Issue with Merging valueFiles in External Helm Chart through ApplicationSet

[drexlar5]

Hi,

I’m encountering a challenge with Argo CD when trying to combine valueFiles from a Git repository with an external Helm chart pulled from a Helm repository using an ApplicationSet.

Context:

In my current setup, I am working with multiple sources in the ApplicationSet:

1. Helm chart from an external Helm repository (e.g., ChartMuseum).
2. values.yaml file hosted in the same Git repository as the ApplicationSet.

Here is a simplified example of my ApplicationSet YAML configuration:

apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: ApplicationSet
metadata:
  name: app-name-multi-cluster
  namespace: <argocd-namespace>
spec:
  generators:
    - clusters:
        selector:
          matchLabels:
            environment: production
  template:
    metadata:
      name: app-{{name}}
    spec:
      destination:
        namespace: app-namespace
        server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
      sources:
        - repoURL: 'https://<helm-repo-url>'
          chart: app-name
          targetRevision: 1.2.123
          helm:
            valueFiles: $values/argo/values/values.yaml
        - repoURL: 'https://github.com/<your-org>/<your-git-repo>.git'
          targetRevision: main
          path: argo/values/
          directory:
            recurse: true
            include: '**/values.yaml'
      syncPolicy:
        automated:
          prune: true
          selfHeal: true

Issue:

• The external Helm chart is being deployed correctly, but valueFiles are not applied, meaning the custom values.yaml from my Git repository is not overriding the default Helm values.
• Additionally, no error or warning is emitted when valueFiles are not processed, making it challenging to troubleshoot.

Goal of Discussion:

I’m looking for insights on the following points:

1. Has anyone faced similar issues when merging values from Git (valueFiles) with Helm charts from external repositories?
2. Are there known workarounds to ensure Argo CD processes valueFiles from multiple sources?
3. Should Argo CD provide warnings or error messages when valueFiles are not applied to Helm charts to make troubleshooting easier?
4. Would using a plugin or custom script to handle secrets or values help in this case?

Environment:

Argo CD version: v2.12.3+6b9cd82
Helm version: v2
Kubernetes version:
   Client Version: v1.28.13
   Kustomize Version: v5.0.4-0.20230601165947-6ce0bf390ce3
   Server Version: v1.28.13-gke.1006000

I’d appreciate any feedback or suggestions on how to resolve this issue or insights from anyone who has dealt with similar setups!

[yondkoo]

It looked like you forgot to define ref: values.

        - repoURL: 'https://github.com/<your-org>/<your-git-repo>.git'
          targetRevision: main
          path: argo/values/
          ref: values
          directory:
            recurse: true
            include: '**/values.yaml'

[drexlar5]

I tried it with Application and it seems to work (though not for our use case). I am trying to make it work for ApplicationSet as we need to setup many applications with similar configurations.

[yondkoo]

Have you found a solution for this?

[drexlar5]

I found out that it works for public repo while it has a hard time finding private git repos.

Our setup uses OCM with Argo installation.

The values.yaml files are in the same repository as the application sets which means Argo already has access to the private repo. But for some weird reasons it has access to the repo to get the application set but can not access the repo when using valueFiles.

I tried adding the secrets to OCM also https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/red_hat_advanced_cluster_management_for_kubernetes/2.5/html/applications/managing-applications#git-SSH-connection but that does not seem to work.

[BigNateBombBomb]

@drexlar5 Any resolution to this? I have run into the exact same issue 😞

[drexlar5]

@BigNateBombBomb the resolution to this was that we created a custom Kubernetes operator using python kopf to get the secrets from our secrets store and then use it for the helm deploys.