diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 61e7ab62..96c0d2e0 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/gosuri/uitable v0.0.4
 	github.com/hashicorp/go-getter v1.8.3
 	github.com/hashicorp/hcl/v2 v2.24.0
-	github.com/helmfile/chartify v0.26.0
+	github.com/helmfile/chartify v0.26.1
 	github.com/helmfile/vals v0.42.6
 	github.com/spf13/cobra v1.10.1
 	github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.10
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index fcc5dc27..2b20d953 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -481,8 +481,8 @@ github.com/hashicorp/jsonapi v1.4.3-0.20250220162346-81a76b606f3e h1:xwy/1T0cxHW
 github.com/hashicorp/jsonapi v1.4.3-0.20250220162346-81a76b606f3e/go.mod h1:kWfdn49yCjQvbpnvY1dxxAuAFzISwrrMDQOcu6NsFoM=
 github.com/hashicorp/vault/api v1.22.0 h1:+HYFquE35/B74fHoIeXlZIP2YADVboaPjaSicHEZiH0=
 github.com/hashicorp/vault/api v1.22.0/go.mod h1:IUZA2cDvr4Ok3+NtK2Oq/r+lJeXkeCrHRmqdyWfpmGM=
-github.com/helmfile/chartify v0.26.0 h1:uG1sThH7MGhyuevTqnwi70+7SHh+IpLSd2SnBVGYmZo=
-github.com/helmfile/chartify v0.26.0/go.mod h1:e4Ym+XfSIPdqG3KL8lwkSrvQzrRKTEQKyF1/8BoFpVA=
+github.com/helmfile/chartify v0.26.1 h1:HzVs7qbas5HB/vyIJCo6vgpnPX+hLnhx51Bl352Jj0A=
+github.com/helmfile/chartify v0.26.1/go.mod h1:e4Ym+XfSIPdqG3KL8lwkSrvQzrRKTEQKyF1/8BoFpVA=
 github.com/helmfile/vals v0.42.6 h1:ephnaYL1F9F96iUL5fVjeOi50wqNYvG4QhCpuiklwwg=
 github.com/helmfile/vals v0.42.6/go.mod h1:ngPOAKsECRSSUQcE1Pdu4LbMr4Nrvy2b7Ut1d+oyJxg=
 github.com/hinshun/vt10x v0.0.0-20220119200601-820417d04eec h1:qv2VnGeEQHchGaZ/u7lxST/RaJw+cv273q79D81Xbog=
diff --git a/test/integration/run.sh b/test/integration/run.sh
index da635768..41e07b64 100755
--- a/test/integration/run.sh
+++ b/test/integration/run.sh
@@ -116,6 +116,7 @@ ${kubectl} create namespace ${test_ns} || fail "Could not create namespace ${tes
 . ${dir}/test-cases/state-values-set-cli-args-in-environments.sh
 . ${dir}/test-cases/issue-2281-array-merge.sh
 . ${dir}/test-cases/issue-2247.sh
+. ${dir}/test-cases/issue-2291.sh
 
 # ALL DONE -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
diff --git a/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2247.sh b/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2247.sh
index bbc8d439..8cb34368 100755
--- a/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2247.sh
+++ b/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2247.sh
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ info "SUCCESS: OCI charts without version do not trigger validation error"
 if ! command -v docker &> /dev/null; then
   info "Skipping registry tests (Docker not available)"
   rm -rf "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}"
+  trap - EXIT
   test_pass "issue-2247: OCI charts without version (validation tests only)"
   return 0
 fi
@@ -73,6 +74,7 @@ fi
 if ! docker info &> /dev/null; then
   info "Skipping registry tests (Docker daemon not running)"
   rm -rf "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}"
+  trap - EXIT
   test_pass "issue-2247: OCI charts without version (validation tests only)"
   return 0
 fi
@@ -105,6 +107,7 @@ if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
   cat "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}/registry-start.log"
   warn "Failed to start Docker registry - skipping registry tests"
   rm -rf "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}"
+  trap - EXIT
   test_pass "issue-2247: OCI charts without version (validation tests only)"
   return 0
 fi
@@ -125,6 +128,7 @@ done
 if [ $attempt -eq $max_attempts ]; then
   warn "Registry did not become ready in time - skipping registry tests"
   cleanup_registry
+  trap - EXIT
   test_pass "issue-2247: OCI charts without version (validation tests only)"
   return 0
 fi
@@ -138,6 +142,7 @@ if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
   cat "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}/package.log"
   warn "Failed to package chart - skipping registry tests"
   cleanup_registry
+  trap - EXIT
   test_pass "issue-2247: OCI charts without version (validation tests only)"
   return 0
 fi
@@ -145,12 +150,14 @@ set -e  # Re-enable exit on error after successful package
 
 info "Pushing chart version 1.0.0 to local registry"
 set +e  # Disable exit on error to handle failures gracefully
