Follow-up to cfc234e (U-1 docker-compose fix) — closes the remaining adjacent
code paths that share the postgres-first-boot-password-binding root cause but
were scoped out of the original commit.
The runtime diagnostic in internal/repository/postgres/db.go::wrapPingError
(landed in a911970) already covers every NewDB call site, so Helm operators
and example users hit the SQLSTATE 28P01 guidance for free at startup. What
was missing: deployment-shape-specific remediation guidance (kubectl vs
docker-compose), the hardcoded password in the *root* .env.example, and
shared ops notes for the 5 examples/ compose files. This commit closes all
three.
Files changed:
- .env.example (root) — line 16 had `postgres://certctl:certctl@...` with
the password hardcoded literally instead of interpolating POSTGRES_PASSWORD.
Edit if a user copied this file as their .env (binary-direct deployment,
not docker-compose) and rotated POSTGRES_PASSWORD on line 10, the URL on
line 16 still carried 'certctl' — silent two-line drift. Replaced 'certctl'
with the same default that line 10 carries ('change-me-in-production') and
added an explanatory comment block describing the docker-compose
override semantics, when this URL matters (binary-direct), and the
cross-reference to the U-1 wrapPingError diagnostic. Also fixed an
adjacent bug: line 31 CERTCTL_SERVER_URL was `http://localhost:8443`,
which agents reject at startup since v2.2 (HTTPS-everywhere milestone made
the control plane HTTPS-only with TLS 1.3 pinned). Updated to https://
with a comment pointing operators at the bootstrap CA bundle.
- deploy/helm/certctl/values.yaml — postgresql.auth.password field had a
one-line 'REQUIRED' comment. Expanded into a full WARNING block (~25
lines) explaining the PVC retention semantics, the failure symptom,
and both kubectl-flavored remediation paths: non-destructive
(`kubectl exec ... ALTER ROLE`) preferred for environments with data,
and destructive (`helm uninstall + kubectl delete pvc`) for dev/demo.
Cross-references the wrapPingError runtime diagnostic.
- deploy/helm/certctl/README.md (new, ~115 lines) — chart-level operational
guide. Covers quick install, both remediation paths with concrete
kubectl commands, why-we-don't-fix-this-in-the-chart explanation,
cross-references to the docker-compose docs, server API key rotation
(the easy case — comma-separated key list), TLS provisioning shapes,
embedded-vs-external postgres, and uninstall semantics with the PVC
retention gotcha called out.
- examples/README.md (new, ~55 lines) — shared operational notes for the
5 example deployments. Covers the postgres password rotation trap with
example-flavored remediation paths (`docker compose -f examples/<x>/...`),
the TLS warning, and teardown semantics. Replaces what would otherwise
be 5x duplication across per-example READMEs.
- examples/{acme-nginx,acme-wildcard-dns01,multi-issuer,private-ca-traefik,
step-ca-haproxy}/*.md — one-line cross-reference at the top of each
example's primary doc, pointing at examples/README.md for the shared
ops notes. Avoids 5x duplication of the same warning text while still
surfacing the link in every operator's first-touch surface.
Verification:
- go build ./... — clean
- go vet ./... — clean
- go test -short ./internal/repository/postgres/ — 4/4 wrapPingError tests
still passing (no production-code touch in this commit)
- helm lint deploy/helm/certctl/ — clean (1 INFO about chart icon, pre-existing)
- helm template smoke test — renders without error
- python3 yaml.safe_load on values.yaml — parses
Refs: coverage-gap-audit-2026-04-24-v5/unified-audit.md
§2 P1 cluster, cat-u-quickstart_postgres_password_volume_trap
Closes the three deliberate scope-outs from cfc234e (Helm,
root .env.example, examples/) end-to-end.
Adjacent bugs caught while in scope:
- root .env.example:16 hardcoded password not matching line 10
- root .env.example:31 http:// URL incompatible with HTTPS-only v2.2
README.md:
- Replace ASCII architecture diagram with Mermaid
- Fix all database table names (managed_certificates, audit_events, etc.)
- Fix env var names to use CERTCTL_ prefix matching config.go
- Fix API endpoint paths ({id} not :id, /audit not /audit/logs)
- Add all missing endpoints (renew, deploy, CSR, heartbeat, policies, notifications)
- Add dashboard as primary feature (was completely missing)
- Link to all new docs (concepts, advanced demo, architecture, connectors)
- Fix integration status (Local CA implemented, ACME in progress)
- Fix security section (API key auth, not mTLS)
- Remove broken links to non-existent docs (api.md, k8s-deployment.md, scaling.md)
- Remove placeholder Support & Community section
.env.example:
- Change all var names to CERTCTL_ prefix (CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL, etc.)
- Remove vars that don't exist in config.go (ACME_*, SMTP_*, feature flags)
- Add scheduler tuning vars as commented examples
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
shankar0123