HELM_DEP_MISSING cicd build_error ai_generated true

Error: chart requires dependencies. Chart.yaml has dependencies but no 'charts/' directory. Run 'helm dependency update' to generate the charts directory.

ID: cicd/helm-chart-dependency-missing

Also available as: JSON · Markdown · 中文
90%Fix Rate
87%Confidence
1Evidence
2023-07-05First Seen

Version Compatibility

VersionStatusIntroducedDeprecatedNotes
Helm 3.12.0 active — — —
Helm 3.14.1 active — — —

Root Cause

Helm chart has declared dependencies in Chart.yaml but the charts/ directory is missing because dependencies were not downloaded or committed to the repository.

generic

中文

Helm chart 在 Chart.yaml 中声明了依赖项，但 charts/ 目录缺失，因为依赖项未下载或未提交到仓库。

Official Documentation

https://helm.sh/docs/helm/helm_dependency/

Workarounds

  1. 95% success Run 'helm dependency update ./chart-dir' in the chart directory to download dependencies into the charts/ folder. Then commit the charts/ directory to your repository. 
    Run 'helm dependency update ./chart-dir' in the chart directory to download dependencies into the charts/ folder. Then commit the charts/ directory to your repository.
  2. 85% success Add a CI step before deployment: 'helm dependency build ./chart-dir' to ensure dependencies are fetched fresh each build without committing charts/. 
    Add a CI step before deployment: 'helm dependency build ./chart-dir' to ensure dependencies are fetched fresh each build without committing charts/.

中文步骤

  1. Run 'helm dependency update ./chart-dir' in the chart directory to download dependencies into the charts/ folder. Then commit the charts/ directory to your repository.
  2. Add a CI step before deployment: 'helm dependency build ./chart-dir' to ensure dependencies are fetched fresh each build without committing charts/.

Dead Ends

Common approaches that don't work:

  1. 90% fail

    Manually creating an empty charts/ directory does not resolve the error because the actual dependency packages are missing.

  2. 70% fail

    Deleting Chart.yaml dependencies and re-adding them without running helm dependency update still leaves charts/ empty.

  3. 50% fail

    Using helm install --dependency-update flag may fail if the chart repository is not accessible (e.g., private repo).