In the rapidly evolving landscape of Backstage, an open platform for building developer portals, the shift towards dynamic plugins with Backstage represents a significant leap forward in enhancing modularity, scalability, and the overall developer experience.

This 80-minute workshop offers an insightful journey into converting static Backstage plugins to dynamic, a key advancement for developers in the Backstage ecosystem. Dynamic plugins boost modularity and scalability by enabling more flexible and efficient functionality loading, significantly enhancing the developer experience and customisation of a Backstage instance. Participants will gain a foundational understanding of dynamic plugins, covering architectural differences, lifecycle management, and on-demand loading benefits. The session includes a concise overview and a hands-on mini-exercise where participants will convert a static plugin component to dynamic, providing a practical understanding of the conversion process.
Aimed at Backstage plugin developers and software engineers, this workshop is designed to impart the necessary knowledge and confidence to transition to dynamic plugins, thereby contributing to a more efficient and future-proof Backstage ecosystem. Attendees will leave with strategic insights and actionable steps for initiating their plugin conversion projects.

1. Introduction to Dynamic Plugins (10 minutes)
   * Quick overview of dynamic plugins and their benefits in Backstage.
   * Architectural differences between static and dynamic plugins.

2. Converting a plugin (20 minutes)
   * Step-by-step outline for converting a static plugin to dynamic.
   * Highlight best practices, limitations and common challenges.

3. Hands-On Exercise: Converting a Plugin Component (40 minutes)
   * Participants will engage in a guided exercise to convert a small, predefined part of a static plugin to dynamic.
   * Focus on key conversion steps and immediate troubleshooting.

4. Q&A and Wrap-Up (10 minutes)
   * Address participant questions.
   * Resources for further learning and exploration.