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Backstage Lighthouse Plugin Shows No Audit Data

DodaTech Updated 2026-06-24 2 min read

In this tutorial, you'll learn about Backstage Lighthouse Plugin Shows No Audit Data. We cover key concepts, practical examples, and best practices to help you understand and apply this topic effectively.

The Lighthouse plugin dashboard shows no audits or reports are stuck in a queued state.

Wrong ❌

# app-config.yaml - missing lighthouse configuration
backend:
  baseUrl: http://localhost:7007

# lighthouse plugin requires:
#   lighthouse:
#     baseUrl: http://lighthouse:3003

Wrong Output

Lighthouse Plugin dashboard shows:
"No audits found. Create your first audit to get started."
But audits are present in the Lighthouse service at http://lighthouse:3003

# app-config.yaml
backend:
  baseUrl: http://localhost:7007

lighthouse:
  baseUrl: http://lighthouse:3003

# Also configure catalog entity links
techdocs:
  builder: 'local'
  generators:
    techdocs: 'docker'

Right Output

Lighthouse Plugin displays:
My Service - Score: 92 - Last audited: 2026-06-24
[Run Audit] [View Report]

Prevention

  • Configure lighthouse.baseUrl in app-config.yaml to point to the Lighthouse service endpoint.
  • Ensure the Lighthouse service is accessible from the Backstage backend pod or Process.
  • Add the LighthousePlugin to your App.tsx imports and entity page.
  • Use the entity annotation lighthouse.com/website-url on catalog entities to associate URLs.
  • Verify cross-origin requests are allowed between Backstage and the Lighthouse service.

DodaTech applies similar defensive patterns across Doda Browser, DodaZIP, and Durga Antivirus Pro infrastructure for production reliability.

Common Mistakes with lighthouse plugin

  1. Mixing let bindings with <- bindings in do notation, producing type errors
  2. Overlapping type class instances that cause GHC to reject the program with ambiguous dispatch errors
  3. Non-exhaustive pattern matches that compile with warnings then crash at runtime

These mistakes appear frequently in real-world BACKSTAGE code. DodaTech's contributors have identified these patterns through analysis of open-source projects and production systems.

Practice Exercise

Write a pure function that safely divides two integers using Maybe, then test it with edge cases like division by zero and negative numbers.

This exercise reinforces the concepts covered in this guide. Try implementing it before checking online solutions.

FAQ

**Q: What is the most common cause of this backstage error?**

A: Configuration drift between environments and version mismatches between the client and server are the top causes. Always verify both before deeper troubleshooting.

Q: Can this error affect production traffic?

A: Yes. Depending on whether the error occurs in the control plane or data plane, it can block all traffic or cause silent failures. Always test configuration changes in a staging environment first.

Q: How do I monitor for this error in production?

A: Set up log-based alerts for the error signature shown in the Wrong Output section. Prometheus, Grafana, and Datadog all support pattern matching on log entries.

Q: Is there a quick rollback procedure?

A: If you have the previous configuration version, revert and restart. For data-plane errors, replay affected records from the source of truth. Always version control your configuration.

This quick fix is part of the DodaTech infrastructure engineering series. Learn more at DodaTech tutorials.

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