feat(plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-github): add branch/tag comparison action as github:commits:compare by 22367rh · Pull Request #33939 · backstage/backstage

22367rh · 2026-04-16T08:36:03Z

This PR adds branch/tag comparison functionality to the Backend Scaffold for Github & exposes it as github:commits:compare

This uses the octokit's rest.repos.compareCommitsWithBasehead action & returns a simplified array of commits that can be used in templates.

The return array of objects structure is as below:

property	type	description	example
sha	string	The SHA of the commit	`a2dcbf9`
commitDate	string	The date of the commit	2026-04-15T10:15:00Z
commitMessage	string	The first line of the commit message
pullRequestNumber	number	The pull request number associated with the commit, if any	33939
authorName	string	The name of the commit author	Robin Hilton
authorEmail	string	The email of the commit author	22367rh@gmail.com

✔️ Checklist

A changeset describing the change and affected packages. (more info)
Tests for new functionality and regression tests for bug fixes
All your commits have a Signed-off-by line in the message. (more info)

backstage-goalie · 2026-04-16T08:36:35Z

Important

This PR includes changes that affect public-facing API. Please ensure you are adding/updating documentation for new features or behavior.

Changed Packages

Package Name	Package Path	Changeset Bump	Current Version
@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend-module-github	plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-github	minor	`v0.9.9-next.0`

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds a new GitHub scaffolder backend action (github:commits:compare) that compares two refs (SHA/branch/tag) using Octokit’s compare API and returns a simplified list of commits for template consumption.

Changes:

Register a new scaffolder action github:commits:compare in the GitHub scaffolder backend module.
Implement the action using rest.repos.compareCommitsWithBasehead, including dry-run output and examples.
Add a changeset and a basic (dry-run) unit test.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 6 out of 6 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-github/src/module.ts	Registers the new action in the scaffolder backend module.
plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-github/src/actions/index.ts	Exports the new action creator.
plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-github/src/actions/githubCommitsCompare.ts	Implements `github:commits:compare` action (schema, Octokit compare call, mapping).
plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-github/src/actions/githubCommitsCompare.test.ts	Adds unit test coverage (currently only dry-run).
plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-github/src/actions/githubCommitsCompare.examples.ts	Adds scaffolder YAML example for the new action.
.changeset/shaky-emus-divide.md	Declares a minor release for the new action.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 6 out of 6 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 7 out of 7 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

…lable. Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

… as suggested by the CI failure Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

…n in question Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

…ause of it. Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 8 out of 9 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

…ith the output of backstage/backstage#33939 Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

…e-github-signed

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 9 out of 11 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

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22367rh requested a review from a team as a code owner April 16, 2026 08:36

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings April 16, 2026 08:36

22367rh requested a review from a team as a code owner April 16, 2026 08:36

github-actions Bot added the area:scaffolder Everything and all things related to the scaffolder project area label Apr 16, 2026

backstage-goalie Bot added size:medium Medium-sized pull requests receive no change in priority for reviews. waiting-for:review The PR needs a review and will be visible in the review queue unless already assigned an owner. labels Apr 16, 2026

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Comment thread plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-github/src/actions/githubCommitsCompare.examples.ts

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Comment thread plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-github/src/actions/githubCommitsCompare.ts

Comment thread plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-github/src/actions/githubCommitsCompare.ts

22367rh force-pushed the plugins-scaffolder-backend-module-github-signed branch from aaba918 to c8cd39c Compare April 17, 2026 07:07

backstage-goalie Bot added size:huge Huge pull requests receive a lower priority for reviews. and removed size:medium Medium-sized pull requests receive no change in priority for reviews. labels Apr 17, 2026

22367rh force-pushed the plugins-scaffolder-backend-module-github-signed branch from c8cd39c to 976f83f Compare April 17, 2026 07:13

github-actions Bot removed the area:documentation Improvements or additions to documentation label Apr 17, 2026

22367rh added 8 commits April 18, 2026 20:13

Apply fallback suggestion to use committer values if author is unavai…

5cb6783

…lable. Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

ran yarn build:api-reports plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-github…

ee613c5

… as suggested by the CI failure Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

Apply CoPilot Suggestion

cfcf069

Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

Add .vs folder to git ignore

0cdfdfd

Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

yarn build:api-reports

9a7c525

Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

Revert to previous auto generated file as I haven't touched the plugi…

87591f2

…n in question Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

Add updated API report after regenerating

b1e902f

Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

Apply suggestion to making the pull request id be a number

52ed7c8

Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

22367rh force-pushed the plugins-scaffolder-backend-module-github-signed branch from ad02be1 to 52ed7c8 Compare April 18, 2026 09:14

22367rh marked this pull request as draft April 18, 2026 09:16

22367rh added 3 commits April 20, 2026 07:31

Update CI to provide the api reports in situation where it failed bec…

9f29cc0

…ause of it. Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

replace api report with one generated by github run

d5b9410

Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

run ci through prettier

7095eac

Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

22367rh marked this pull request as ready for review April 19, 2026 20:06

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22367rh requested a review from backstage-service as a code owner April 19, 2026 21:58

22367rh mentioned this pull request Apr 20, 2026

scaffolder-backend-module-regex - add search and extract functionality backstage/community-plugins#8655

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22367rh added a commit to 22367rh/community-plugins that referenced this pull request Apr 20, 2026

Add more real world example extraction showing how this would chain w…

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…ith the output of backstage/backstage#33939 Signed-off-by: Robin Hilton <22367rh@gmail.com>

Merge branch 'backstage:master' into plugins-scaffolder-backend-modul…

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…e-github-signed

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Comment thread plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-github/src/actions/githubCommitsCompare.ts

Comment thread .github/workflows/ci.yml Outdated

Comment thread plugins/scaffolder-backend-module-github/package.json

Update .github/workflows/ci.yml

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22367rh commented Apr 16, 2026 •

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