staging

pkg/controller/instance/delta/delta.go

@@ -100,6 +100,11 @@ func cleanMetadata(obj *unstructured.Unstructured) {
 //
 // Records a Difference if values don't match or are of different types.
 func walkCompare(desired, observed interface{}, path string, differences *[]Difference) {
+	// Special case: treat empty array and nil as equivalent
+	if isEmptyArrayOrNil(desired) && isEmptyArrayOrNil(observed) {
+		return
+	}
+
 	switch d := desired.(type) {
 	case map[string]interface{}:
 		e, ok := observed.(map[string]interface{})
@@ -116,6 +121,10 @@ func walkCompare(desired, observed interface{}, path string, differences *[]Diff
 	case []interface{}:
 		e, ok := observed.([]interface{})
 		if !ok {
+			// Special case: if desired is empty array and observed is nil, treat as equal
+			if len(d) == 0 && observed == nil {
+				return
+			}
 			*differences = append(*differences, Difference{
 				Path:     path,
 				Observed: observed,
@@ -136,6 +145,17 @@ func walkCompare(desired, observed interface{}, path string, differences *[]Diff
 	}
 }
 
+// isEmptyArrayOrNil returns true if the value is nil or an empty array
+func isEmptyArrayOrNil(v interface{}) bool {
+	if v == nil {
+		return true
+	}
+	if arr, ok := v.([]interface{}); ok && len(arr) == 0 {
+		return true
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
 // walkMap compares two maps recursively. For each key in desired:
 //
 // - If key missing in observed: records a difference