From bd48e561001ae9a2335799ce5e7dac324b6efa9d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: marmionl <l.marmion@elsevier.com>
Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2026 18:36:22 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] fix: bug fix for adding nested entity relations

---
 .changeset/soft-hands-look.md                 |  5 +++
 app-config.yaml                               |  2 +-
 .../relations-backend/examples/group-1.yaml   |  3 +-
 .../src/processor/processorConfig.test.ts     | 32 +++++++++++++++++++
 .../src/processor/processorConfig.ts          |  3 +-
 5 files changed, 42 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 .changeset/soft-hands-look.md

diff --git a/.changeset/soft-hands-look.md b/.changeset/soft-hands-look.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1bf5414
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/soft-hands-look.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@dweber019/backstage-plugin-relations-backend': minor
+---
+
+fix: nested relations for entities will now be generated
diff --git a/app-config.yaml b/app-config.yaml
index 302cf82..63f1b88 100644
--- a/app-config.yaml
+++ b/app-config.yaml
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ relationsProcessor:
     - sourceKind: group
       targetKinds:
         - user
-      attribute: productOwner
+      attribute: nestedContact.productOwner
       multi: false
       pairs:
       - incoming: productOwnerOf
diff --git a/plugins/relations-backend/examples/group-1.yaml b/plugins/relations-backend/examples/group-1.yaml
index 08b58f3..53753b9 100644
--- a/plugins/relations-backend/examples/group-1.yaml
+++ b/plugins/relations-backend/examples/group-1.yaml
@@ -8,4 +8,5 @@ spec:
   members:
     - john-doe
     - kevin-po
-  productOwner: user:default/kevin-po
+  nestedContact:  
+    productOwner: user:default/kevin-po
diff --git a/plugins/relations-backend/src/processor/processorConfig.test.ts b/plugins/relations-backend/src/processor/processorConfig.test.ts
index 4777b3b..fc5390f 100644
--- a/plugins/relations-backend/src/processor/processorConfig.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/relations-backend/src/processor/processorConfig.test.ts
@@ -221,6 +221,38 @@ describe('processorConfig', () => {
     expect(relations).toHaveLength(2);
   });
 
+  test('should return relation for nested attribute', async () => {
+    const config = new ConfigReader({
+      relationsProcessor: {
+        relations: [
+          {
+            sourceKind: 'System',
+            attribute: 'contacts.technologyOwner',
+            pairs: [
+              {
+                incoming: 'technologyOwnerOf',
+                outgoing: 'technologyOwner',
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+        ],
+      },
+    });
+    const entity = {
+      kind: 'System',
+      spec: {
+        contacts: {
+          technologyOwner: 'user:default/john.doe',
+        },
+      },
+    } as unknown as Entity;
+
+    const processorConfig = new ProcessorConfig(config);
+    const relations = processorConfig.getRelations(entity);
+
+    expect(relations).toHaveLength(1);
+  });
+
   test('should throw error for config errors', async () => {
     const config = new ConfigReader({
       relationsProcessor: {
diff --git a/plugins/relations-backend/src/processor/processorConfig.ts b/plugins/relations-backend/src/processor/processorConfig.ts
index 6bb71bc..a4f0ce1 100644
--- a/plugins/relations-backend/src/processor/processorConfig.ts
+++ b/plugins/relations-backend/src/processor/processorConfig.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { Config } from '@backstage/config';
 import relationV1alpha1Schema from './Relation.v1alpha1.schema.json';
 import { Entity } from '@backstage/catalog-model';
+import { has } from 'lodash';
 
 interface RelationConfig {
   sourceKind: string;
@@ -25,7 +26,7 @@ export class ProcessorConfig {
     return this.relations.filter(relation => {
       return (
         entity.kind.toLocaleLowerCase() === relation.sourceKind &&
-        entity.spec?.hasOwnProperty(relation.attribute) &&
+        has(entity.spec, relation.attribute) &&
         (relation.sourceType === undefined ||
           (entity.spec?.type &&
             (entity.spec?.type as string).toLocaleLowerCase() ===