From 41914e08ac918c9b63946eb9bf18757fa8fe575d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Casey Davenport <davenport.cas@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Jun 2026 09:01:05 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Default CNI install mode to CalicoOnly on Kind

kind node images already provide the upstream CNI plugins, so the
operator skips the cni-plugins init container there.
---
 .../installation/core_controller.go           |  6 +++++
 pkg/controller/installation/defaults_test.go  | 25 +++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 31 insertions(+)

diff --git a/pkg/controller/installation/core_controller.go b/pkg/controller/installation/core_controller.go
index c4dcdd6aaa..64dc119a50 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/installation/core_controller.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/installation/core_controller.go
@@ -669,6 +669,12 @@ func fillDefaults(instance *operatorv1.Installation, currentPools *v3.IPPoolList
 	}
 	if instance.Spec.CNI.InstallMode == nil {
 		mode := operatorv1.CNIInstallModeAll
+		if instance.Spec.KubernetesProvider == operatorv1.ProviderKind {
+			// kind node images already ship the upstream CNI plugins, so skip
+			// the cni-plugins init container. Other providers default to All
+			// for backward compatibility.
+			mode = operatorv1.CNIInstallModeCalicoOnly
+		}
 		instance.Spec.CNI.InstallMode = &mode
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/controller/installation/defaults_test.go b/pkg/controller/installation/defaults_test.go
index d8d948e117..b382294c74 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/installation/defaults_test.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/installation/defaults_test.go
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Defaulting logic tests", func() {
 		Expect(instance.Spec.Variant).To(Equal(operator.Calico))
 		Expect(instance.Spec.Registry).To(BeEmpty())
 		Expect(instance.Spec.CNI.Type).To(Equal(operator.PluginCalico))
+		Expect(*instance.Spec.CNI.InstallMode).To(Equal(operator.CNIInstallModeAll))
 		Expect(instance.Spec.CalicoNetwork).NotTo(BeNil())
 		Expect(instance.Spec.CalicoNetwork.LinuxDataplane).ToNot(BeNil())
 		Expect(*instance.Spec.CalicoNetwork.LinuxDataplane).To(Equal(operator.LinuxDataplaneIptables))
@@ -456,6 +457,30 @@ var _ = Describe("Defaulting logic tests", func() {
 		Expect(validateCustomResource(instance)).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 	})
 
+	It("should default CNI InstallMode to CalicoOnly on the Kind provider", func() {
+		instance := &operator.Installation{
+			Spec: operator.InstallationSpec{
+				KubernetesProvider: operator.ProviderKind,
+				CNI:                &operator.CNISpec{},
+			},
+		}
+		Expect(fillDefaults(instance, nil)).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+		Expect(*instance.Spec.CNI.InstallMode).To(Equal(operator.CNIInstallModeCalicoOnly))
+		Expect(validateCustomResource(instance)).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+	})
+
+	It("should not override an explicit CNI InstallMode on the Kind provider", func() {
+		all := operator.CNIInstallModeAll
+		instance := &operator.Installation{
+			Spec: operator.InstallationSpec{
+				KubernetesProvider: operator.ProviderKind,
+				CNI:                &operator.CNISpec{InstallMode: &all},
+			},
+		}
+		Expect(fillDefaults(instance, nil)).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
+		Expect(*instance.Spec.CNI.InstallMode).To(Equal(operator.CNIInstallModeAll))
+	})
+
 	It("should set default values for CNILogging if CNI is set to Calico", func() {
 		instance := &operator.Installation{
 			Spec: operator.InstallationSpec{