fix: skip failed-prep releases, complete flag wiring, add tests and docs

Review follow-ups for --allow-failed-releases (#2616):

- Track per-release chart preparation failures in PrepareCharts (returned
  as a map keyed by release) and remove those releases from the state in
  Run.WithPreparedCharts when --allow-failed-releases is set, so a failed
  release is never executed against its original, un-prepared chart
  reference (which could either fail again with a duplicate error or, for
  charts requiring chartify, bypass patches/dependency modifications and
  produce an unintended result). All failures are still reported at the
  end via the aggregated MultiError.
- Complete the release identity on error results from
  prepareChartForRelease so failures are attributed to the correct
  release.
- With --allow-failed-releases, continue building dependencies of the
  remaining charts when 'helm dep build' fails for one release, and skip
  the affected releases during execution.
- Wire --allow-failed-releases into 'helmfile unittest' and 'helmfile
  status'; remove the dead flag wiring for write-values and list (both
  never prepare charts, see commandsSkipChartPrep).
- Simplify control flow (guard clauses, errors.As, drop dead code and
  redundant else branches).
- Add end-to-end coverage in pkg/app/issue_2616_test.go and extend the
  state-level tests; document the flag in docs/cli.md and CHANGELOG.md.

Signed-off-by: yxxhero <11087727+yxxhero@users.noreply.github.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 ### Added
 
 - Add support for `conditionTemplate` and allow `condition` to be set directly to `true` or `false`.
+- Add `--allow-failed-releases` global flag to continue preparing charts for the remaining releases when chart preparation fails for a release; failed releases are skipped and all failures are reported at the end (#2616)
 
 ## [1.4.1] - 2026-03-03
 

cmd/root.go

@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ func setGlobalOptionsForRootCmd(fs *pflag.FlagSet, globalOptions *config.GlobalO
 	fs.StringArrayVar(&globalOptions.StateValuesFile, "state-values-file", nil, "specify state values in a YAML file. Used to override .Values within the helmfile template (not values template).")
 	fs.BoolVar(&globalOptions.SkipDeps, "skip-deps", false, `skip running "helm repo update" and "helm dependency build"`)
 	fs.BoolVar(&globalOptions.SkipRefresh, "skip-refresh", false, `skip running "helm repo update"`)
-	fs.BoolVar(&globalOptions.AllowFailedReleases, "allow-failed-releases", false, `continue preparing charts for other releases when chart preparation fails for a release; report failures at the end`)
+	fs.BoolVar(&globalOptions.AllowFailedReleases, "allow-failed-releases", false, `continue preparing charts for other releases when chart preparation fails for a release; failed releases are skipped and all failures are reported at the end`)
 	fs.BoolVar(&globalOptions.StripArgsValuesOnExitError, "strip-args-values-on-exit-error", true, `Strip the potential secret values of the helm command args contained in a helmfile error message`)
 	fs.BoolVar(&globalOptions.DisableForceUpdate, "disable-force-update", false, `do not force helm repos to update when executing "helm repo add" (Helm 3 only)`)
 	fs.BoolVar(&globalOptions.EnforcePluginVerification, "enforce-plugin-verification", false, `fail plugin installation if verification is not supported (for security purposes)`)

docs/cli.md

@@ -550,6 +550,7 @@ The following global flags are also available but not shown in the main help out
 | Flag | Default | Description |
 |------|---------|-------------|
 | `--kubeconfig` | `""` | Use a particular kubeconfig file |
+| `--allow-failed-releases` | false | Continue preparing charts for other releases when chart preparation fails for a release; failed releases are skipped and all failures are reported at the end |
 | `--skip-refresh` | false | Skip running `helm repo update` (lighter than `--skip-deps` which also skips dependency build) |
 | `--enforce-plugin-verification` | false | Fail plugin installation if verification is not supported |
 | `--oci-plain-http` | false | Use plain HTTP for OCI registries (required for local/insecure registries in Helm 4) |

