How to access all published library components from a plugin — not just ones used in the file?

Hi everyone,

I'm working on a Figma plugin that currently reads components present in the local file using the plugin API. This works fine for what's already placed on the canvas.

However, my use case requires access to the full catalog of published components from team/org libraries — including components that haven't been used or instantiated in the current file. I have view-only access to these library files.

From what I've found so far:

• figma.root.findAll() only returns nodes in the current file
• figma.teamLibrary.getAvailableLibraryComponentsAsync() was promising, but it only returns components that are already enabled/used — not the complete library
• There doesn't seem to be a way to enumerate all published components from an external library file within the plugin sandbox

The only working approach I've found is setting up a backend server that calls the Figma REST API (/v1/files/{key}/components) to fetch the full component list — but I'd prefer to avoid that complexity if possible.

Questions:

1. Is there a plugin API method I'm missing that gives access to all published library components?
2. Has anyone found a way to do this without a backend?
3. If a backend is the only path, is that a common pattern others are using?

Would love to hear how others have approached this. Thanks!