Plugin not visible for in-cluster deployment

[cf-sewe]

I install headlamp into my cluster using Flux / Helm and want to activate the Flux plugin. The installation works, but the Plugin is not visible.

What am I missing?

---
# yaml-language-server: $schema=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fluxcd-community/flux2-schemas/main/helmrelease-helm-v2.json
apiVersion: helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2
kind: HelmRelease
metadata:
  name: headlamp
  namespace: flux-system
spec:
  releaseName: headlamp
  interval: 1h
  chart:
    spec:
      chart: headlamp
      sourceRef:
        kind: HelmRepository
        name: headlamp
        namespace: flux-system
  driftDetection:
    mode: enabled
  install:
    remediation:
      retries: 3
  upgrade:
    cleanupOnFail: true
    remediation:
      retries: 3
      remediateLastFailure: true
  targetNamespace: headlamp
  values:
    serviceAccount:
      create: true
      name: headlamp-viewer
    clusterRoleBinding:
      create: true
      clusterRoleName: headlamp-viewer
    config:
      pluginsDir: "/headlamp/plugins"
    pluginsManager:
      enabled: true
      configContent: |
        plugins:
          - name: headlamp_flux
            source: https://artifacthub.io/packages/headlamp/headlamp-plugins/headlamp_flux
          - name: headlamp_cert-manager
            source: https://artifacthub.io/packages/headlamp/headlamp-plugins/headlamp_cert-manager
    ingress:
      enabled: true
      ingressClassName: nginx
      hosts:
        - host: "headlamp.${CLUSTER_FQDN}"
          paths:
            - path: /
              type: Prefix
    resources:
      requests:
        cpu: 100m
        memory: 128Mi
      limits:
        cpu: 500m
        memory: 512Mi
    replicaCount: 1

Installation:

2025-07-17T14:43:58.690299168Z Installing headlamp-plugin globally...
2025-07-17T14:44:03.650776159Z 
2025-07-17T14:44:03.650794274Z added 42 packages in 5s
2025-07-17T14:44:03.650798361Z 
2025-07-17T14:44:03.650806957Z 6 packages are looking for funding
2025-07-17T14:44:03.650810754Z   run `npm fund` for details
2025-07-17T14:44:03.651413778Z npm notice
2025-07-17T14:44:03.651423717Z npm notice New major version of npm available! 10.9.2 -> 11.4.2
2025-07-17T14:44:03.651428045Z npm notice Changelog: https://github.com/npm/cli/releases/tag/v11.4.2
2025-07-17T14:44:03.651431181Z npm notice To update run: npm install -g npm@11.4.2
2025-07-17T14:44:03.651437262Z npm notice
2025-07-17T14:44:03.684957196Z Installed headlamp-plugin successfully.
2025-07-17T14:44:03.684974679Z Installing plugins from config...
2025-07-17T14:44:03.685543288Z 
2025-07-17T14:44:03.685547496Z plugins:
2025-07-17T14:44:03.685550011Z   - name: headlamp_flux
2025-07-17T14:44:03.685552305Z     source: https://artifacthub.io/packages/headlamp/headlamp-plugins/headlamp_flux
2025-07-17T14:44:03.685554830Z   - name: headlamp_cert-manager
2025-07-17T14:44:03.685557094Z     source: https://artifacthub.io/packages/headlamp/headlamp-plugins/headlamp_cert-manager
2025-07-17T14:44:03.823936543Z info: Installing plugins from config: /config/plugin.yml
2025-07-17T14:44:03.830141367Z 1 of 2 (headlamp_flux): info: Installing plugin headlamp_flux
2025-07-17T14:44:03.830563220Z 1 of 2 (headlamp_flux): info: Fetching Plugin Metadata
2025-07-17T14:44:03.925075623Z 1 of 2 (headlamp_flux): info: Plugin Metadata Fetched
2025-07-17T14:44:03.925346853Z 1 of 2 (headlamp_flux): info: Downloading Plugin
2025-07-17T14:44:04.376148243Z 1 of 2 (headlamp_flux): info: Plugin Downloaded
2025-07-17T14:44:04.395821907Z 1 of 2 (headlamp_flux): info: Extracting Plugin
2025-07-17T14:44:04.404658108Z 1 of 2 (headlamp_flux): info: Plugin Extracted
2025-07-17T14:44:04.405876919Z Moved directory from /tmp/headlamp-plugin-temp-lclClP/headlamp_flux to /headlamp/plugins/headlamp_flux
2025-07-17T14:44:04.405896416Z 1 of 2 (headlamp_flux): success: Plugin Installed
2025-07-17T14:44:04.406013787Z 1 of 2 (headlamp_flux): info: Plugin installed successfully
2025-07-17T14:44:04.406035948Z 2 of 2 (headlamp_cert-manager): info: Installing plugin headlamp_cert-manager
2025-07-17T14:44:04.406054573Z 2 of 2 (headlamp_cert-manager): info: Fetching Plugin Metadata
2025-07-17T14:44:04.414148579Z 2 of 2 (headlamp_cert-manager): info: Plugin Metadata Fetched
2025-07-17T14:44:04.414331513Z 2 of 2 (headlamp_cert-manager): info: Downloading Plugin
2025-07-17T14:44:04.452868739Z 2 of 2 (headlamp_cert-manager): info: Plugin Downloaded
2025-07-17T14:44:04.453453789Z 2 of 2 (headlamp_cert-manager): info: Extracting Plugin
2025-07-17T14:44:04.455018480Z 2 of 2 (headlamp_cert-manager): info: Plugin Extracted
2025-07-17T14:44:04.455575928Z Moved directory from /tmp/headlamp-plugin-temp-BfcidA/headlamp_cert-manager to /headlamp/plugins/headlamp_cert-manager
2025-07-17T14:44:04.455591307Z 2 of 2 (headlamp_cert-manager): success: Plugin Installed
2025-07-17T14:44:04.455601857Z 2 of 2 (headlamp_cert-manager): info: Plugin installed successfully
2025-07-17T14:44:04.455921708Z info: Bulk installation completed: {"total":2,"failed":0,"skipped":0,"successful":2}
2025-07-17T14:44:04.455938961Z Watching /config/plugin.yml for changes...

[cf-sewe]

The plugin visibility issue was resolved by adding the missing watchPlugins: true configuration to the headlamp helm chart values.

Root Cause:

While the plugins were being successfully installed by the plugin manager container, headlamp wasn't automatically detecting them in the UI because plugin watching was disabled by default.

Solution:

Added the following configuration to the helmrelease.yaml:

  config:
    pluginsDir: "/headlamp/plugins"
    watchPlugins: true  # <- This was missing

Result:

After enabling watchPlugins, the Flux and cert-manager plugins became visible in the headlamp UI sidebar as expected.

Key Learning:

The watchPlugins setting is essential for headlamp to automatically detect and load plugins installed by the plugin manager. Without it, plugins are installed but not visible in the interface.