Debug Helm Charts
When to Use
- •Helm install/upgrade fails
- •Template rendering produces unexpected output
- •Values not applied correctly
- •Hook jobs failing
Template Debugging
Render templates locally without installing:
bash
helm template kagenti charts/kagenti -n kagenti-system -f charts/kagenti/.secrets.yaml
Render a specific template:
bash
helm template kagenti charts/kagenti -n kagenti-system -s templates/ui-oauth-secret-job.yaml
Compare rendered output with what's deployed:
bash
helm get manifest kagenti -n kagenti-system
Value Debugging
Show computed values:
bash
helm get values kagenti -n kagenti-system
Show all values (including defaults):
bash
helm get values kagenti -n kagenti-system -a
Show chart default values:
bash
helm show values charts/kagenti
Release Debugging
Check release status:
bash
helm status kagenti -n kagenti-system
Check release history:
bash
helm history kagenti -n kagenti-system
Hook Debugging
Hooks run as Jobs. Check their status:
bash
kubectl get jobs -n kagenti-system
Check hook job logs:
bash
kubectl logs -n kagenti-system job/<hook-job-name>
Dependency Issues
Update chart dependencies:
bash
helm dependency update charts/kagenti
List dependencies:
bash
helm dependency list charts/kagenti
Common Issues
| Issue | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
UPGRADE FAILED: another operation in progress | Stale lock | kubectl delete secret -n kagenti-system -l status=pending-upgrade |
| Template render error | Bad YAML indent | Use helm template to see exact error |
| Values not applied | Wrong -f order | Later files override earlier ones |
| Hook timeout | Job takes too long | Check job logs, increase timeout |
Related Skills
- •
kagenti:deploy- Platform deployment - •
kagenti:operator- Operator management - •
k8s:pods- Debug pod issues from hook jobs - •
rca:hypershift- RCA when Helm issues cause test failures - •
rca:kind- RCA on local Kind cluster - •
tdd:hypershift- TDD loop that includes Helm reinstall iterations - •
tdd:kind- TDD loop on Kind cluster