Summary

This article explains how to debug the kubectl command execution in Bamboo.

Environment

• Bamboo 9.3 and later

Diagnosis

When using Ephemeral Agents, Bamboo utilises the kubectl as an external component to interact with a Kubernetes cluster. This interaction is restricted to running the kubectl command and expecting specific output. Bamboo does not launch direct requests to the Kubernetes cluster, instead, all instructions are expected to be delivered and retrieved by kubectl. This design provides customers with the flexibility to run and update kubectl as per their needs. However, it does not allow further debugging. This guide outlines techniques to enable detailed information when invoking the kubectl command.

Solution

All the additional logs are stored in <bamboo-home>/logs/atlassian-bamboo.log.

Enable extended logging on the Ephemeral Agent class in Bamboo

This method offers a controlled way to understand Bamboo's operations and the default responses from each invocation of the kubectl command.

In Bamboo, follow the instructions on Configuring the level of logging on the Bamboo server and set the following class Logging to DEBUG or ALL, depending on the level of detail you require:

• com.atlassian.bamboo.agent.ephemeral

After enabling the extra Log levels, execute the desired Kubernetes instructions and monitor the logs for extended log entries. Remember to restore the class's Log level to WARN after troubleshooting.

Run kubectl with verbosity enabled

Unlike running Bamboo with verbose logs only on the Ephemeral Agent's class, this method also runs the actual kubectl command with verbosity. This is typically recommended when you need to identify a failing command and want to understand the exact action Bamboo is executing and its output. Running this allows you to replicate the exact instruction to run on the command line and find a solution.

When executed, kubectl expects the -v  property to be provided to print more detailed messages. Each selected debug level will provide more detailed logs.

There are two strategies you can follow

1. Create a wrapper script and modify the Kubernetes server Capability to use it

• This method does not require changes to the original kubectl file on the server
• You need to create or modify the Kubernetes/kubectl capability in Bamboo Administration >> Server Capabilities >> Add capability

• The kubectl capability must point to a shell script wrapper hosted on the server containing the following content. For example:

  Make sure to set the executable permissions to the wrapper script

  #!/bin/bash
  /location/of/kubectl -v=9 "$@"

• After this, Bamboo will invoke the wrapper instead of the original kubectl file. The wrapper script will append a -v=9 to every execution, forcing more verbose logs.

2. Create a wrapper script that will replace the original kubectl command

• This method allows you to replace the original kubectl binary with the wrapper script
• You must move the original kubectl to a new location such as kubectl.orig
• There is no need to modify any server capabilities in Bamboo, as it will still reference the original binary location

• The wrapper script content should be the following:

  Make sure to set the executable permissions to the wrapper script

  #!/bin/bash
  /location/of/kubectl.orig -v=9 "$@"