-${helm} push "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}/test-chart-2247-1.0.0.tgz" oci://localhost:${registry_port} > "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}/push.log" 2>&1
+# Use --plain-http for localhost registry (HTTP instead of HTTPS)
+${helm} push "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}/test-chart-2247-1.0.0.tgz" oci://localhost:${registry_port} --plain-http > "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}/push.log" 2>&1
 if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
   set -e  # Re-enable before cleanup
   cat "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}/push.log"
   warn "Failed to push chart to registry - skipping registry tests"
   cleanup_registry
+  trap - EXIT
   test_pass "issue-2247: OCI charts without version (validation tests only)"
   return 0
 fi
@@ -162,7 +169,7 @@ cp -r "${issue_2247_chart_dir}" "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}/chart-v2"
 sed -i.bak 's/version: 1.0.0/version: 2.0.0/' "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}/chart-v2/Chart.yaml"
 set +e  # Disable exit on error for package/push operations
 ${helm} package "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}/chart-v2" -d "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}" > "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}/package-v2.log" 2>&1
-${helm} push "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}/test-chart-2247-2.0.0.tgz" oci://localhost:${registry_port} > "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}/push-v2.log" 2>&1
+${helm} push "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}/test-chart-2247-2.0.0.tgz" oci://localhost:${registry_port} --plain-http > "${issue_2247_tmp_dir}/push-v2.log" 2>&1
 set -e  # Re-enable exit on error
 
 info "Successfully pushed chart versions 1.0.0 and 2.0.0"
@@ -270,4 +277,6 @@ else
 fi
 
 # All tests passed!
+# Remove the EXIT trap to avoid interfering with subsequent tests
+trap - EXIT
 test_pass "issue-2247: OCI charts without version (all tests including registry)"
diff --git a/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291.sh b/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..a8457761
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+# Test for issue #2291: strategicMergePatches should NOT cause CRDs to be removed
+# Issue: https://github.com/helmfile/helmfile/issues/2291
+#
+# Problem: When using strategicMergePatches, chartify was relocating CRDs from
+# templates/crds/ to the root crds/ directory, changing how Helm manages them.
+# This caused helm diff to incorrectly show CRDs as being removed.
+#
+# Fix: Chartify now preserves the original CRD location (templates/crds/)
+
+issue_2291_input_dir="${cases_dir}/issue-2291/input"
+issue_2291_tmp_dir=$(mktemp -d)
+
+# Cleanup function to ensure resources are removed even if test fails
+cleanup_issue_2291() {
+  ${helm} uninstall test-release-2291 --namespace ${test_ns} 2>/dev/null || true
+  ${kubectl} delete crd testresources.test.io 2>/dev/null || true
+  rm -rf "${issue_2291_tmp_dir}"
+}
+trap cleanup_issue_2291 EXIT
+
+test_start "issue-2291: CRDs preserved with strategicMergePatches"
+
+# Test 1: Template the chart to verify CRDs are included
+info "Step 1: Templating chart to verify CRD structure"
+${helmfile} -f "${issue_2291_input_dir}/helmfile.yaml" template > "${issue_2291_tmp_dir}/templated.yaml" 2>&1
+code=$?
+
+if [ $code -ne 0 ]; then
+  cat "${issue_2291_tmp_dir}/templated.yaml"
+  fail "Failed to template chart"
+fi
+
+# Verify CRD is in the templated output
+if ! grep -q "kind: CustomResourceDefinition" "${issue_2291_tmp_dir}/templated.yaml"; then
+  cat "${issue_2291_tmp_dir}/templated.yaml"
+  fail "CRD not found in templated output"
+fi
+
+info "✓ CRD found in templated output"
+
+# Verify the CRD name
+if ! grep -q "name: testresources.test.io" "${issue_2291_tmp_dir}/templated.yaml"; then
+  cat "${issue_2291_tmp_dir}/templated.yaml"
+  fail "Expected CRD 'testresources.test.io' not found"
+fi
+
+info "✓ CRD testresources.test.io found"
+
+# Test 2: Apply the chart with strategicMergePatches
+info "Step 2: Applying chart with strategicMergePatches"
+${helmfile} -f "${issue_2291_input_dir}/helmfile.yaml" apply --suppress-diff > "${issue_2291_tmp_dir}/apply.txt" 2>&1
+code=$?
