fix: improve kubectl access errors

crates/fluvio-cluster/src/cli/start/mod.rs

@@ -107,12 +107,14 @@ pub struct K8Install {
     #[arg(long)]
     pub chart_values: Vec<PathBuf>,
 
-    /// Uses port forwarding for connecting to SC during install
+    /// Uses port forwarding for connecting to SC (only during install)
+    ///
+    /// For connecting to a cluster during and after install, --proxy-addr <IP or DNS> is recommended
     #[arg(long)]
     use_k8_port_forwarding: bool,
 
-    /// Uses port forwarding for connecting to SC during install
-    #[arg(long)]
+    /// Config option used in kubernetes deployments
+    #[arg(long, hide = true)]
     use_cluster_ip: bool,
 
     /// TLS: Client secret name while adding to Kubernetes

crates/fluvio-cluster/src/start/k8.rs

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ use std::io::Error as IoError;
 use std::io::ErrorKind;
 use std::collections::BTreeMap;
 use std::io::Read;
+use std::io::Write;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
 use std::borrow::Cow;
 use std::process::Child;
@@ -14,7 +15,7 @@ use std::time::SystemTime;
 use anyhow::{anyhow, Result};
 use derive_builder::Builder;
 use k8_client::meta_client::NameSpace;
-use tracing::{info, warn, debug, instrument};
+use tracing::{info, warn, error, debug, instrument};
 use once_cell::sync::Lazy;
 use tempfile::NamedTempFile;
 use semver::Version;
@@ -580,8 +581,15 @@ impl ClusterInstaller {
     /// # }
     /// ```
     pub fn from_config(config: ClusterConfig) -> Result<Self> {
+        let kube_client = load_and_share().map_err(|k8_err| {
+            let msg =
+                format!("unable to load kubectl context to access k8 cluster\nError: {k8_err:?}\n");
+            error!(target: "kubectl", msg);
+            anyhow!(msg)
+        })?;
+
         Ok(Self {
-            kube_client: load_and_share()?,
+            kube_client,
             pb_factory: ProgressBarFactory::new(config.hide_spinner),
             config,
         })
@@ -800,7 +808,17 @@ impl ClusterInstaller {
 
             debug!(?helm_lb_config, "helm_lb_config");
 
-            serde_yaml::to_writer(&np_addr_fd, &helm_lb_config)?;
+            let helm_values: String = serde_yaml::to_string(&helm_lb_config).map_err(|e| {
+                debug!(
+                    ?helm_lb_config,
+                    "couldn't serialize helm load balancer config"
+                );
+                anyhow!("couldn't serialize helm yaml {e:?}")
+            })?;
+            debug!(%helm_values, "helm_values");
+            write!(&np_addr_fd, "{helm_values}")
+                .map_err(|e| anyhow!("Error writing helm values file\n{e}"))?;
+
             Some((np_addr_fd, np_conf_path))
         } else {
             None