Make clear that people are expected to provide their own backstage image before deploying

[marrws]

A quick search around Discord tells me there's some confusion around how this Helm chart should be used.

People often think this Helm Chart is a drop-in solution to create a developer portal when in fact is expected that people have followed the getting started guide and used npx @backstage/create-app@latest at least once.

Some threads with examples of people using the Helm Chart with the default image:

• (EN) https://discord.com/channels/687207715902193673/995973463208644678/1079458729809944656
• (EN) https://discord.com/channels/687207715902193673/1076510953123893321/1076520344296366100
• (PT-BR) https://discord.com/channels/687207715902193673/1024692900325511198/1065602691696431124

[ChrisJBurns]

I agree!

I still think most who are new to Backstage have an initial assumption that there is something that they deploy and instantly get value from like most other project/products. However, they later find out that the whole idea of Backstage is that it is supposed to be used by organisations to fit their own custom needs - hence why we can't make a one size fits all Docker image or Helm Chart.

Adding a note would probably be a good idea, just to make it explicitly obvious to users. It would be great if we can also tie this into the same explanation that's used for telling users why we don't offer up an official production ready Docker image either.

[ChrisJBurns]

An additional comment from me, we should probably add a description around why we may be quite strict when it comes to implementing new features into the Chart. We have made it clear in the past that we don't want to end up supporting a Chart that basically fits every possible permutation of a Backstage installation, and that we only tend to abide by adding features that are either a common Kubernetes pattern or a Backstage one. We should add a comment around this also. @vinzscam @tumido @sabre1041 thoughts?

[tumido]

Thank you @marrws for raising this issue!

@ChrisJBurns I totally agree. Unfortunately, we've got to a point where people who are used to working with Kubernetes have heard about Backstage and are surprised it doesn't conform to what is customary in this world. 😄

A disclaimer would definitely help, I'll get a quick PR out today and we can talk the wording/details in there. 👍

[marrws]

Thanks @tumido for your response. I hope this clarification points people in the right direction.