HTTPRoute status.parents not managed - causes ArgoCD "Processing" state

[voglermario]

Description

The NetScaler Kubernetes Gateway Controller does not update the status.parents field on HTTPRoute resources. This is required by the Gateway API specification for conformance.

Problem

When using HTTPRoute (gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1) with ArgoCD, the application remains permanently in "Processing" state because ArgoCD's health check expects the status.parents field to be populated by the Gateway controller.

According to the Gateway API spec, controllers should update:

• status.parents[].parentRef - reference to the Gateway
• status.parents[].controllerName - the controller managing the route
• status.parents[].conditions - conditions like Accepted and Programmed

Current Behavior

HTTPRoute resources have no status field after the controller processed the route:

apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: HTTPRoute
metadata:
  name: myhttproute
  namespace: mynamespace
spec:
  ...
status: # -> does not exist

Expected Behavior

HTTPRoute resources should have their status updated by the controller:

status:
  parents:
    - parentRef:
        name: my-gateway
        namespace: default
      controllerName: netscaler.com/netscaler-gateway-controller
      conditions:
        - type: Accepted
          status: "True"
          reason: Accepted
        - type: Programmed  
          status: "True"
          reason: Programmed

Environment

• NetScaler Ingress Controller version: 3.1.34

Workaround

Currently using ArgoCD ignoreDifferences to ignore the status field, but this masks potential route configuration issues.

Related

• Gateway API conformance requires status updates

[apoorvak-citrix]

Hi @voglermario,

Thanks for bringing this to our attention and for the detailed breakdown of the issue.

We completely understand how the missing status.parents field impacts your workflow, especially regarding ArgoCD health checks and Gateway API conformance. While the ignoreDifferences workaround keeps things moving, we agree that having native status updates is essential.

I can confirm that this is already in our internal pipeline. We are working on incorporating this into one of our upcoming releases.

To help us better track the impact and prioritize this within our roadmap, could you share which company or organization you are representing? We will keep this issue updated as we progress toward a specific release version. Thanks for your patience and for using the NetScaler Gateway Controller!