helm:debug

SkillMedia

Debug Helm chart issues - template rendering, value overrides, hook failures

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the helm:debug skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by rossoctl/rossoctl in .claude/skills/helm:debug/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Context-Safe Execution (MANDATORY)

Helm template output can be hundreds of lines. Always redirect to files:

export LOG_DIR="${LOG_DIR:-${WORKSPACE_DIR:-/tmp}/rossoctl-helm}"
mkdir -p "$LOG_DIR"

# Redirect helm template output
helm template rossoctl charts/rossoctl -n rossoctl-system > $LOG_DIR/rendered.yaml 2>&1 && echo "OK" || echo "FAIL"
# Analyze in subagent: Task(subagent_type='Explore') with Grep to find specific templates/values

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:

helm template rossoctl charts/rossoctl -n rossoctl-system -f charts/rossoctl/.secrets.yaml

Render a specific template:

helm template rossoctl charts/rossoctl -n rossoctl-system -s templates/ui-oauth-secret-job.yaml

Compare rendered output with what's deployed:

helm get manifest rossoctl -n rossoctl-system

Value Debugging

Show computed values:

helm get values rossoctl -n rossoctl-system

Show all values (including defaults):

helm get values rossoctl -n rossoctl-system -a

Show chart default values:

helm show values charts/rossoctl

Release Debugging

Check release status:

helm status rossoctl -n rossoctl-system

Check release history:

helm history rossoctl -n rossoctl-system

Hook Debugging

Hooks run as Jobs. Check their status:

kubectl get jobs -n rossoctl-system

Check hook job logs:

kubectl logs -n rossoctl-system job/<hook-job-name>

Dependency Issues

Update chart dependencies:

helm dependency update charts/rossoctl

List dependencies:

helm dependency list charts/rossoctl

Common Issues

IssueCauseFix
UPGRADE FAILED: another operation in progressStale lockkubectl delete secret -n rossoctl-system -l status=pending-upgrade
Template render errorBad YAML indentUse helm template to see exact error
Values not appliedWrong -f orderLater files override earlier ones
Hook timeoutJob takes too longCheck job logs, increase timeout

Related Skills

  • rossoctl:deploy - Platform deployment
  • rossoctl: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

Signals

GitHub stars
301
Forks
107
Last commit
Sep 2026
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
helm-debug
Source
github.com/rossoctl/rossoctl