diff --git a/pkg/state/state.go b/pkg/state/state.go
index af26d017..2d5a7fed 100644
--- a/pkg/state/state.go
+++ b/pkg/state/state.go
@@ -1139,6 +1139,16 @@ func releasesNeedCharts(releases []ReleaseSpec) []ReleaseSpec {
 	return result
 }
 
+func filterReleasesForBuild(releases []ReleaseSpec) []ReleaseSpec {
+	var filteredReleases []ReleaseSpec
+	for _, r := range releases {
+		if len(r.JSONPatches) == 0 && len(r.StrategicMergePatches) == 0 && len(r.Transformers) == 0 {
+			filteredReleases = append(filteredReleases, r)
+		}
+	}
+	return filteredReleases
+}
+
 type ChartPrepareOptions struct {
 	ForceDownload bool
 	SkipRepos     bool
@@ -1237,6 +1247,12 @@ func (st *HelmState) PrepareCharts(helm helmexec.Interface, dir string, concurre
 
 	releases := releasesNeedCharts(selected)
 
+	// For build command, skip releases that require chartify (jsonPatches, etc.)
+	// as we only need to output state, not actually template the charts
+	if helmfileCommand == "build" {
+		releases = filterReleasesForBuild(releases)
+	}
+
 	var prepareChartInfoMutex sync.Mutex
 
 	prepareChartInfo := make(map[PrepareChartKey]string, len(releases))