🐛 Fix flaky Helm installations by separating provider CRs from operator deployment

[kahirokunn]

Fixes: #534

What type of PR is this?

/kind bug

What this PR does / why we need it:

This PR fixes the flaky Helm installation issue where provider Custom Resources fail to install due to webhook validation errors. The root cause is that provider CRs are being applied at the same time as the operator deployment, before the webhook service is ready.

Problem:
When installing the cluster-api-operator Helm chart, users frequently encounter errors like:

Error: failed post-install: warning: Hook post-install cluster-api-operator/templates/core-conditions.yaml failed: 1 error occurred:
        * Internal error occurred: failed calling webhook "vcoreprovider.kb.io": failed to call webhook: Post "https://capi-operator-webhook-service.cluster-api-operator-docker.svc:443/mutate-operator-cluster-x-k8s-io-v1alpha2-coreprovider?timeout=10s": no endpoints available for service "capi-operator-webhook-service"

Solution:
Split the Helm chart into two separate charts:

1. cluster-api-operator - Contains only the operator deployment and its resources
2. cluster-api-operator-providers - Contains all provider Custom Resources

This ensures the operator is fully running before any provider CRs are applied.

Which issue(s) this PR fixes:

Fixes #[issue-number]

Special notes for your reviewer:

The installation process now requires two steps:

# 1. Install the operator
helm install capi-operator ./cluster-api-operator --namespace capi-operator-system --create-namespace

# 2. Wait for operator to be ready
kubectl wait --for=condition=ready pod -l app=capi-operator -n capi-operator-system --timeout=300s

# 3. Install provider CRs
helm install capi-providers ./cluster-api-operator-providers --namespace capi-operator-system

Release note:

BREAKING CHANGE: The cluster-api-operator Helm chart has been split into two charts to fix webhook validation errors during installation. Users must now install `cluster-api-operator` first, wait for it to be ready, then install `cluster-api-operator-providers`.

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[kahirokunn]

Hi @dtzar and @furkatgofurov7,

When you have a moment, could you please review ?

This update splits the chart into operator and provider components, ensuring the operator’s webhook is fully ready before provider CRs are applied. As a result, the no endpoints available for service "capi-operator-webhook-service" validation error has been resolved.

Also, since this PR would result in a breaking change, I think it would be best to either create a new helm chart and gradually migrate to it, or continue to use both. I would appreciate your feedback on this as well.

Thank you for your time and feedback.

Best regards,
@kahirokunn

[k8s-ci-robot]

Keywords which can automatically close issues and at(@) or hashtag(#) mentions are not allowed in commit messages.

The list of commits with invalid commit messages:

• c773386 fix: split provider CRs from operator deployment

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[k8s-ci-robot]

@kahirokunn: The following tests failed, say /retest to rerun all failed tests or /retest-required to rerun all mandatory failed tests:

Test name	Commit	Details	Required	Rerun command
pull-cluster-api-operator-verify-main	cb5a66d	link	true	/test pull-cluster-api-operator-verify-main
pull-cluster-api-operator-e2e-main	cb5a66d	link	true	/test pull-cluster-api-operator-e2e-main

Full PR test history. Your PR dashboard. Please help us cut down on flakes by linking to an open issue when you hit one in your PR.

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