pkg/app/app.go

@@ -276,12 +276,13 @@ func (a *App) Template(c TemplateConfigProvider) error {
 func (a *App) WriteValues(c WriteValuesConfigProvider) error {
 	return a.ForEachState(func(run *Run) (ok bool, errs []error) {
 		prepErr := run.WithPreparedCharts("write-values", state.ChartPrepareOptions{
-			SkipRepos:           c.SkipRefresh() || c.SkipDeps(),
-			SkipRefresh:         c.SkipRefresh(),
-			AllowFailedReleases: c.AllowFailedReleases(),
-			SkipDeps:            c.SkipDeps(),
-			SkipCleanup:         c.SkipCleanup(),
-			Concurrency:         c.Concurrency(),
+			// Note: "write-values" never prepares charts (see commandsSkipChartPrep
+			// in run.go), so AllowFailedReleases does not apply here.
+			SkipRepos:   c.SkipRefresh() || c.SkipDeps(),
+			SkipRefresh: c.SkipRefresh(),
+			SkipDeps:    c.SkipDeps(),
+			SkipCleanup: c.SkipCleanup(),
+			Concurrency: c.Concurrency(),
 		}, func() []error {
 			ok, errs = a.writeValues(run, c)
 			return errs
@@ -375,6 +376,7 @@ func (a *App) Unittest(c UnittestConfigProvider) error {
 			ForceDownload:          true,
 			SkipRepos:              c.SkipRefresh() || c.SkipDeps(),
 			SkipRefresh:            c.SkipRefresh(),
+			AllowFailedReleases:    c.AllowFailedReleases(),
 			SkipDeps:               c.SkipDeps(),
 			SkipCleanup:            c.SkipCleanup(),
 			Concurrency:            c.Concurrency(),
@@ -615,9 +617,10 @@ func (a *App) Apply(c ApplyConfigProvider) error {
 func (a *App) Status(c StatusesConfigProvider) error {
 	return a.ForEachState(func(run *Run) (ok bool, errs []error) {
 		err := run.WithPreparedCharts("status", state.ChartPrepareOptions{
-			SkipRepos:   true,
-			SkipDeps:    true,
-			Concurrency: c.Concurrency(),
+			SkipRepos:           true,
+			AllowFailedReleases: c.AllowFailedReleases(),
+			SkipDeps:            true,
+			Concurrency:         c.Concurrency(),
 		}, func() []error {
 			ok, errs = a.status(run, c)
 			return errs
@@ -687,10 +690,9 @@ func (a *App) PrintDAGState(c DAGConfigProvider) error {
 	var err error
 	return a.ForEachState(func(run *Run) (ok bool, errs []error) {
 		err = run.WithPreparedCharts("show-dag", state.ChartPrepareOptions{
-			SkipRepos:           true,
-			AllowFailedReleases: false,
-			SkipDeps:            true,
-			Concurrency:         2,
+			SkipRepos:   true,
+			SkipDeps:    true,
+			Concurrency: 2,
 		}, func() []error {
 			err = a.dag(run)
 			if err != nil {
@@ -705,10 +707,9 @@ func (a *App) PrintDAGState(c DAGConfigProvider) error {
 func (a *App) PrintState(c StateConfigProvider) error {
 	return a.ForEachState(func(run *Run) (_ bool, errs []error) {
 		err := run.WithPreparedCharts("build", state.ChartPrepareOptions{
-			SkipRepos:           true,
-			AllowFailedReleases: false,
-			SkipDeps:            true,
-			Concurrency:         2,
+			SkipRepos:   true,
+			SkipDeps:    true,
+			Concurrency: 2,
 		}, func() []error {
 			if c.EmbedValues() {
 				for i := range run.state.Releases {
@@ -779,10 +780,11 @@ func (a *App) ListReleases(c ListConfigProvider) error {
 
 		if !c.SkipCharts() {
 			prepErr := run.WithPreparedCharts("list", state.ChartPrepareOptions{
-				SkipRepos:           true,
-				AllowFailedReleases: true,
-				SkipDeps:            true,
-				Concurrency:         2,
+				// Note: "list" never prepares charts (see commandsSkipChartPrep in
+				// run.go), so AllowFailedReleases does not apply here.
+				SkipRepos:   true,
+				SkipDeps:    true,
+				Concurrency: 2,
 			}, func() []error {
 				rel, err := a.list(run)
 				if err != nil {

pkg/app/config.go

@@ -343,7 +343,6 @@ type WriteValuesConfigProvider interface {
 	OutputFileTemplate() string
 	SkipDeps() bool
 	SkipRefresh() bool
-	AllowFailedReleases() bool
 	SkipCleanup() bool
 	IncludeTransitiveNeeds() bool
 
@@ -352,6 +351,7 @@ type WriteValuesConfigProvider interface {
 
 type StatusesConfigProvider interface {
 	Args() string
+	AllowFailedReleases() bool
 
