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1 | 1 | --- |
2 | 2 | title: Key Concepts |
3 | 3 | linkTitle: Key Concepts |
4 | | -description: "Learn about the key concepts of Cozystack, such as management cluster, tenants, and variants." |
| 4 | +description: "Learn about the key concepts of Cozystack, such as management cluster, tenants, variants, and the PackageSource/Package lifecycle." |
5 | 5 | weight: 10 |
6 | 6 | aliases: |
7 | 7 | - /docs/v1/concepts |
@@ -79,3 +79,253 @@ Each variant is tested, versioned, and guaranteed to work as a unit. |
79 | 79 | They simplify installation, reduce the risk of misconfiguration, and make it easier to choose the right set of features for your deployment. |
80 | 80 |
|
81 | 81 | Read more: [Variants]({{% ref "/docs/v1/operations/configuration/variants" %}}). |
| 82 | + |
| 83 | +## PackageSource and Package |
| 84 | + |
| 85 | +`PackageSource` and `Package` are the two Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs) that drive the entire application lifecycle in Cozystack. |
| 86 | + |
| 87 | +- **PackageSource** (cluster-scoped) defines what is available: it references a Flux source (OCIRepository or GitRepository) that polls an external registry, lists variants, declares dependencies, and specifies the components that make up each application. |
| 88 | +- **Package** (cluster-scoped) defines what is deployed: it selects a variant from a PackageSource, provides per-component value overrides, and triggers the creation of a HelmRelease that manages the actual Kubernetes resources. |
| 89 | + |
| 90 | +Together, they form a declarative pipeline: external charts flow through Flux sources and artifact generators into ready-to-install Helm charts, which Packages then instantiate as running workloads. |
| 91 | + |
| 92 | +### Reconciliation Flow |
| 93 | + |
| 94 | +The full reconciliation chain from an external registry to running Kubernetes resources: |
| 95 | + |
| 96 | +```mermaid |
| 97 | +flowchart TD |
| 98 | + REG["External Helm Registry<br/>(OCI Registry or Git Repo)"] |
| 99 | + SRC["Flux Source<br/>(OCIRepository / GitRepository)<br/>Periodically polls the registry"] |
| 100 | + PS["PackageSource<br/>(cluster-scoped)<br/>Defines variants, dependencies,<br/>libraries, and components"] |
| 101 | + AG["ArtifactGenerator<br/>(in cozy-system namespace)<br/>Builds an ExternalArtifact<br/>for each component"] |
| 102 | + EA["ExternalArtifact<br/>Assembled Helm chart<br/>ready for installation"] |
| 103 | + PKG["Package<br/>(cluster-scoped)<br/>Selects variant + per-component values"] |
| 104 | + HR["HelmRelease<br/>(namespace-scoped)<br/>References ExternalArtifact via chartRef"] |
| 105 | + K8S["Kubernetes Resources<br/>(Pods, Services, ConfigMaps, Secrets, ...)"] |
| 106 | +
|
| 107 | + REG --> SRC |
| 108 | + PS -->|"references via sourceRef"| SRC |
| 109 | + PS -->|"reconciler creates"| AG |
| 110 | + AG -->|"reads charts from"| SRC |
| 111 | + AG --> EA |
| 112 | + PKG -->|"triggers creation of"| HR |
| 113 | + HR -->|"references via chartRef"| EA |
| 114 | + HR --> K8S |
| 115 | +``` |
| 116 | + |
| 117 | +The naming convention for ExternalArtifacts follows the pattern `<packagesource>-<variant>-<component>`, with dots replaced by dashes to comply with Kubernetes naming rules. For example, a PackageSource named `cozystack.keycloak` with variant `default` and component `keycloak` produces `cozystack-keycloak-default-keycloak`. |
| 118 | + |
| 119 | +### Package Dependencies |
| 120 | + |
| 121 | +PackageSource variants can declare `dependsOn` to gate HelmRelease creation until all dependencies are ready: |
| 122 | + |
| 123 | +```mermaid |
| 124 | +flowchart LR |
| 125 | + A["Package A"] |
| 126 | + B["Package B"] |
| 127 | + CHECK{"All dependencies<br/>Ready?"} |
| 128 | + C["Package C"] |
| 129 | + HR["HelmRelease for C"] |
| 130 | +
|
| 131 | + A -->|"status: Ready"| CHECK |
| 132 | + B -->|"status: Ready"| CHECK |
| 133 | + CHECK -->|"Yes"| HR |
| 134 | + CHECK -->|"No"| WAIT["Package C waits"] |
| 135 | +``` |
| 136 | + |
| 137 | +If all dependencies report a `Ready` status, the dependent Package proceeds to create its HelmRelease. Otherwise, the Package remains in a waiting state until the conditions are met. |
| 138 | + |
| 139 | +### Update Flow |
