From Architecture to Running Code
A reference architecture that only exists as diagrams and documentation has limited value. CNOE ships a concrete, runnable implementation called idpbuilder — a CLI tool that deploys a complete CNOE-aligned platform on your local machine using a local Kubernetes cluster (via kind).
idpbuilder provisions the full stack in a single command:
- A local Kubernetes cluster
- ArgoCD (configured and running)
- Backstage (with the ArgoCD plugin pre-configured)
- Gitea (a local Git server, so you do not need GitHub access)
- Keycloak (pre-configured with OIDC for all tools)
This is not a toy demo. The architecture of the local deployment mirrors what you would run in production. The configuration patterns — how ArgoCD authenticates to Keycloak, how Backstage discovers ArgoCD applications — are the same patterns you would use in a real cluster.
Why This Matters
Most platform engineering teams spend their first three months figuring out how to wire tools together before they can deliver any value to developers. idpbuilder compresses that to an afternoon. You can explore a working CNOE platform, inspect every configuration file, break things, and understand the integration patterns — all without touching production infrastructure.
The idpbuilder repository is maintained by the CNOE community on GitHub under the cnoe-io organization.