diff --git a/docs/full/context-scoped-plugins.md b/docs/full/context-recommended-plugins.md similarity index 86% rename from docs/full/context-scoped-plugins.md rename to docs/full/context-recommended-plugins.md index fc09b1bc0..c680949a0 100644 --- a/docs/full/context-scoped-plugins.md +++ b/docs/full/context-recommended-plugins.md @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -# Context-Scope Plugin Installation +# Context Recommended Plugin Installation ## Abstract @@ -42,23 +42,12 @@ Plugin availability is solely dependent on the configured discovery sources in t tanzu configuration file. Each discovery source points to a plugin repository which can contain one or more plugins. -## Standalone Plugins - -The scope of a plugin depends on how the plugin is getting installed on the user's machine. -Users can run the `tanzu plugin search` command to see all available plugins from -the configured discovery sources. - -If the user wants to install a plugin that is not dependent on any active context and -wants to use it with the Tanzu CLI, the user can run `tanzu plugin install ` -to install the required plugin. Installing the plugin this way will make the -plugin a standalone plugin and it will not be associated with any contexts. - -## Context-scoped Plugins +## Context Recommended Plugins As mentioned above in the abstract section, there might be a scenario when a user is working with multiple contexts at a time and wants to automatically select the right set of plugins and plugin versions based on the currently active context. -The context-scoped plugin implementation is useful in this scenario. +The context-recommended plugin implementation is useful in this scenario. When the CLI user creates a new context for the Tanzu CLI using the `tanzu context create` command, the CLI adds a context in the tanzu configuration file @@ -75,12 +64,14 @@ is the workflow of context-scoped plugin installation: - The Tanzu CLI finds the plugins and their metadata in the available list of plugins generated from the configured discovery sources - The Tanzu CLI fetches the plugin binary for these plugins from the specified location and installs the plugin -Users should understand that these plugins (installed based on a context) are -only available when said context is active. If a user deletes the context the plugins -installed based on the deleted context are no longer available to use with the CLI. If the user switches the context to a different context using the `tanzu context use` command, the CLI will automatically install/update the recommended plugins based on the new context. +Note: Users should understand that these plugins (installed based on a recommendation from a context) are +installed as normal plugins and will not be automatically deleted when a user deletes the context or switches +the context to a different context. Commands associated with those plugins will remain available +to be used but will likely throw an error if those plugins do not work with the active context. + ## Plugin Recommendations from a Context This section provides more details on how a context can provide diff --git a/docs/quickstart/quickstart.md b/docs/quickstart/quickstart.md index b28a91726..2e1761315 100644 --- a/docs/quickstart/quickstart.md +++ b/docs/quickstart/quickstart.md @@ -324,24 +324,36 @@ Switching to another context: [i] Successfully installed all required plugins > tanzu plugin list -Standalone Plugins - NAME DESCRIPTION TARGET VERSION STATUS - isolated-cluster Prepopulating images/bundle for internet-restricted environments global v0.28.0 installed - pinniped-auth Pinniped authentication operations (usually not directly invoked) global v0.28.0 installed - management-cluster Kubernetes management cluster operations kubernetes v0.28.0 installed - package Tanzu package management kubernetes v0.28.0 installed - secret Tanzu secret management kubernetes v0.28.0 installed - telemetry configure cluster-wide settings for vmware tanzu telemetry kubernetes v0.28.0 installed + NAME DESCRIPTION TARGET INSTALLED RECOMMENDED STATUS + cluster Kubernetes cluster operations kubernetes v0.28.0 v0.28.0 installed + feature Operate on features and featuregates kubernetes v0.28.0 v0.28.0 installed + kubernetes-release Kubernetes release operations kubernetes v0.28.0 v0.28.0 installed + isolated-cluster Prepopulating images/bundle for internet-restricted environments global v0.28.0 installed + pinniped-auth Pinniped authentication operations (usually not directly invoked) global v0.28.0 installed + management-cluster Kubernetes management cluster operations kubernetes v0.28.0 installed + package Tanzu package management kubernetes v0.28.0 installed + secret Tanzu secret management kubernetes v0.28.0 installed + telemetry configure cluster-wide settings for vmware tanzu telemetry kubernetes v0.28.0 installed -Plugins from Context: tkg-mgmt-vc - NAME DESCRIPTION TARGET VERSION STATUS - cluster Kubernetes cluster operations kubernetes v0.28.0 installed - feature Operate on features and featuregates kubernetes v0.28.0 installed - kubernetes-release Kubernetes release operations kubernetes v0.28.0 installed ``` +The way this type of plugin installation works is that The context you +create or activate can recommend a list of plugins and their versions. +When you create or activate a context, the Tanzu CLI fetches the list of +recommended plugins and automatically tries to install these plugins to +your machine. A `RECOMMENDED` column is shown as part of the +`tanzu plugin list` output that specifies which plugins are recommended +by the active context. + +For some reason, the auto-installation of the recommended plugins fails while +creating or activating a context or an existing active context start recommending +some newer versions of the plugins, you can check that with the `tanzu plugin list` +output with the `STATUS` field mentioning `update needed` and a newer version in +the `RECOMMENDED` column. You can run the `tanzu plugin sync` command +to automatically install the recommended version of the plugins. + To learn more about the plugins installed from context, please refer to -[context-scoped plugin installation](../full/context-scoped-plugins.md). +[context recommended plugin installation](../full/context-recommended-plugins.md). ## Notes to users of previous versions of the Tanzu CLI