[RFE] Backplane-cli should have a no-proxy flag

[samanthajayasinghe]

Context

When doing development on backplane-api, we need to run it locally.

The development guide has a note to edit your backplane config and remove the proxy_url

~/.config/backplane
If this is not done correctly, its very hard to figure from the returned errors of either backplane-cli or backplane-api logs even with full verbosity.

Additionally, one needs to patch it back afterwards.

User Story

I want to be able to override the configured proxy in backplane-cli, to be able to talk to a locally running backplane-api, without patching any of my local config files.

Impact/Value

This has repeatedly caused issues when people try to do development in the backplane space ( including cad and managed scripts )

What needs to be done (optional)

Add a --no-proxy flag to backplane-cli (or --proxy allowing an empty string)

Improve the verbose output with full http requests to allow for easier debugging

Update the development guide for backplane-api with the new flag

(If applicable): Update cad and managed-scripts contributing guides to explain how to test changes against a locally running backplane-api

A link to the backplane–api development guide could be a good start

[fullsend-ai-triage]

🤖 Finished Triage · ✅ Success · Started 4:43 AM UTC · Completed 4:46 AM UTC
Commit: ae64d7c · View workflow run →

[fullsend-ai-triage]

Triage Summary

This is a well-defined feature request for adding a --no-proxy flag to bypass the configured proxy when developing against a locally running backplane-api.

Problem

Developers working on backplane-api, CAD, or managed-scripts must manually edit ~/.config/backplane/config.json to remove the proxy_url before testing locally, then restore it afterwards. This is error-prone and produces confusing errors when forgotten.

Recommended Implementation

1. Add --no-proxy global flag in pkg/cli/globalflags/globalflags.go alongside the existing --proxy flag
2. Update config loading in pkg/cli/config/config.go to skip proxy setup when --no-proxy is set, giving it precedence over both config file and --proxy flag
3. Improve debug output to log proxy status (active/bypassed) and full request URLs for easier troubleshooting
4. Update documentation — README usage table and development guides

Proposed Test Cases

Test 1: --no-proxy with config proxy-url set -> client created without proxy
Test 2: --no-proxy + --proxy <url> -> --no-proxy takes precedence
Test 3: Neither flag set -> config proxy-url used (backward compat)
Test 4: Verbose output includes proxy status information

Notes

• The existing --proxy flag and ProxyURL config field are in pkg/cli/globalflags/globalflags.go and pkg/cli/config/config.go respectively
• The BackplaneConfiguration.ProxyURL is a *string, so setting it to nil when --no-proxy is active should naturally disable proxying
• Per CONTRIBUTING.md, new global flags should be respected by all subcommands — since this modifies existing proxy behavior, this is consistent

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Labels: This is an enhancement request for a new CLI flag, matching the existing 'enhancement' label.

[samanthajayasinghe]

/fs-code

[fullsend-ai-coder]

🤖 Finished Code · ✅ Success · Started 4:49 AM UTC · Completed 5:17 AM UTC
Commit: ae64d7c · View workflow run →