update-aksflexnode

name	update-aksflexnode
description	Updates the AKSFlexNode dependency to a specified version across all Go modules, vendor directories, and source constants in the aks-flex repository.

Update AKSFlexNode

This skill updates the github.com/Azure/AKSFlexNode dependency to a target version across the entire aks-flex repository.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when the user:

• Asks to update, bump, or upgrade AKSFlexNode to a new version
• Mentions a new AKSFlexNode release that needs to be adopted
• Asks to change the flex node version

Locations to Update

There are several places where the AKSFlexNode version is referenced. All must be updated together to keep the repository consistent.

1. Source constant — flexNodeVersion

File: plugin/pkg/services/agentpools/userdata/flex/flex.go

Update the flexNodeVersion constant to the new version string. This constant is used at runtime to download the correct AKSFlexNode release tarball via the bootstrap template.

const (
	flexNodeVersion = "<new-version>"
)

2. Go module — plugin/go.mod

This is the direct dependency. Update the version in the require block:

github.com/Azure/AKSFlexNode <new-version>

3. Go module — karpenter/go.mod

This is an indirect dependency. Update the version in the indirect require block:

github.com/Azure/AKSFlexNode <new-version> // indirect

4. Go module — cli/go.mod

This is an indirect dependency (via a replace directive pointing to ../plugin). Update the version in the indirect require block:

github.com/Azure/AKSFlexNode <new-version> // indirect

5. Checksum files — go.sum

Do not edit go.sum files manually. They are updated automatically in the next step.

Post-Update Steps

After editing the files above, run the following commands in order:

Step 1: go mod tidy in plugin/

The plugin module is the direct consumer of AKSFlexNode and must be tidied first since other modules depend on it.

cd plugin && go mod tidy

Step 2: go mod tidy in karpenter/ and cli/

These can be run in parallel:

cd karpenter && go mod tidy
cd cli && go mod tidy

Step 3: make vendor-patch in karpenter/

The karpenter module uses a vendor directory. After tidying, run the vendor-patch target to re-vendor and apply any necessary patches:

cd karpenter && make vendor-patch

Step 4: Verify

Confirm no stale version references remain:

grep -r "AKSFlexNode" --include="*.go" --include="go.mod" --include="go.sum" plugin/ karpenter/ cli/ | grep -v vendor/

All lines should reference the new version. The vendored files under karpenter/vendor/ will also reflect the update from the go mod vendor step.

Notes

• The bootstrap template (plugin/pkg/services/agentpools/userdata/flex/assets/bootstrap.sh.tmpl) uses {{ .Version }} which is populated from the flexNodeVersion constant at runtime — it does not need to be edited directly.
• The README.md and docs/ mention AKSFlexNode by name but do not contain version strings, so they do not need updating.