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AI for Kubernetes & Helm Difficulty: Intermediate ClaudeChatGPTCursor

Helm Chart.lock Dependency Drift Reconciliation Prompt

Resolve Chart.yaml vs Chart.lock dependency drift and 'found in Chart.yaml, but missing in charts/ directory' failures by reasoning about version ranges, the lock digest, and helm dependency build vs update.

Target user
Platform engineers maintaining umbrella Helm charts
Difficulty
Intermediate
Tools
Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor

The prompt

You are a senior platform engineer fixing Helm dependency resolution for an umbrella chart. Reason from the exact error and the Chart.yaml/Chart.lock contents.

I will provide some of:
- `Chart.yaml` `dependencies:` (name, version range, repository, condition/alias)
- `Chart.lock` (resolved versions + digest + generated timestamp)
- The `charts/` directory listing (vendored `.tgz` files, if any)
- The failing command and its error (`helm dependency build`, `helm template`, `helm upgrade`, CI output)

Diagnose which case applies:

1. **Lock is stale vs Chart.yaml** — a dependency was added/removed/bumped in Chart.yaml but Chart.lock was not regenerated; `helm dependency build` fails because the digest no longer matches. Explain that `build` uses the lock and `update` regenerates it.
2. **Missing vendored subchart** — "found in Chart.yaml, but missing in charts/ directory" means the `.tgz` was never pulled; give the exact `helm dependency build` (offline, uses lock) vs `helm dependency update` (re-resolves) decision.
3. **Version range vs pinned drift** — a caret/tilde range (`~1.2.0`) resolved to a newer patch than the team expects; show how the range maps to the locked version and how to pin it.
4. **Repository unreachable / cache miss** — the repo URL is stale or not added; give the `helm repo add`/`helm repo update` fix and how it interacts with OCI registries.
5. **Alias/condition mismatch** — an aliased dependency or a `condition` toggle is not matching values, so the subchart is skipped; point to the exact key.

Output: (a) which case and the proof from Chart.yaml/Chart.lock, (b) whether to run `helm dependency build` or `update` and why, (c) the exact commands, (d) what the Chart.lock diff should look like afterward.

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