{"record":{"id":"77908a6598e8637d","repo":"GoogleContainerTools/skaffold","slug":"failed-to-render-release","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"Failed to render release","messagePattern":"Failed to render release","errorType":"exception","errorClass":"UserErr","httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"pkg/skaffold/render/renderer/helm/helm.go","lineNumber":228,"sourceCode":"\t// Build Chart dependencies, but allow a user to skip it.\n\tif !release.SkipBuildDependencies && release.ChartPath != \"\" {\n\t\tlog.Entry(ctx).Info(\"Building helm dependencies...\")\n\t\targs := h.depBuildArgs(release.ChartPath)\n\t\tif err := helm.ExecWithStdoutAndStderr(ctx, h, io.Discard, errBuffer, false, env, args...); err != nil {\n\t\t\tlog.Entry(ctx).Info(errBuffer.String())\n\t\t\treturn nil, helm.UserErr(\"building helm dependencies\", err)\n\t\t}\n\t}\n\n\terr = helm.ExecWithStdoutAndStderr(ctx, h, outBuffer, errBuffer, release.UseHelmSecrets, env, args...)\n\terrorMsg := errBuffer.String()\n\n\tif len(errorMsg) > 0 {\n\t\tlog.Entry(ctx).Info(errorMsg)\n\t}\n\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn nil, helm.UserErr(\"Failed to render release\", errors.New(strings.TrimSpace(fmt.Sprintf(\"%s %s (releaseName=%q, args=%v)\", outBuffer.String(), errorMsg, releaseName, args))))\n\t}\n\n\treturn outBuffer.Bytes(), nil\n}\n\nfunc generateSkaffoldOverrides(release latest.HelmRelease) (func(), error) {\n\tif len(release.Overrides.Values) > 0 {\n\t\toverrides, err := yaml.Marshal(release.Overrides)\n\t\tif err != nil {\n\t\t\treturn nil, helm.UserErr(\"cannot marshal overrides to create overrides values.yaml\", err)\n\t\t}\n\n\t\tif err := os.WriteFile(constants.HelmOverridesFilename, overrides, 0o666); err != nil {\n\t\t\treturn nil, helm.UserErr(fmt.Sprintf(\"cannot create file %q\", constants.HelmOverridesFilename), err)\n\t\t}\n\n\t\treturn func() {\n\t\t\tos.RemoveAll(constants.HelmOverridesFilename)","sourceCodeStart":210,"sourceCodeEnd":246,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/GoogleContainerTools/skaffold/blob/a1189de023efc32d4b8e11f395acc678aa555011/pkg/skaffold/render/renderer/helm/helm.go#L210-L246","documentation":"Helm rendering wraps any failure of the `helm template`-style render invocation in a UserErr with the message \"Failed to render release\", attaching the combined helm stdout/stderr, error text, release name, and args as the inner error. This surfaces helm-level problems (bad chart, bad values, missing chart) during `skaffold render`/deploy.","triggerScenarios":"generateHelmManifest executes helm with the release args and helm exits nonzero (or reports errorMsg) — e.g. missing chart path, invalid values.yaml, template syntax errors, failed lookups.","commonSituations":"Chart path wrong or chart not fetched (missing dependencies); invalid values passed via `deploy.helm.releases` overrides; Helm version mismatch with chart template syntax.","solutions":["Read the wrapped inner error/log output (releaseName and args are included) and run the same helm command manually to reproduce","Run `helm dependencies update` for the chart and verify chartPath and valuesFiles in skaffold.yaml","Fix template/values errors indicated in helm output (e.g. `helm template <release> <chart> --debug`)"],"exampleFix":"// before\nreleases:\n  - name: myapp\n    chartPath: ./charts/myapp  # path does not exist\n// after\nreleases:\n  - name: myapp\n    chartPath: ./chart       # corrected to actual chart directory\n","handlingStrategy":"fallback","validationCode":"if _, err := os.Stat(release.ChartPath); err != nil { return fmt.Errorf(\"chartPath %q missing: %w\", release.ChartPath, err) }\nif err := helmDepUp(release.ChartPath); err != nil { return err }","typeGuard":"func chartExists(chartPath string) bool { fi, err := os.Stat(chartPath); return err == nil && fi.IsDir() }","tryCatchPattern":"manifest, err := generateHelmManifest(ctx, release, args)\nif err != nil {\n  log.Entry(ctx).Errorf(\"helm render failed for release %q: %v\", release.Name, err) // inner error carries helm stdout/stderr\n  return nil, err\n}","preventionTips":["Pin helm chart dependencies (requirements/Chart.lock) and run `helm dependency update`","Validate values files exist before rendering","Run `helm template <release> <chartPath> --debug` locally to reproduce CI render failures"],"tags":["helm","render","skaffold"],"backgroundTag":"helm-render-failed","analyzedSha":"a1189de023efc32d4b8e11f395acc678aa555011","analyzedAt":"2026-09-05T12:09:27.064Z","contentChangedAt":"2026-09-05T12:09:27.064Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-12T17:17:11.597Z"}