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← Backstage Scaffolder Actions

Fetch And Run Cookiecutter

Action ID: fetch:cookiecutter
NPM Package:

@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend-module-cookiecutter

Description

Downloads a template from the given URL into the workspace, and runs cookiecutter on it.

Input Schema

PropertyTypeDescriptionRequired
urlstringRelative path or absolute URL pointing to the directory tree to fetch
valuesobject-
imageNamestringSpecify a custom Docker image to run cookiecutter, to override the default: 'spotify/backstage-cookiecutter'. This can be used to execute cookiecutter with Template Extensions. Used only when a local cookiecutter is not found.
extensionsarrayJinja2 extensions to add filters, tests, globals or extend the parser. Extensions must be installed in the container or on the host where Cookiecutter executes. See the contrib directory in Backstage's repo for more information
targetPathstringTarget path within the working directory to download the contents to.
copyWithoutRenderarrayAvoid rendering directories and files in the template

Output Schema

No output schema defined for this action.

Usage Examples

Generate a Node service from a GitHub cookiecutter template

Downloads a public template from GitHub and renders it with values captured from template parameters. Use this early in a scaffold before publishing with publish:github.

Copy 
steps:
  - id: fetch-node-template
    action: fetch:cookiecutter
    input:
      url: https://github.com/acme/cookiecutter-node-service
      values:
        project_name: ${{ parameters.componentName }}
        project_slug: ${{ parameters.componentId }}
        description: ${{ parameters.description }}
        owner: ${{ parameters.owner }}
        use_docker: true
        license: Apache-2.0

Render a local template into a component subdirectory

Uses a template stored alongside your Backstage templates and writes the output into a subfolder named after the component. Avoids rendering for CI and docs folders so they are copied as-is.

Copy 
steps:
  - id: fetch-local-cookiecutter
    action: fetch:cookiecutter
    input:
      url: ./templates/service-cookiecutter
      targetPath: ./services/${{ parameters.componentId }}
      copyWithoutRender:
        - .github/**
        - docs/**
      values:
        project_name: ${{ parameters.componentName }}
        project_slug: ${{ parameters.componentId }}
        description: ${{ parameters.description }}
        ci_provider: github-actions
        include_docs: true

Use Jinja2 extensions with a custom Cookiecutter image

Runs cookiecutter with custom Jinja2 extensions by using a custom Docker image. Use this when your template relies on extra filters or globals.

Copy 
steps:
  - id: fetch-with-extensions
    action: fetch:cookiecutter
    input:
      url: https://git.example.com/engineering/cookiecutter-microservice
      imageName: ghcr.io/engineering/backstage-cookiecutter-extensions:1.2.3
      extensions:
        - jinja2_time.TimeExtension
        - myorg.jinja2.slugify.SlugifyExtension
      values:
        project_name: ${{ parameters.componentName }}
        project_slug: ${{ parameters.componentId }}
        description: Service generated with time stamps
        owner: ${{ parameters.owner }}
        runtime: go
        use_redis: false

Scaffold a web app while skipping binary assets during rendering

Renders a web app template into a predictable path and skips templating for image and chart archives. This is useful when the template contains prebuilt assets.

Copy 
steps:
  - id: fetch-skip-binaries
    action: fetch:cookiecutter
    input:
      url: https://github.com/acme/cookiecutter-webapp
      targetPath: ./apps/${{ parameters.componentId }}
      copyWithoutRender:
        - assets/images/**
        - static/**/*.png
        - charts/**/*.tgz
      values:
        project_name: ${{ parameters.componentName }}
        project_slug: ${{ parameters.componentId }}
        description: ${{ parameters.description }}
        owner: ${{ parameters.owner }}
        frontend: react
        backend: api
        include_examples: false

Fetch from an internal Git server into a workspace folder

Pulls a private template from an internal Git server and renders it into a workspace subfolder. Use this for enterprise templates before a publish step such as publish:github.

Copy 
steps:
  - id: fetch-internal-service
    action: fetch:cookiecutter
    input:
      url: https://git.corp.example.com/platform/cookiecutter-service-template
      targetPath: ./workspace/${{ parameters.componentId }}
      values:
        project_name: ${{ parameters.componentName }}
        project_slug: ${{ parameters.componentId }}
        description: ${{ parameters.description }}
        owner: ${{ parameters.owner }}
        language: python
        package_name: ${{ parameters.componentId }}
        deploy_to: kubernetes
        include_ci: true