P0 — clusters/base/platform.yaml gains `dependsOn: [flux-system]`. This is the actual fix
for the incident, not the feature gate. Verified against kustomize-controller v1.4.0
`kustomization_controller.go :: checkDependencies` (our version): dependsOn is REVISION-
gated, not merely Ready-gated — when the dependency shares a GitRepository, the dependent
cannot reconcile revision N until the dependency has APPLIED revision N. Applying revision
N is exactly what writes a newly-added cluster-vars knob.
Graph verified mechanically, not by eye: built clusters/dev and clusters/prod and walked
the resulting objects. `platform` was the ONLY Kustomization without a dependsOn, and all
11 substituting Kustomizations chain transitively through it (platform-config -> platform;
the waves, apps-vms, oauth2-proxy, headlamp, homepage, crafty, velero -> platform-config).
The "not chaining through platform" set is EMPTY, so this one edge protects the whole
graph. DFS over the full edge set after the edit: no cycles. The root (clusters/dev/
sync.yaml) runs wait: false, which is what makes the edge deadlock-free — it reaches Ready
on apply success without health-gating its children.
Accepted trade-off, documented in-file: the root becomes a gate. A malformed manifest
anywhere under clusters/<env> — including clusters/base — now stalls platform and
everything downstream, where today it would not. Fail-closed, per doctrine.
P1 — StrictPostBuildSubstitutions. MY PREMISE WAS WRONG about where this belongs and it
matters: this repo deliberately does NOT use `flux bootstrap` (see bootstrap/flux/README).
There is no gotk-components.yaml in git, and the live kustomize-controller Deployment
carries NO Flux ownership labels — it was installed imperatively by `flux install` from
bootstrap.sh and is not in Flux's inventory. `flux-system` self-manages the CR graph, NOT
the controllers. Nothing under clusters/** can reach a controller flag.
So it uses Flux's documented mechanism for hand-installed clusters: a new
bootstrap/flux/components/kustomization.yaml wrapping `gotk-components.yaml` with a
JSON-6902 patch appending --feature-gates=StrictPostBuildSubstitutions=true to
kustomize-controller. JSON-6902 `add /args/-` deliberately, NOT strategic merge — a
container's args is atomic and a merge patch would replace all five install-generated
args. bootstrap.sh step 1 now renders (`flux install --export` into a temp dir, apply the
patch, ASSERT the gate string is present so a future Flux bump that breaks the patch
target fails loudly) then applies. FLUX_INSTALL_PLAIN=1 is a loud escape hatch. Nothing is
vendored, so components can never drift from the pinned FLUX_VERSION.
Rejected: vendoring gotk-components.yaml under the root's path (the root's prune: true
would put Flux's own controllers and CRDs in a prune inventory), and shipping a partial
Deployment as a Flux-managed resource (a future prune would delete kustomize-controller).
ROLLOUT ORDER MATTERS. P0 arrives automatically on the next reconcile. P1 does NOT arrive
on a git push — the controller Deployment is outside Flux's inventory, so an operator must
re-run bootstrap.sh step 1, which restarts kustomize-controller (~10-20s; Flux is
level-triggered so an interrupted reconcile is simply retried). P0 must be reconciled
BEFORE P1 is rolled out: with the gate on but the ordering edge absent, the same race
turns a transient empty render into a transient hard Kustomization failure.
ALSO FIXES A PHASE-7 BLOCKER THIS CHANGE WOULD OTHERWISE HAVE CREATED. clusters/prod had
no root Kustomization — dev/sync.yaml even carried the note "a prod overlay needs its own
sync.yaml -> ./clusters/prod". With the new dependsOn, a prod bootstrap would have left
platform blocked forever on a flux-system Kustomization that does not exist, and nothing
downstream would ever reconcile. clusters/prod/sync.yaml is now authored, mirroring dev.
Two further prod-overlay gaps found and DOCUMENTED, not guessed (PROD-PROVISIONING §7):
prod has no SOPS `decryption` patch (every encrypted Secret would fail to decrypt — needs
the prod age-key decision, a security choice not a copy), and no GitRepository source URL
patch (needs a decision on whether prod tracks the same branch as dev, which would make a
dev-facing merge reconcile prod).
Substitution gate re-run: check OK, 102 assertions, 0 hazards. Gate: MERGE GATE: PASS.
Serves: R-ENV-02, R-GITOPS-01, R-PLAT-01, R-ENV-03.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <[email protected]>
Text-only cleanup after the upgrade campaign. Updates stale version
strings, prose, and comments to the verified current facts; no
Kubernetes behavior or version pins changed except the kubectl
toolchain bump (below).
Verified facts applied: k3s v1.36.4+k3s1, Debian 13 trixie,
Cilium 1.20.1 / Gateway API v1.6.1, Longhorn 1.12.1, node RAM 24 GiB,
dedicated virtio2 SSD etcd disk per node, Velero chart 12.x / v1.18,
Grafana 13.2.0.
- Version strings across infra/ and platform/ READMEs + comments
- kubectl toolchain 1.31.4 -> 1.36.4 (devcontainer/ci/conformance
versions.env; 1.31 vs a 1.36 cluster exceeded the +-1 skew)
- Retired-single-apps-Kustomization refs -> apps-wave-0/1/2 + apps-vms
with per-wave SOPS decryption (flux/clusters docs + bootstrap.sh)
- COMPLETED/historical banners on the three executed plan docs
- Resolved TODO(WS-SEC) markers -> Renovate-maintained ranges
- Appended dated DECISIONS-LOG entry (2026-08-30) superseding the
2026-08-26 LIVE STATE line
Left as revalidation items (not blind-edited): external-snapshotter
v8.2.0 vs 1.36, Cilium ext_authz/forward-auth relevance under 1.20.1,
conformance ImageVolume feature-gate assertions under 1.36.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <[email protected]>
jakman85andClaude Opus 5