[release-1.1] ESO-566: Allow overriding operand container args outside the ExternalSecretsConfig API - #175

In response to this:

Summary

Manual cherrypick of #174: allow override of operand Deployment container args as comma-separated --key=value flags (OPERAND_EXTERNAL_SECRETS_ARGS, OPERAND_WEBHOOK_ARGS, OPERAND_CERT_CONTROLLER_ARGS, OPERAND_BITWARDEN_SDK_SERVER_ARGS) via operator Subscription CR.

Invalid overrides mark ExternalSecretsConfig Degraded; correcting or clearing the env recovers Ready / default args.

Differences from main

This is an adapted backport, not a straight cherry-pick:

Area	main	release-1.1
Invalid-arg error type	UserConfigurationError	IrrecoverableError (no user-config error type on 1.1)
OLM Subscription helpers	Typed operator-framework/api + scheme registration	Dynamic/unstructured clients only
Vendor / go.mod	Adds github.com/operator-framework/api	No new dependency / no vendor churn
E2E helpers	Relies on newer shared helpers (ensureExternalSecretsConfigReady, typed ESC degraded checks, etc.)	Creates ESC via existing ensureBitwardenOperandReady; degraded helpers live in helpers_test.go
Recovery wait	Uses Ready wait that tolerates transient Degraded	Polls until Degraded=False first (WaitForExternalSecretsConfigReady fail-fasts on Degraded)

Vendor / OLM API dependency

Intentionally not introducing github.com/operator-framework/api or a vendor update on this maintenance branch. Typed OLM clients are not required for the feature; dynamic Subscription/config.env updates are enough for the current e2e. Further OLM-focused e2e expansion on 1.1 is unlikely, so the dep cost is not justified here.

Test plan

• Unit: go test ./pkg/controller/external_secrets/ -count=1 -run 'TestParseOperandArgsEnv|TestMergeContainerArgs|TestApplyOperandArgsFromEnv'
• Deploy a 1.1 operator image that includes this change
• E2E: make test-e2e E2E_GINKGO_LABEL_FILTER="Feature:OverrideOperandArgs"
• Confirm invalid args → Degraded; correction → Ready; unset → default args restored

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