| 140 | + |
| 141 | +When a new chart version is pushed to the registry, updates propagate automatically through the reconciliation chain: |
| 142 | + |
| 143 | +```mermaid |
| 144 | +flowchart TD |
| 145 | + PUSH["Push new chart version<br/>to OCI registry"] |
| 146 | + FLUX["Flux detects digest change<br/>(periodic polling)"] |
| 147 | + REBUILD["ArtifactGenerator rebuilds<br/>ExternalArtifact"] |
| 148 | + UPGRADE["HelmRelease triggers<br/>helm upgrade"] |
| 149 | + DEPLOY["New version deployed"] |
| 150 | +
|
| 151 | + PUSH --> FLUX |
| 152 | + FLUX --> REBUILD |
| 153 | + REBUILD --> UPGRADE |
| 154 | + UPGRADE --> DEPLOY |
| 155 | +``` |
| 156 | + |
| 157 | +To speed up synchronization without waiting for the next polling interval (Flux sources live in the `cozy-system` namespace): |
| 158 | + |
| 159 | +```text |
| 160 | +flux reconcile source oci <source-name> --namespace cozy-system |
| 161 | +``` |
| 162 | + |
| 163 | +To update application values without changing the chart version, patch the Package CR directly. |
| 164 | +Values are scoped per component under `spec.components.<component-name>.values`: |
| 165 | + |
| 166 | +```text |
| 167 | +kubectl patch package <name> --type merge --patch '{"spec":{"components":{"<component-name>":{"values":{"key":"value"}}}}}' |
| 168 | +``` |
| 169 | + |
| 170 | +### Rollback Strategies |
| 171 | + |
| 172 | +There are three approaches to rolling back a Package, listed from most to least recommended: |
| 173 | + |
| 174 | +**GitOps rollback (recommended):** Push the previous chart version to the OCI registry. Flux detects the change and triggers an upgrade to the "old" version through the standard reconciliation flow. |
| 175 | + |
| 176 | +```mermaid |
| 177 | +flowchart LR |
| 178 | + PUSH["Push previous chart<br/>to registry"] |
| 179 | + FLUX["Flux detects change"] |
| 180 | + UP["Helm upgrade<br/>to previous version"] |
| 181 | + OK["Rollback complete"] |
| 182 | +
|
| 183 | + PUSH --> FLUX --> UP --> OK |
| 184 | +``` |
| 185 | + |
| 186 | +**Emergency rollback:** Run `helm rollback` directly and suspend the HelmRelease to prevent Flux from re-applying the newer version. This bypasses GitOps and should only be used in emergencies. |
| 187 | + |
| 188 | +```mermaid |
| 189 | +flowchart LR |
| 190 | + ROLLBACK["helm rollback<br/><release> <revision>"] |
| 191 | + SUSPEND["flux suspend helmrelease<br/><name>"] |
| 192 | + NOTE["Flux will NOT re-apply<br/>while suspended"] |
| 193 | +
|
| 194 | + ROLLBACK --> SUSPEND --> NOTE |
| 195 | +``` |
| 196 | + |
| 197 | +**Controlled rollback:** Suspend the HelmRelease first, then run `helm rollback`, fix the chart in the registry, and resume the HelmRelease. |
| 198 | + |
| 199 | +```mermaid |
| 200 | +flowchart TD |
| 201 | + S1["Suspend HelmRelease"] |
| 202 | + S2["helm rollback"] |
| 203 | + S3["Fix chart in registry"] |
| 204 | + S4["Resume HelmRelease"] |
| 205 | + S5["Flux reconciles<br/>with fixed chart"] |
| 206 | +
|
| 207 | + S1 --> S2 --> S3 --> S4 --> S5 |
| 208 | +``` |
| 209 | + |
| 210 | +### FluxPlunger Auto-Recovery |
| 211 | + |
| 212 | +FluxPlunger is an automatic recovery component that handles the common "has no deployed releases" HelmRelease error. This error occurs when Helm's release state becomes inconsistent. |
| 213 | + |
| 214 | +```mermaid |
| 215 | +flowchart TD |
| 216 | + ERR["HelmRelease enters error state<br/>'has no deployed releases'"] |
| 217 | + DETECT["FluxPlunger detects the error"] |
| 218 | + FIND["Finds the last release Secret"] |
| 219 | + SUSPEND["Suspends HelmRelease"] |
| 220 | + DEL["Deletes the stale Secret"] |
| 221 | + ANNOTATE["Records processed version<br/>in annotation (crash recovery)"] |
| 222 | + RESUME["Resumes HelmRelease"] |
| 223 | + REINSTALL["Flux performs a clean reinstall"] |
| 224 | +
|
| 225 | + ERR --> DETECT |
| 226 | + DETECT --> FIND |
| 227 | + FIND --> SUSPEND |
| 228 | + SUSPEND --> DEL |
| 229 | + DEL --> ANNOTATE |
| 230 | + ANNOTATE --> RESUME |
| 231 | + RESUME --> REINSTALL |
| 232 | +``` |
| 233 | + |
| 234 | +If FluxPlunger crashes mid-process, the `flux-plunger.cozystack.io/last-processed-version` annotation ensures it can resume correctly on the next reconciliation. |
| 235 | + |
| 236 | +### Lifecycle Operations Summary |
| 237 | + |
