GoogleContainerTools/skaffold · error

StatusCode_RENDER_HELM_PLUGIN_ERR

StatusCode_RENDER_HELM_PLUGIN_ERR

Error message

errors.Wrap(err, prefix)

What it means

helm.PluginErr wraps any error from running the helm plugin/binary during render (e.g. from PreparePostRenderer flows) as a UserError with status code RENDER_HELM_PLUGIN_ERR. It signals that the helm executable itself failed (bad flags, missing plugin, non-zero exit) rather than a user config error.

Source

Thrown at pkg/skaffold/helm/errors.go:68

		})
}

func MinVersionErr(minVer string) error {
	return sErrors.NewErrorWithStatusCode(
		&proto.ActionableErr{
			Message: fmt.Sprintf("skaffold requires Helm version %s or greater", minVer),
			ErrCode: proto.StatusCode_DEPLOY_HELM_MIN_VERSION_ERR,
			Suggestions: []*proto.Suggestion{
				{
					SuggestionCode: proto.SuggestionCode_UPGRADE_HELM,
					Action:         fmt.Sprintf("Please upgrade helm to %s or higher via %s", minVer, installLink),
				},
			},
		})
}

func PluginErr(prefix string, err error) error {
	return deployerr.UserError(errors.Wrap(err, prefix), proto.StatusCode_RENDER_HELM_PLUGIN_ERR)
}

func UserErr(prefix string, err error) error {
	return deployerr.UserError(errors.Wrap(err, prefix), proto.StatusCode_DEPLOY_HELM_USER_ERR)
}

func CreateNamespaceErr(version string) error {
	return sErrors.NewErrorWithStatusCode(
		&proto.ActionableErr{
			Message: fmt.Sprintf("Skaffold config options `createNamespace` is not available in the current Helm version %s", version),
			ErrCode: proto.StatusCode_DEPLOY_HELM_CREATE_NS_NOT_AVAILABLE,
			Suggestions: []*proto.Suggestion{
				{
					SuggestionCode: proto.SuggestionCode_UPGRADE_HELM32,
					Action:         "\nPlease update Helm to version 3.2 or higher",
				},
				{
					SuggestionCode: proto.SuggestionCode_FIX_SKAFFOLD_CONFIG_HELM_CREATE_NAMESPACE,

View on GitHub (pinned to a1189de023)

Solutions

1. Read the wrapped prefix + inner helm stderr to see the exact helm failure
2. Run `helm version` and upgrade helm to a version supporting the flags skaffold uses (>=3.8 recommended)
3. Re-run the failing helm command manually with the same args to reproduce outside skaffold
4. Install/repair any helm post-renderer plugins referenced by the config
5. Check `which helm` and ensure the intended binary is first on PATH

Example fix

// before
error: helm: ... unknown flag: --post-renderer
// after
$ brew upgrade helm   # or reinstall helm >= 3.8
$ helm version
$ skaffold render

if _, err := exec.LookPath("helm"); err != nil {
  return fmt.Errorf("helm not installed or not on PATH: %w", err)
}
out, _ := exec.Command("helm", "version", "--short").Output()
if !strings.HasPrefix(string(out), "v3.") {
  return fmt.Errorf("helm 3 required, got %s", out)
}

null

if err := render(ctx); err != nil {
  var uerr *deployerr.UserError
  if errors.As(err, &uerr) && uerr.Code == proto.StatusCode_RENDER_HELM_PLUGIN_ERR {
    log.Printf("helm plugin failed: %v — run the helm command manually with the -vdebug args", errors.Unwrap(err))
  }
  return err
}

When it happens

Trigger: PluginErr(prefix, err) is invoked when helm command execution fails, e.g. PreparePostRenderer calling into helm and helm exiting non-zero — unknown flag, missing post-renderer plugin, helm not on PATH, or corrupted HELM_* environment.

Common situations: helm binary version too old for flags skaffold passes (e.g. --post-renderer); helm plugin not installed; PATH missing helm; helm output parse failures; incompatible KUBECONFIG context passed through to helm.

Related errors

• Failed to install Helm plugin
• Failed to render release
• helm version command failed %q: %w
• unable to parse output: %q
• `apply` requires at least one manifest argument

AI-assisted analysis of GoogleContainerTools/skaffold@a1189de023 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/92bb7f6ce479dcae. Report an issue: GitHub.