Kong chart: scope IngressClass controller name by ingress class by vkobets · Pull Request #1519 · Kong/charts

vkobets · 2026-04-23T20:54:43Z

What this PR does / why we need it:

The chart previously set IngressClass.spec.controller to a fixed value (ingress-controllers.konghq.com/kong). That makes every deployment advertise the same controller identity, which breaks expectations when multiple Kong Ingress Controller instances use different ingressController.ingressClass values.
This PR:

Sets spec.controller on the managed IngressClass to ingress-controllers.konghq.com/{{ .Values.ingressController.ingressClass }} so it matches the configured ingress class.
An Ingress resource that targets a given ingress class resolves to the correct controller instance.

Which issue this PR fixes

Related: [Kong Ingress Controller Chart] Deploy multiple kong instances and customize the controllerName of GatewayClass. #1079 (multiple instances - chart now aligns IngressClass with ingressController.ingressClass)

Special notes for your reviewer:

Checklist

PR is based off the current tip of the main branch.
Changes are documented under the "Unreleased" header in CHANGELOG.md
Commits follow the Kong commit message guidelines

IngressClass.spec.controller stayed fixed to ingress-controllers.konghq.com/kong even when ingressController.ingressClass was different. Set spec.controller and CONTROLLER_GATEWAY_API_CONTROLLER_NAME from ingressController.ingressClass so the controller matches that class.

CLAassistant · 2026-04-23T20:54:51Z

All committers have signed the CLA.

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR updates the Helm chart’s controller identity wiring so that multi-instance Kong Ingress Controller deployments can use distinct identities per ingressController.ingressClass, improving correctness for both IngressClass-based routing and Gateway API reconciliation.

Changes:

Set the chart-managed IngressClass.spec.controller to ingress-controllers.konghq.com/{{ .Values.ingressController.ingressClass }}.
Add CONTROLLER_GATEWAY_API_CONTROLLER_NAME env var derived from ingressController.ingressClass.
Document the change under the CHANGELOG “Unreleased” section.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

File	Description
charts/kong/templates/ingress-class.yaml	Makes the managed IngressClass controller identifier depend on the configured ingress class.
charts/kong/templates/_helpers.tpl	Injects a Gateway API controller name env var based on the ingress class.
charts/kong/CHANGELOG.md	Adds an Unreleased note describing the alignment behavior change.

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Copilot · 2026-04-24T07:48:56Z

 spec:
-  controller: ingress-controllers.konghq.com/kong
+  controller: ingress-controllers.konghq.com/{{ .Values.ingressController.ingressClass }}


IngressClass.spec.controller is immutable. For any existing chart-managed IngressClass created with the old fixed controller value (ingress-controllers.konghq.com/kong), upgrading with a non-default ingressController.ingressClass will make Helm try to patch this field and the upgrade will fail unless the IngressClass is deleted/recreated. Consider adding template logic to detect an existing IngressClass with a different .spec.controller and fail with a clear message (or otherwise document/handle the required delete-and-recreate flow).

Copilot · 2026-04-24T07:48:56Z

  {{- $_ := set $autoEnv "CONTROLLER_KONG_ADMIN_TLS_SKIP_VERIFY" true -}}
  {{- $_ := set $autoEnv "CONTROLLER_PUBLISH_SERVICE" ( include "kong.controller-publish-service" . ) -}}
  {{- $_ := set $autoEnv "CONTROLLER_INGRESS_CLASS" .Values.ingressController.ingressClass -}}
+  {{- $_ := set $autoEnv "CONTROLLER_GATEWAY_API_CONTROLLER_NAME" (printf "ingress-controllers.konghq.com/-%s" .Values.ingressController.ingressClass) -}}


Setting CONTROLLER_GATEWAY_API_CONTROLLER_NAME to ingress-controllers.konghq.com/-%s changes the controller identity for Gateway API reconciliation and can break existing GatewayClass objects that use the long-standing default konghq.com/kic-gateway-controller (the chart’s own helm-test GatewayClass uses that value in templates/tests/test-resources.yaml). Unless the KIC default has changed, this is a breaking behavior change on upgrade. Consider preserving the default when ingressController.ingressClass is the default class (or only setting this env var when the user explicitly opts in / when ingressClass != "kong"), and/or using the konghq.com/kic-gateway-controller[-<class>] naming scheme to stay compatible with existing manifests.

