using the OpenFeedbackForm Component

I would recommend using the OpenFeedbackForm on the Backstage HomePage to collect feedback from users. This component can be added to any page, but it is more specifically designed for the Backstage HomePage.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to pick up any open issues, or suggest new features by opening an issue!

Some instructions on how to contribute can be found in the CONTRIBUTING.md file.

If you have any questions you can also contact me on mastodon at @parcifal.