kubernetes / kubernetes/kubectl

Unable to issue --enable-helm to kubectl delete command

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#1,509 4 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
kind/bug lifecycle/rotten needs-triage
Dominant language
Go
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Description

**What happened**:

Trying to `kubectl delete -k --enable-helm` results in kubectl reporting: `error: unknown flag: --enable-helm`. Removing `--enable-helm` results in

```
error: trouble configuring builtin HelmChartInflationGenerator with config: : must specify --enable-helm
```

**What you expected to happen**:

`delete` should work the same as `apply`.

**How to reproduce it (as minimally and precisely as possible)**:

Create a basic kustomize overlay that references some helm chart, e.g.:

```
apiVersion: kustomize.config.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: Kustomization

namespace: linkerd-viz

resources:
- ../base

helmCharts:
- name: linkerd-viz
repo: https://helm.linkerd.io/stable
version: 30.12.2
releaseName: linkerd-viz
namespace: linkerd-viz
valuesFile: values.yaml
```

Apply with `kubectl apply -k --enable-helm`

Wait for it to apply

Try to delete it with `kubectl delete-k --enable-helm`

Observe

**Anything else we need to know?**:

N/A
**Environment**:

- Kubernetes client and server versions (use `kubectl version`):
- Client Version: v1.27.3
- Kustomize Version: v5.0.1
- Server Version: v1.27.6+k3s1
- Cloud provider or hardware configuration:
- Azure IaaS VMs for server, Windows 11 desktop for client
- OS (e.g: `cat /etc/os-release`):

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by tracing the kubectl delete -k entry point and how it handles the --enable-helm option, then compare that path with kubectl apply -k. Reproduce the commands from the issue and consider the work complete when delete accepts --enable-helm and processes the Helm-backed overlay as apply does.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
go
Domain
cli
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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