Operator image ghcr.io/proxysql/proxysql-operator is private/access-restricted → ImagePullBackOff on default install

[erik-braaksma-digipharma]

This issue was generated with GitHub Copilot and reviewed by me before submission.

Summary

Installing the proxysql-operator Helm chart (as documented in the quickstart, tutorials, and docs/migration-from-v1.md) leaves the operator pod in ImagePullBackOff, because the operator image ghcr.io/proxysql/proxysql-operator:0.4.0 cannot be pulled by external users. The image was published successfully — the problem is that the GHCR package is private and access-restricted: even an authenticated pull with a read:packages token returns 403 Forbidden.

Steps to reproduce

helm repo add proxysql https://proxysql.github.io/proxysql-on-k8s
helm install proxysql-operator proxysql/proxysql-operator \
  -n proxysql-system --create-namespace

The manager pod enters ImagePullBackOff.

Observed behavior

On the node (anonymous pull):

Back-off pulling image "ghcr.io/proxysql/proxysql-operator:0.4.0": ErrImagePull:
failed to resolve image: ghcr.io/proxysql/proxysql-operator:0.4.0: not found

Manual anonymous pull:

$ docker pull ghcr.io/proxysql/proxysql-operator:0.4.0
Error response from daemon: error from registry: unauthorized
unauthorized

Manual authenticated pull (logged in to ghcr.io):

$ docker pull ghcr.io/proxysql/proxysql-operator:0.4.0
Error response from daemon: unknown: failed to resolve reference
"ghcr.io/proxysql/proxysql-operator:0.4.0": unexpected status from HEAD request to
https://ghcr.io/v2/proxysql/proxysql-operator/manifests/0.4.0: 403 Forbidden

The progression is telling:

• anonymous → 401 unauthorized / not found
• authenticated → 403 Forbidden

A 403 while authenticated indicates the credentials are accepted but the account is not permitted to pull this package — i.e. the package is private and its access is not granted to external users.

Evidence this is a visibility/access issue, not a missing image

The release build pushed the tag successfully — both 0.4.0 and latest, same digest:

#30 pushing manifest for ghcr.io/proxysql/proxysql-operator:0.4.0@sha256:b8ee11ddf6207f319ea9c0b152003ffb6812cca9a7f9a295f17a0b20fdfe4f29 done
#30 pushing manifest for ghcr.io/proxysql/proxysql-operator:latest@sha256:b8ee11ddf6207f319ea9c0b152003ffb6812cca9a7f9a295f17a0b20fdfe4f29 done

The chart requests exactly ghcr.io/proxysql/proxysql-operator:0.4.0 (empty image.tag defaults to appVersion: "0.4.0"), which matches the pushed tag.

Root cause

GHCR packages pushed via secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN (as .github/workflows/release.yaml does) default to private visibility, and release.yaml does not set the package to public anywhere. Because the package visibility was never switched to public, no external user installing the chart can pull the image — an authenticated pull with a valid read:packages token still returns 403 Forbidden.

Impact

Every documented install path is affected out of the box:

• docs/quickstart.md
• docs/tutorials/01-first-cluster.md
• docs/user-guide/installation.md
• docs/migration-from-v1.md

Each instructs users to helm install proxysql/proxysql-operator, which pulls the private image and fails. There is currently no self-service workaround for external users, since the package is not merely private but access-restricted (an authenticated, read:packages-scoped pull is still forbidden).

Suggested fix

Make the proxysql-operator GHCR package publicly pullable. For example:

• Set the package visibility to Public (Package → Settings → Change visibility → Public), and
• optionally ensure future releases stay public (e.g. by linking the package to the repository so it inherits public visibility, or otherwise handling visibility as part of the release process).

Maintainers are best placed to decide the exact mechanism.

Environment

• Chart: proxysql-operator (chart/appVersion 0.4.0)
• Image: ghcr.io/proxysql/proxysql-operator:0.4.0 (digest sha256:b8ee11ddf6207f319ea9c0b152003ffb6812cca9a7f9a295f17a0b20fdfe4f29)

[coderabbitai]

🔗 Related PRs

#1 - charts: standalone proxysql + proxysql-cluster + repo scaffolding (1/3) [closed]
#2 - operator: ProxySQL operator (Kubebuilder) + CI + e2e (2/3) [closed]
#38 - Examples: percona-ps, percona-pxc, oracle-mysql-operator, crunchy-pgo cookbooks (#18) [closed]
#44 - chore(release): v0.3.0 [closed]

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[mostafa-hz]

Hit this as well today on a fresh 0.4.0 install (Argo CD + the Helm chart). Confirming the diagnosis with a few extra data points:

• The restriction is package-wide, not tag-specific — 0.3.0, 0.4.0, 0.5.0, latest, and dev all fail identically (anonymous 401, authenticated 403), so pinning an older chart version doesn't help.
• A control test against a known-public ghcr package from the same client returns 200, ruling out anything on the puller's side.
• There's no fallback registry (docker.io/proxysql/proxysql-operator doesn't exist).

Since CI pushed the package successfully but it isn't pullable externally, this looks like the classic ghcr default: org packages are created private on first push and never inherit the source repo's public visibility. Someone with admin on the package needs to flip it once — Package settings → Danger Zone → Change visibility → Public — and it persists across future pushes, so no CI change needed.

Workaround until then, for anyone else blocked — build from the public source at the release tag and point the chart at your own registry:

git clone --branch v0.4.0 https://github.com/ProxySQL/proxysql-on-k8s
cd proxysql-on-k8s/operator
docker buildx build --push --platform linux/amd64 \
  --build-arg VERSION=v0.4.0 --build-arg COMMIT=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD) \
  -t <your-registry>/proxysql-operator:0.4.0 .

# helm values
image:
  repository: <your-registry>/proxysql-operator
  tag: "0.4.0"
imagePullSecrets:
  - name: <your-pull-secret>   # if the mirror is private

Can confirm the operator comes up and reconciles fine on 0.4.0 once the image is pullable.

[erik-braaksma-digipharma]

@renecannao @jesmarcannao Any idea when you are able to look at this? The latest 0.6.0 is also affected by the same problem.