unable to find plugin root

[jbontius]

I'm experimenting with installing ArgoCD and KSOPS for my deployments but when attempting to use the ksops plugin for an application in ArgoCD I'm getting the following error stating the plugin cant be found after I have patched the argocd-repo-server deployment with:

# argo-cd-repo-server-ksops-patch.yaml
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: argocd-repo-server
spec:
  template:
    spec:
      # 1. Define an emptyDir volume which will hold the custom binaries
      volumes:
        - name: custom-tools
          emptyDir: {}
      # 2. Use an init container to download/copy custom binaries into the emptyDir
      initContainers:
        - name: install-ksops
          image: viaductoss/ksops:v4.3.3
          command: ["/bin/sh", "-c"]
          args:
            - echo "Installing KSOPS...";
              mv ksops /custom-tools/;
              mv kustomize /custom-tools/;
              echo "Done.";
          volumeMounts:
            - mountPath: /custom-tools
              name: custom-tools
      # 3. Volume mount the custom binary to the bin directory (overriding the existing version)
      containers:
        - name: argocd-repo-server
          volumeMounts:
            - mountPath: /usr/local/bin/kustomize
              name: custom-tools
              subPath: kustomize
            - mountPath: /usr/local/bin/ksops
              name: custom-tools
              subPath: ksops

I have also patched the config map as specified in the readme with:

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: argocd-cm
  labels:
    app.kubernetes.io/name: argocd-cm
    app.kubernetes.io/part-of: argocd
data:
  kustomize.buildOptions: "--enable-alpha-plugins --enable-exec"

Error message:

level=error msg="finished unary call with code Unknown" error="Manifest generation error (cached): `kustomize build <path to cached source>/deploy/dev --enable-alpha-plugins --enable-exec` failed exit status 1: Error: loading generator plugins: failed to load generator: unable to find plugin root - tried: ('<no value>'; homed in $KUSTOMIZE_PLUGIN_HOME), ('<no value>'; homed in $XDG_CONFIG_HOME), ('/home/argocd/.config/kustomize/plugin'; homed in default value of $XDG_CONFIG_HOME), ('/home/argocd/kustomize/plugin'; homed in home directory)" grpc.code=Unknown grpc.method=GenerateManifest grpc.service=repository.RepoServerService grpc.start_time="2025-03-27T20:42:11Z" grpc.time_ms=234.055 span.kind=server system=grpc

I do see in my pod description the mounts:

/usr/local/bin/ksops from custom-tools (rw,path="ksops")
/usr/local/bin/kustomize from custom-tools (rw,path="kustomize")

and when running ls on /usr/local/bin they do exist in there:

-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  56263753 Jan 28 16:57 ksops
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  22735751 Jan 28 16:57 kustomize

Seems like the documentation for the patch is possibly missing a piece of information to connect the 2 pieces here

[dosubot]

Hey @jbontius, I'm here to help you with that ArgoCD and KSOPS issue! Let's get this sorted out together.

To resolve the "unable to find plugin root" error in KSOPS when integrating with ArgoCD, ensure the following configurations are correctly set:

1. Environment Variable XDG_CONFIG_HOME: Make sure this environment variable is set to /.config in the argocd-repo-server deployment. This allows kustomize to detect the plugin path correctly.

   containers:
     - name: argocd-repo-server
       env:
         - name: XDG_CONFIG_HOME
           value: /.config

2. Plugin Path Configuration: Ensure that the KSOPS plugin is located in the correct directory structure under /.config/kustomize/plugin/viaduct.ai/v1/ksops/ksops. You might need to adjust the init container script to move the ksops binary to this path.

3. Verify Plugin Directory Structure: The directory structure should be as follows:

   /.config/kustomize/plugin/viaduct.ai/v1/ksops/ksops
   

4. Check Volume Mounts: Ensure that the volume mounts are correctly set up to reflect the directory structure needed for the plugin to be detected.

By ensuring these configurations, the KSOPS plugin should be correctly detected by ArgoCD. If the issue persists, double-check the paths and environment variable settings to ensure they match the expected configuration for KSOPS ^[1][2].

To continue talking to Dosu, mention @dosu.

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