ska-octopus-backend

ska-octopus-backend is the FastAPI + GraphQL service that backs the SKAO Octopus dashboards. It stitches together Tango, local streams, HDB++ PostgreSQL queries, and external REST/GraphQL APIs while serving a password-protected configuration UI and widget registry assets.

Note

Memory footprint: each worker loads the full stack (FastAPI, Ariadne, motor, asyncpg, PyTango, etc.), so expect ~350–400 MiB RSS per worker. PyTango remains for environment exploration today; when TangoGQL becomes the only Tango path we’ll drop those heavy deps to slim the baseline. The default entrypoint uses Gunicorn + uvicorn workers; preload/shutdown knobs can help shave memory.

Project info

• Version: 0.4.9

• Source: https://gitlab.com/ska-telescope/ska-octopus-backend

• Changelog: Changelog

Using This Guide

• Getting Started shows how to install dependencies and launch a local stack.

• Dynamic Endpoint Configuration documents the runtime GraphQL schema loader and security expectations.

• API Reference contains the autogenerated API surface with inline commentary.

• Test Coverage and Changelog round out the testing and release history.

Contents

• Getting Started
  • Kubernetes deployment (official SKAO path)
  • Local development (optional)
  • Everyday Developer Tasks
  • Next Steps
• Dynamic Endpoint Configuration
  • Expected Document Blocks
  • Resolver Backends
  • Security Around Endpoint Editing
  • Frontend Endpoint Sources
  • Operational Guidance
• Deployment Configuration
  • Chart Structure at a Glance
  • Backend Image and Scaling
  • Service and Ingress
  • Config UI Credentials
  • Local Auth Users
  • Environment Variables (vars)
  • Optional MongoDB
  • Tango, Test Devices, and Demo Helpers
  • Putting It All Together
• Role Levels
  • Role Matrix
  • Semantics
  • Backend
  • Frontend
  • SDK
  • Example
• API Reference
  • Working With This Reference
  • Application Lifecycle and HTTP Surface
  • Authentication and Session Management
  • Configuration Management
  • Messaging and Streaming
  • Widgets Registry
• Test Coverage
• Changelog