Suggested change

{{- $_ := set $autoEnv "CONTROLLER_KONG_ADMIN_TLS_SKIP_VERIFY" true -}}

{{- $_ := set $autoEnv "CONTROLLER_PUBLISH_SERVICE" ( include "kong.controller-publish-service" . ) -}}

{{- $_ := set $autoEnv "CONTROLLER_INGRESS_CLASS" .Values.ingressController.ingressClass -}}

{{- $_ := set $autoEnv "CONTROLLER_GATEWAY_API_CONTROLLER_NAME" (printf "ingress-controllers.konghq.com/-%s" .Values.ingressController.ingressClass) -}}

{{- $gatewayAPIControllerName := "konghq.com/kic-gateway-controller" -}}

{{- if ne .Values.ingressController.ingressClass "kong" -}}

{{- $gatewayAPIControllerName = printf "konghq.com/kic-gateway-controller-%s" .Values.ingressController.ingressClass -}}

{{- end -}}

{{- $_ := set $autoEnv "CONTROLLER_KONG_ADMIN_TLS_SKIP_VERIFY" true -}}

{{- $_ := set $autoEnv "CONTROLLER_PUBLISH_SERVICE" ( include "kong.controller-publish-service" . ) -}}

{{- $_ := set $autoEnv "CONTROLLER_INGRESS_CLASS" .Values.ingressController.ingressClass -}}

{{- $_ := set $autoEnv "CONTROLLER_GATEWAY_API_CONTROLLER_NAME" $gatewayAPIControllerName -}}

Copilot · 2026-04-24T07:48:56Z

+
+* Align `IngressClass.spec.controller` and Gateway API
+  `CONTROLLER_GATEWAY_API_CONTROLLER_NAME` with `ingressController.ingressClass`
+  when using multiple controllers or a non-default ingress class.


This changelog entry describes the alignment change, but it doesn’t call out the operational upgrade impact: IngressClass.spec.controller is immutable, so users with an existing chart-managed IngressClass and a non-default ingressController.ingressClass will need to delete/recreate the IngressClass before upgrading. Similarly, changing the Gateway API controller name may require updating existing GatewayClass controllerName values. Please add explicit upgrade notes here (and ideally in UPGRADE.md) to prevent failed upgrades / unexpected controller non-reconciliation.

Suggested change

when using multiple controllers or a non-default ingress class.

when using multiple controllers or a non-default ingress class.

Upgrade note: `IngressClass.spec.controller` is immutable. If you have an

existing chart-managed `IngressClass` and use a non-default

`ingressController.ingressClass`, you may need to delete and recreate the

`IngressClass` before upgrading. If you use Gateway API resources, you may

also need to update existing `GatewayClass.spec.controllerName` values to

match the new controller name after upgrade, otherwise the controller may

not reconcile those resources.

pmalek

I'm OK with change in charts/kong/templates/ingress-class.yaml but for the other one (re Gateway API controller): I'd not go this route since those are 2 different things, IngressClass and Gateway API controller name.

pmalek · 2026-04-24T07:47:51Z

  {{- include "kong.metaLabels" . | nindent 4 }}
 spec:
-  controller: ingress-controllers.konghq.com/kong
+  controller: ingress-controllers.konghq.com/{{ .Values.ingressController.ingressClass }}


This change is ok 👍

After reading this second time I need to take back my comment: this is not about the ingress class here but about the controller. While we could possibly link these 2 (like you did) I'd prefer not to do this.

What I think could be a good way forward and not introducing a breaking change for users is to add a new field in values.yaml (possibly: .ingressController.controllerName, defaulting to kong) and use that here.

This would also prevent what copilot mentioned about controller being immutable (by setting the default to what was already hardcoded in the template).

vkobets requested a review from a team as a code owner April 23, 2026 20:54

pmalek requested a review from Copilot April 24, 2026 07:44

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of pmalek April 24, 2026 07:45 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Apr 24, 2026

View reviewed changes

pmalek requested changes Apr 24, 2026

View reviewed changes

vkobets added 2 commits May 2, 2026 11:56

Merge branch 'Kong:main' into main

b864fa8

rollback CONTROLLER_GATEWAY_API_CONTROLLER_NAME

6456fbc

vkobets changed the title ~~Kong chart: scope IngressClass and Gateway API controller name by ingress class~~ Kong chart: scope IngressClass controller name by ingress class May 2, 2026

vkobets requested a review from pmalek May 2, 2026 09:13

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Kong chart: scope IngressClass controller name by ingress class - #1519

Kong chart: scope IngressClass controller name by ingress class#1519
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-  when using multiple controllers or a non-default ingress class.
+  when using multiple controllers or a non-default ingress class.
+  Upgrade note: `IngressClass.spec.controller` is immutable. If you have an
+  existing chart-managed `IngressClass` and use a non-default
+  `ingressController.ingressClass`, you may need to delete and recreate the
+  `IngressClass` before upgrading. If you use Gateway API resources, you may
+  also need to update existing `GatewayClass.spec.controllerName` values to
+  match the new controller name after upgrade, otherwise the controller may
+  not reconcile those resources.

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What this PR does / why we need it:

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vkobets commented Apr 23, 2026 •

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