Backend API

Backend API Development Guide

Extension API: @podman-desktop/api

The extension runs as a Podman Desktop extension in Node.js. Host interactions go through @podman-desktop/api (external dependency, not bundled).

Discover available APIs by reading type definitions:

find node_modules/@podman-desktop/api -name '*.d.ts' | head -5

Kubernetes Client: @kubernetes/client-node

Key classes:

• KubeConfig — load from file, manage contexts
• Watch — stream Kubernetes object changes
• KubernetesObjectApi — direct object operations (CRUD)
• loadAllYaml — parse YAML documents

Kubeconfig lifecycle in dashboard-extension.ts:

const kubeconfig = kubernetes.getKubeconfig();
const kubeConfig = new KubeConfig();
kubeConfig.loadFromFile(event.location.path);
await this.#contextsManager.update(kubeConfig);

// Watch for kubeconfig changes
kubernetes.onDidUpdateKubeconfig(this.onKubeconfigUpdate.bind(this));

Inversify DI

All services use @injectable() and are bound in module files.

Creating a New Service

1. Define the interface in packages/channels/src/interface/
2. Create the implementation:

@injectable()
export class MyServiceImpl implements MyServiceApi {
  @inject(ContextsManager) private manager: ContextsManager;

  async myMethod(arg: string): Promise<Result> {
    // implementation
  }
}

3. Bind in the appropriate module (packages/extension/src/manager/_manager-module.ts):

options.bind<MyServiceImpl>(MyServiceImpl).toSelf().inSingletonScope();

4. If the service needs cleanup, also bind as IDisposable:

options.bind(IDisposable).toService(MyServiceImpl);

DI Module Organization

• manager/_manager-module.ts — Core managers and API implementations
• dispatcher/_dispatcher-module.ts — State dispatchers
• port-forward/_port-forward-module.ts — Port forwarding
• subscriber/_subscriber_modules.ts — Channel subscribers

Symbols

// packages/extension/src/inject/symbol.ts
export const ExtensionContextSymbol = Symbol.for('ExtensionContext');
export const TelemetryLoggerSymbol = Symbol.for('TelemetryLogger');

Dispatcher Pattern (State Broadcasting)

Dispatchers push state from extension to webview via RPC broadcasts.

Base class: AbsDispatcherObjectImpl<T, U> in dispatcher/util/dispatcher-object.ts

• Debounce: 100ms — prevents rapid-fire updates
• Throttle: 200ms — guarantees minimum update interval

Creating a New Dispatcher

@injectable()
export class MyDispatcher extends AbsDispatcherObjectImpl<MyOptions, MyInfo> {
  constructor(@inject(ContextsManager) private manager: ContextsManager) {
    super(MY_CHANNEL);
  }

  getData(options: MyOptions): MyInfo {
    return { items: this.manager.getMyData(options) };
  }
}

Bind in dispatcher/_dispatcher-module.ts:

options.bind<MyDispatcher>(MyDispatcher).toSelf().inSingletonScope();
options.bind(DispatcherObject).toService(MyDispatcher);

Subscriber Pattern

ChannelSubscriber (subscriber/channel-subscriber.ts) tracks which webview subscribers need data for each channel. Used by ContextsStatesDispatcher to dispatch updates only to active subscribers.

Resource Factories

Each Kubernetes resource type has a factory in resources/:

• pods-resource-factory.ts, deployments-resource-factory.ts, etc.

Factories implement ResourceInformerFactory and ResourcePermissionsFactory:

export interface ResourceInformerFactory {
  createInformer(kubeconfig: KubeConfigSingleContext): ResourceInformer<KubernetesObject>;
}

Adding a New Kubernetes Resource

1. Create my-resource-factory.ts in packages/extension/src/resources/
2. Implement ResourceInformerFactory and ResourcePermissionsFactory
3. Register in ResourceFactoryHandler
4. Add channel + dispatcher for the resource data
5. Add state object in webview

Checklist for New Backend Features

• Channel interface defined in packages/channels/src/interface/
• Data models in packages/channels/src/model/ if needed
• RPC channel created in packages/channels/src/channels.ts
• @injectable() implementation in packages/extension/src/
• Bound in appropriate DI module
• Registered with RPC in dashboard-extension.ts
• Unit tests with mocked @podman-desktop/api