implements to replacements value in the structured data

api/filters/replacement/replacement.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 package replacement
 
 import (
+	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"strings"
 
@@ -188,6 +189,14 @@ func copyValueToTarget(target *yaml.RNode, value *yaml.RNode, selector *types.Ta
 		if selector.Options != nil && selector.Options.Create {
 			createKind = value.YNode().Kind
 		}
+
+		// Check if this fieldPath contains structured data access
+		if err := setValueInStructuredData(target, value, fp, createKind); err == nil {
+			// Successfully handled as structured data
+			continue
+		}
+
+		// Fall back to normal path handling
 		targetFieldList, err := target.Pipe(&yaml.PathMatcher{
 			Path:   kyaml_utils.SmarterPathSplitter(fp, "."),
 			Create: createKind})
@@ -204,7 +213,7 @@ func copyValueToTarget(target *yaml.RNode, value *yaml.RNode, selector *types.Ta
 
 		for _, t := range targetFields {
 			if err := setFieldValue(selector.Options, t, value); err != nil {
-				return err
+				return fmt.Errorf("%w", err)
 			}
 		}
 	}
@@ -247,3 +256,146 @@ func setFieldValue(options *types.FieldOptions, targetField *yaml.RNode, value *
 
 	return nil
 }
+
+// setValueInStructuredData handles setting values within structured data (JSON/YAML) in scalar fields
+func setValueInStructuredData(target *yaml.RNode, value *yaml.RNode, fieldPath string, createKind yaml.Kind) error {
+	pathParts := kyaml_utils.SmarterPathSplitter(fieldPath, ".")
+	if len(pathParts) < 2 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("not a structured data path")
+	}
+
+	// Find the potential scalar field that might contain structured data
+	var scalarFieldPath []string
+	var structuredDataPath []string
+	var foundScalar = false
+
+	// Try to find where the scalar field ends and structured data begins
+	for i := 1; i <= len(pathParts); i++ {
+		potentialScalarPath := pathParts[:i]
+		scalarField, err := target.Pipe(yaml.Lookup(potentialScalarPath...))
+		if err != nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		if scalarField != nil && scalarField.YNode().Kind == yaml.ScalarNode && i < len(pathParts) {
+			// Try to parse the scalar value as structured data
+			scalarValue := scalarField.YNode().Value
+			var parsedNode yaml.Node
+			if err := yaml.Unmarshal([]byte(scalarValue), &parsedNode); err == nil {
+				// Successfully parsed - this is structured data
+				scalarFieldPath = potentialScalarPath
+				structuredDataPath = pathParts[i:]
+				foundScalar = true
+				break
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	if !foundScalar {
+		return fmt.Errorf("no structured data found in path")
+	}
+
+	// Get the scalar field containing structured data
+	scalarField, err := target.Pipe(yaml.Lookup(scalarFieldPath...))
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Parse the structured data
+	scalarValue := scalarField.YNode().Value
+	var parsedNode yaml.Node
+	if err := yaml.Unmarshal([]byte(scalarValue), &parsedNode); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w", err)
+	}
+
+	structuredData := yaml.NewRNode(&parsedNode)
+
+	// Navigate to the target location within the structured data
+	targetInStructured, err := structuredData.Pipe(&yaml.PathMatcher{
+		Path:   structuredDataPath,
+		Create: createKind,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w", err)
+	}
+
+	targetFields, err := targetInStructured.Elements()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w", err)
+	}
+
+	if len(targetFields) == 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("unable to find field in structured data")
+	}
+
+	// Set the value in the structured data
+	for _, t := range targetFields {
+		if t.YNode().Kind == yaml.ScalarNode {
+			t.YNode().Value = value.YNode().Value
+		} else {
+			t.SetYNode(value.YNode())
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Serialize the modified structured data back to the scalar field
+	// Try to detect if original was JSON or YAML and preserve formatting
+	serializedData, err := serializeStructuredData(structuredData, scalarValue)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Update the original scalar field
+	scalarField.YNode().Value = serializedData
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+// serializeStructuredData handles the serialization of structured data back to string format
+// preserving the original format (JSON vs YAML) and style (pretty vs compact)
+func serializeStructuredData(structuredData *yaml.RNode, originalValue string) (string, error) {
+	firstChar := rune(strings.TrimSpace(originalValue)[0])
+	if firstChar == '{' || firstChar == '[' {
+		return serializeAsJSON(structuredData, originalValue)
+	}
+
+	// Fallback to YAML format
+	return serializeAsYAML(structuredData)
+}
+
+// serializeAsJSON converts structured data back to JSON format
+func serializeAsJSON(structuredData *yaml.RNode, originalValue string) (string, error) {
+	modifiedData, err := structuredData.String()
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to serialize structured data: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Parse the YAML output as JSON
+	var jsonData interface{}
+	if err := yaml.Unmarshal([]byte(modifiedData), &jsonData); err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to unmarshal YAML data: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Check if original was pretty-printed by looking for newlines and indentation
+	if strings.Contains(originalValue, "\n") && strings.Contains(originalValue, "  ") {
+		// Pretty-print the JSON to match original formatting
+		if prettyJSON, err := json.MarshalIndent(jsonData, "", "  "); err == nil {
+			return string(prettyJSON), nil
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Compact JSON
+	if compactJSON, err := json.Marshal(jsonData); err == nil {
+		return string(compactJSON), nil
+	}
+
+	return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to marshal JSON data")
+}
+
+// serializeAsYAML converts structured data back to YAML format
+func serializeAsYAML(structuredData *yaml.RNode) (string, error) {
+	modifiedData, err := structuredData.String()
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to serialize YAML data: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	return strings.TrimSpace(modifiedData), nil
+}