feat(helm): add opt-in Gateway API CRDs to Helm chart

Makefile

@@ -27,6 +27,10 @@ MOVE_AGA_CRDS = mkdir -p config/crd/aga && mv config/crd/bases/aga.k8s.aws_* con
 # Copy combined Gateway API CRDs from bases directory to helm directory
 COPY_GATEWAY_CRDS_TO_HELM = cp config/crd/gateway/gateway-crds.yaml helm/aws-load-balancer-controller/crds/gateway-crds.yaml
 
+# Copy upstream Gateway API CRDs to helm files directory
+COPY_STANDARD_GATEWAY_CRDS_TO_HELM = cp config/crd/gateway/upstream/standard-install.yaml helm/aws-load-balancer-controller/files/standard-gatewayapi-crds.yaml
+COPY_EXPERIMENTAL_GATEWAY_CRDS_TO_HELM = cp config/crd/gateway/upstream/experimental-install.yaml helm/aws-load-balancer-controller/files/experimental-gatewayapi-crds.yaml
+
 
 # Get the currently used golang install path (in GOPATH/bin, unless GOBIN is set)
 ifeq (,$(shell go env GOBIN))
@@ -90,6 +94,8 @@ crds: manifests
 	echo '---' > config/crd/gateway/gateway-crds.yaml
 	$(KUSTOMIZE) build config/crd/gateway >> config/crd/gateway/gateway-crds.yaml
 	$(COPY_GATEWAY_CRDS_TO_HELM)
+	$(COPY_STANDARD_GATEWAY_CRDS_TO_HELM)
+	$(COPY_EXPERIMENTAL_GATEWAY_CRDS_TO_HELM)
 	$(KUSTOMIZE) build config/crd/aga > config/crd/aga/aga-crds.yaml
 	echo '---' > config/crd/aga/aga-crds.yaml
 	$(KUSTOMIZE) build config/crd/aga >> config/crd/aga/aga-crds.yaml

docs/guide/gateway/gateway.md

@@ -17,10 +17,34 @@ The LBC is built for Gateway API version v1.5.0.
 * LBC >= v2.13.0
 * For `ip` target type:
     * Pods have native AWS VPC networking configured. For more information, see the [Amazon VPC CNI plugin](https://github.com/aws/amazon-vpc-cni-k8s#readme) documentation.
-* Installation of Gateway API CRDs
-    * Standard Gateway API CRDs: `kubectl apply --server-side=true -f https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/gateway-api/releases/download/v1.5.0/standard-install.yaml` [REQUIRED]
-    * Experimental Gateway API CRDs: `kubectl apply --server-side=true -f https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/gateway-api/releases/download/v1.5.0/experimental-install.yaml` [OPTIONAL: Used for L4 Routes]
-* Installation of LBC Gateway API specific CRDs: `kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-sigs/aws-load-balancer-controller/refs/heads/main/config/crd/gateway/gateway-crds.yaml`
+* Installation of Gateway API CRDs — choose one of:
+    * **`helm template` (recommended):** render the chart locally and pipe into `kubectl apply --server-side`. This installs CRDs without creating a Helm release secret, bypassing the 1 MB limit that causes `helm install`/`helm upgrade` to fail when CRDs are enabled.
+
+        Standard channel only (required for L7 — HTTPRoute, GRPCRoute):
+        ```bash
+        helm template aws-load-balancer-controller eks/aws-load-balancer-controller \
+          --set crds.gatewayAPI.standard.enabled=true \
+          --include-crds \
+          | kubectl apply --server-side -f -
+        ```
+
+        Standard + experimental (also enables L4 — TCPRoute, UDPRoute, TLSRoute):
+        ```bash
+        helm template aws-load-balancer-controller eks/aws-load-balancer-controller \
+          --set crds.gatewayAPI.standard.enabled=true \
+          --set crds.gatewayAPI.experimental.enabled=true \
+          --include-crds \
+          | kubectl apply --server-side -f -
+        ```
+
+    * **Manual:** apply directly from the upstream release:
+        * Standard: `kubectl apply --server-side -f https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/gateway-api/releases/download/v1.5.0/standard-install.yaml` [REQUIRED]
+        * Experimental: `kubectl apply --server-side -f https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/gateway-api/releases/download/v1.5.0/experimental-install.yaml` [OPTIONAL: Used for L4 Routes]
+
+* Installation of LBC Gateway API specific CRDs:
+    ```bash
+    kubectl apply --server-side -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-sigs/aws-load-balancer-controller/refs/heads/main/config/crd/gateway/gateway-crds.yaml
+    ```
 
 
 ## Upgrading Gateway API CRDs

helm/aws-load-balancer-controller/templates/gatewayapi-crds.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{{- if .Values.crds.gatewayAPI.standard.enabled }}
+{{ .Files.Get "files/standard-gatewayapi-crds.yaml" }}
+{{- end }}
+{{- if .Values.crds.gatewayAPI.experimental.enabled }}
+{{ .Files.Get "files/experimental-gatewayapi-crds.yaml" }}
+{{- end }}

helm/aws-load-balancer-controller/values.yaml

@@ -515,3 +515,14 @@ loadBalancerClass:
 
 # creator will disable helm default labels, so you can only add yours
 # creator: "me"
+
+# crds controls installation of Kubernetes standard Gateway API CRDs.
+# These are opt-in (default: false) to avoid conflicting with existing installations.
+# standard: used for L7 (HTTP/TLS) routing
+# experimental: used for L4 (TCP/UDP) routing and experimental features
+crds:
+  gatewayAPI:
+    standard:
+      enabled: false
+    experimental:
+      enabled: false