| 238 | +| Action | What to do | Handled by | |
| 239 | +| --- | --- | --- | |
| 240 | +| Update chart version | Push new chart to OCI registry | Flux + ArtifactGenerator | |
| 241 | +| Update values | Patch the Package CR | Package controller + HelmRelease | |
| 242 | +| Speed up sync | `flux reconcile source oci <name>` | Manual trigger | |
| 243 | +| GitOps rollback | Push previous chart version to registry | Flux (standard flow) | |
| 244 | +| Emergency rollback | `helm rollback` + suspend HelmRelease | Manual intervention | |
| 245 | +| Recovery from error | Automatic via FluxPlunger | FluxPlunger controller | |
| 246 | + |
| 247 | +## cozypkg CLI |
| 248 | + |
| 249 | +`cozypkg` is a command-line tool for managing Package and PackageSource resources interactively. |
| 250 | +It handles dependency resolution, variant selection, and safe deletion with cascade analysis, so you don't have to craft YAML manifests by hand. |
| 251 | + |
| 252 | +### Installation |
| 253 | + |
| 254 | +Pre-built binaries are available for Linux, macOS, and Windows (amd64 and arm64) as part of each Cozystack release. |
| 255 | + |
| 256 | +### Commands |
| 257 | + |
| 258 | +#### `cozypkg add` --- Install Packages |
| 259 | + |
| 260 | +Installs one or more packages with automatic dependency resolution: |
| 261 | + |
| 262 | +```text |
| 263 | +cozypkg add cozystack.keycloak cozystack.monitoring |
| 264 | +cozypkg add --file packages.yaml |
| 265 | +``` |
| 266 | + |
| 267 | +For each package, `cozypkg add`: |
| 268 | + |
| 269 | +1. Finds the corresponding PackageSource in the cluster. |
| 270 | +2. Prompts you to select a variant if multiple are available. |
| 271 | +3. Resolves all transitive dependencies (topological sort). |
| 272 | +4. Creates Package resources in dependency-first order, skipping already-installed packages. |
| 273 | + |
| 274 | +#### `cozypkg list` --- List Packages |
| 275 | + |
| 276 | +```text |
| 277 | +cozypkg list # Available PackageSources |
| 278 | +cozypkg list --installed # Installed Packages |
| 279 | +cozypkg list --installed --components # Installed Packages with component details |
| 280 | +``` |
| 281 | + |
| 282 | +Example output: |
| 283 | + |
| 284 | +```text |
| 285 | +NAME VARIANT READY STATUS |
| 286 | +cozystack.networking cilium True reconciliation succeeded, generated 2 helmrelease(s) |
| 287 | +cozystack.keycloak default False DependenciesNotReady |
| 288 | +``` |
| 289 | + |
| 290 | +#### `cozypkg del` --- Delete Packages |
| 291 | + |
| 292 | +Safely removes packages with reverse-dependency analysis: |
| 293 | + |
| 294 | +```text |
| 295 | +cozypkg del cozystack.keycloak |
| 296 | +``` |
| 297 | + |
| 298 | +Before deletion, `cozypkg del` shows which other installed packages depend on the target and asks for confirmation. Packages are deleted in reverse topological order (dependents first). |
| 299 | + |
| 300 | +#### `cozypkg dot` --- Visualize Dependencies |
| 301 | + |
| 302 | +Generates a dependency graph in GraphViz DOT format: |
| 303 | + |
| 304 | +```text |
| 305 | +cozypkg dot | dot -Tpng > dependencies.png |
| 306 | +cozypkg dot --installed --components # Component-level graph of installed packages |
| 307 | +``` |
| 308 | + |
| 309 | +Missing dependencies are highlighted in red, making it easy to spot incomplete installations. |
| 310 | + |
| 311 | +### How cozypkg Fits into the Lifecycle |
| 312 | + |
| 313 | +```mermaid |
| 314 | +flowchart LR |
| 315 | + USER["User"] |
| 316 | + CLI["cozypkg add"] |
| 317 | + PKG["Package CR"] |
| 318 | + CTRL["Package Controller"] |
| 319 | + HR["HelmRelease"] |
| 320 | +
|
| 321 | + USER -->|"selects variant"| CLI |
| 322 | + CLI -->|"creates"| PKG |
| 323 | + PKG -->|"reconciled by"| CTRL |
| 324 | + CTRL -->|"creates"| HR |
| 325 | +``` |
| 326 | + |
| 327 | +`cozypkg` operates exclusively on `Package` and `PackageSource` custom resources. |
| 328 | +It does not interact with HelmReleases, ArtifactGenerators, or Flux sources directly --- those are managed by the controllers described above. |
| 329 | + |
| 330 | +You can always manage Package resources with `kubectl` instead of `cozypkg`. |
| 331 | +The CLI simply automates variant selection, dependency ordering, and cascade analysis. |
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