+
+if [ $code -ne 0 ]; then
+  cat "${issue_2291_tmp_dir}/apply.txt"
+  fail "Failed to apply chart"
+fi
+
+info "✓ Chart applied successfully"
+
+# Test 3: Verify CRD was created
+info "Step 3: Verifying CRD was installed"
+if ! ${kubectl} get crd testresources.test.io > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+  fail "CRD testresources.test.io was not installed"
+fi
+
+info "✓ CRD testresources.test.io is installed"
+
+# Test 4: Run diff - should show NO changes (especially NO CRD removal)
+info "Step 4: Running diff - should show no CRD removal"
+${helmfile} -f "${issue_2291_input_dir}/helmfile.yaml" diff > "${issue_2291_tmp_dir}/diff.txt" 2>&1
+
+# Check if diff shows CRD being removed (the bug we're fixing).
+# Note: Exit code is not checked since helmfile diff returns 2 when differences exist.
+if grep -q "testresources.test.io.*will be deleted" "${issue_2291_tmp_dir}/diff.txt" || \
+  grep -q "testresources.test.io.*removed" "${issue_2291_tmp_dir}/diff.txt" || \
+  grep -q -- "- kind: CustomResourceDefinition" "${issue_2291_tmp_dir}/diff.txt"; then
+  cat "${issue_2291_tmp_dir}/diff.txt"
+  fail "BUG DETECTED: helm diff shows CRD being removed (issue #2291 regression)"
+fi
+
+info "✓ CRD is NOT marked for removal"
+
+# Test 5: Verify Deployment has the DNS patch applied
+info "Step 5: Verifying strategic merge patch was applied to Deployment"
+if ! ${kubectl} get deployment test-app -o yaml | grep -q "ndots"; then
+  fail "DNS patch was not applied to Deployment"
+fi
+
+info "✓ Strategic merge patch applied successfully"
+
+# Cleanup is handled by the trap, but we do it explicitly here too
+# and then remove the trap before test_pass to avoid double cleanup
+info "Cleaning up"
+cleanup_issue_2291
+trap - EXIT
+
+test_pass "issue-2291: CRDs preserved with strategicMergePatches"
diff --git a/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/dns-patch.yaml b/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/dns-patch.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c41e5e61
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/dns-patch.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+# Strategic merge patch to modify Deployment
+# This patch should NOT cause CRDs to be removed
+---
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: Deployment
+metadata:
+  name: test-app
+spec:
+  template:
+    spec:
+      dnsConfig:
+        options:
+          - name: ndots
+            value: "1"
diff --git a/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/helmfile.yaml b/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/helmfile.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..97231e19
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/helmfile.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+releases:
+  - name: test-release-2291
+    chart: ./test-chart
+    installed: true
+    # Strategic merge patches should NOT cause CRDs to be removed
+    # Issue: https://github.com/helmfile/helmfile/issues/2291
+    strategicMergePatches:
+      - dns-patch.yaml
diff --git a/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/test-chart/Chart.yaml b/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/test-chart/Chart.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..938d16ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/test-chart/Chart.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+apiVersion: v2
+name: test-chart-issue-2291
+description: Test chart for issue #2291 - CRD location preservation
+type: application
+version: 1.0.0
+appVersion: "1.0.0"
diff --git a/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/test-chart/templates/crds/crd-testresources.yaml b/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/test-chart/templates/crds/crd-testresources.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3fa3a585
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/test-chart/templates/crds/crd-testresources.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+{{- if .Values.crds.install }}
+apiVersion: apiextensions.k8s.io/v1
+kind: CustomResourceDefinition
+metadata:
+  name: testresources.test.io
+  labels:
+    app: {{ .Chart.Name }}
+spec:
+  group: test.io
+  names:
+    kind: TestResource
+    listKind: TestResourceList
+    plural: testresources
+    singular: testresource
+  scope: Namespaced
+  versions:
+  - name: v1
+    served: true
+    storage: true
+    schema:
+      openAPIV3Schema:
+        type: object
+        properties:
+          spec:
+            type: object
+            properties:
+              replicas:
+                type: integer
+{{- end }}
diff --git a/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/test-chart/templates/deployment.yaml b/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/test-chart/templates/deployment.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..19e5954f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/test-chart/templates/deployment.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+apiVersion: apps/v1
+kind: Deployment
+metadata:
+  name: {{ .Values.deployment.name }}
+  labels:
+    app: {{ .Chart.Name }}
+spec:
+  replicas: {{ .Values.deployment.replicas }}
+  selector:
+    matchLabels:
+      app: {{ .Chart.Name }}
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      labels:
+        app: {{ .Chart.Name }}
+    spec:
+      containers:
+      - name: app
+        image: nginx:latest
+        ports:
+        - containerPort: 80
diff --git a/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/test-chart/values.yaml b/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/test-chart/values.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..80682d08
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/integration/test-cases/issue-2291/input/test-chart/values.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+crds:
+  install: true
+
+deployment:
+  name: test-app
+  replicas: 1
diff --git a/test/integration/test-cases/suppress-output-line-regex/output/diff-helm4 b/test/integration/test-cases/suppress-output-line-regex/output/diff-helm4
index 944faa16..e455c7de 100644
--- a/test/integration/test-cases/suppress-output-line-regex/output/diff-helm4
+++ b/test/integration/test-cases/suppress-output-line-regex/output/diff-helm4
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 Comparing release=ingress-nginx, chart=ingress-nginx/ingress-nginx, namespace=helmfile-tests
-helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx, ClusterRole (rbac.authorization.k8s.io) has changed:
+helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx, ClusterRole (rbac.authorization.k8s.io) has changed, but diff is empty after suppression.
 helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx, ClusterRoleBinding (rbac.authorization.k8s.io) has changed:
   # Source: ingress-nginx/templates/clusterrolebinding.yaml
   apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
@@ -134,8 +134,8 @@ helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx, RoleBinding (rbac.authorization.k8s.io) has chang
       name: ingress-nginx
 -     namespace: "helmfile-tests"
 +     namespace: helmfile-tests
-helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx, ServiceAccount (v1) has changed:
-helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx-admission, ClusterRole (rbac.authorization.k8s.io) has changed:
+helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx, ServiceAccount (v1) has changed, but diff is empty after suppression.
+helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx-admission, ClusterRole (rbac.authorization.k8s.io) has changed, but diff is empty after suppression.
 helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx-admission, ClusterRoleBinding (rbac.authorization.k8s.io) has changed:
   # Source: ingress-nginx/templates/admission-webhooks/job-patch/clusterrolebinding.yaml
   apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx-admission, RoleBinding (rbac.authorization.k8s.io)
       name: ingress-nginx-admission
 -     namespace: "helmfile-tests"
 +     namespace: helmfile-tests
-helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx-admission, ServiceAccount (v1) has changed:
+helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx-admission, ServiceAccount (v1) has changed, but diff is empty after suppression.
 helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx-admission, ValidatingWebhookConfiguration (admissionregistration.k8s.io) has changed:
   # Source: ingress-nginx/templates/admission-webhooks/validating-webhook.yaml
   # before changing this value, check the required kubernetes version
@@ -371,7 +371,7 @@ helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx-admission-patch, Job (batch) has changed:
 -         fsGroup: 2000
 -         runAsNonRoot: true
 -         runAsUser: 2000
-helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx-controller, ConfigMap (v1) has changed:
+helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx-controller, ConfigMap (v1) has changed, but diff is empty after suppression.
 helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx-controller, Deployment (apps) has changed:
   # Source: ingress-nginx/templates/controller-deployment.yaml
   apiVersion: apps/v1
@@ -497,8 +497,41 @@ helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx-controller, Deployment (apps) has changed:
             secret:
               secretName: ingress-nginx-admission
 helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx-controller, Service (v1) has changed:
-helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx-controller-admission, Service (v1) has changed:
-helmfile-tests, nginx, IngressClass (networking.k8s.io) has changed:
+  # Source: ingress-nginx/templates/controller-service.yaml
+  apiVersion: v1
+  kind: Service
+  metadata:
+    annotations:
+    labels:
+      app.kubernetes.io/name: ingress-nginx
+      app.kubernetes.io/instance: ingress-nginx
+      app.kubernetes.io/part-of: ingress-nginx
+      app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: Helm
+      app.kubernetes.io/component: controller
+    name: ingress-nginx-controller
+    namespace: helmfile-tests
+  spec:
+    type: LoadBalancer
+-   ipFamilyPolicy: SingleStack
+-   ipFamilies: 
+-     - IPv4
+    ports:
+      - name: http
+        port: 80
+        protocol: TCP
+        targetPort: http
+        appProtocol: http
+      - name: https
+        port: 443
+        protocol: TCP
+        targetPort: https
+        appProtocol: https
+    selector:
+      app.kubernetes.io/name: ingress-nginx
+      app.kubernetes.io/instance: ingress-nginx
+      app.kubernetes.io/component: controller
+helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx-controller-admission, Service (v1) has changed, but diff is empty after suppression.
+helmfile-tests, nginx, IngressClass (networking.k8s.io) has changed, but diff is empty after suppression.
 helmfile-tests, ingress-nginx-admission, NetworkPolicy (networking.k8s.io) has been removed:
 - # Source: ingress-nginx/templates/admission-webhooks/job-patch/networkpolicy.yaml
 - apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1