 	concurrencyConfig
 }

pkg/app/issue_2616_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+package app
+
+import (
+	"path/filepath"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/helmfile/vals"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"go.uber.org/zap"
+
+	"github.com/helmfile/helmfile/pkg/exectest"
+	ffs "github.com/helmfile/helmfile/pkg/filesystem"
+	"github.com/helmfile/helmfile/pkg/helmexec"
+)
+
+// issue2616HelmfileContent defines two releases: one that is templated fine
+// (logging) and one that always fails chart preparation (error), because OCI
+// charts do not support the "latest" version tag.
+const issue2616HelmfileContent = `
+releases:
+- name: logging
+  chart: incubator/raw
+  namespace: kube-system
+
+- name: error
+  chart: oci://example.com/chart/error
+  namespace: failed
+  version: latest
+`
+
+// TestTemplateAllowFailedReleases verifies the behavior of the
+// --allow-failed-releases flag end to end for `helmfile template`:
+// when chart preparation fails for one release, the remaining releases are
+// still templated, the failed release is skipped (i.e. never executed against
+// its un-prepared chart reference) and all failures are reported at the end.
+func TestTemplateAllowFailedReleases(t *testing.T) {
+	testcases := []struct {
+		name               string
+		allowFailedRelease bool
+
+		// wantTemplated contains the releases that must have been passed to
+		// `helm template`; the release failing chart preparation must never
+		// appear here.
+		wantTemplated []exectest.Release
+	}{
+		{
+			name:               "default: abort on chart preparation failure",
+			allowFailedRelease: false,
+			wantTemplated:      nil,
+		},
+		{
+			name:               "allow-failed-releases: skip failed release, template the rest",
+			allowFailedRelease: true,
+			wantTemplated:      []exectest.Release{{Name: "logging", Flags: []string{"--kube-context", "default", "--namespace", "kube-system"}}},
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range testcases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			var helm = &exectest.Helm{
+				FailOnUnexpectedList: true,
+				FailOnUnexpectedDiff: true,
+				DiffMutex:            &sync.Mutex{},
+				ChartsMutex:          &sync.Mutex{},
+				ReleasesMutex:        &sync.Mutex{},
+			}
+
+			_ = runWithLogCapture(t, "debug", func(t *testing.T, logger *zap.SugaredLogger) {
+				t.Helper()
+
+				valsRuntime, err := vals.New(vals.Options{CacheSize: 32})
+				require.NoError(t, err)
+
+				files := map[string]string{
+					"/path/to/helmfile.yaml": issue2616HelmfileContent,
+				}
+
+				app := appWithFs(&App{
+					OverrideHelmBinary:              DefaultHelmBinary,
+					fs:                              &ffs.FileSystem{Glob: filepath.Glob},
+					OverrideKubeContext:             "default",
+					DisableKubeVersionAutoDetection: true,
+					Env:                             "default",
+					Logger:                          logger,
+					helms: map[helmKey]helmexec.Interface{
+						createHelmKey("helm", "default"): helm,
+					},
+					valsRuntime: valsRuntime,
+				}, files)
+
+				tmplErr := app.Template(applyConfig{
+					// if we check log output, concurrency must be 1. otherwise the test becomes non-deterministic.
+					concurrency:         1,
+					logger:              logger,
+					allowFailedReleases: tc.allowFailedRelease,
+				})
+
+				// The chart preparation failure must be reported in both modes.
+				require.Error(t, tmplErr)
+				assert.Contains(t, tmplErr.Error(), "the version for OCI charts should be semver compliant")
+
+				// The release that failed chart preparation must never be executed.
+				require.Equal(t, tc.wantTemplated, helm.Templated)
+			})
+		})
+	}
+}

pkg/app/run.go

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package app
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"slices"
@@ -48,23 +49,23 @@ func (r *Run) askForConfirmation(msg string) bool {
 // When skipRepos is false, SyncReposOnce still runs normally for all repos.
 var commandsSkipChartPrep = []string{"write-values", "list"}
 
-func (r *Run) prepareChartsIfNeeded(helmfileCommand string, dir string, concurrency int, opts state.ChartPrepareOptions) (map[state.PrepareChartKey]string, error) {
+func (r *Run) prepareChartsIfNeeded(helmfileCommand string, dir string, concurrency int, opts state.ChartPrepareOptions) (map[state.PrepareChartKey]string, map[state.PrepareChartKey]error, error) {
 	// Skip chart preparation for commands that don't need chart pulls
 	if slices.Contains(commandsSkipChartPrep, strings.ToLower(helmfileCommand)) {
-		return nil, nil
+		return nil, nil, nil
 	}
 
-	releaseToChart, errs := r.state.PrepareCharts(r.helm, dir, concurrency, helmfileCommand, opts)
+	releaseToChart, failedReleases, errs := r.state.PrepareCharts(r.helm, dir, concurrency, helmfileCommand, opts)
 	if len(errs) > 0 {
 		if !opts.AllowFailedReleases {
 			// abort on first error
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("%v", errs)
+			return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("%v", errs)
 		}
-		// return partial results with errors for the failed ones
-		return releaseToChart, &MultiError{Errors: errs}
+		// return partial results, along with the per-release errors for the failed ones
+		return releaseToChart, failedReleases, &MultiError{Errors: errs}
 	}
 
-	return releaseToChart, nil
+	return releaseToChart, failedReleases, nil
 }
 
 func (r *Run) WithPreparedCharts(helmfileCommand string, opts state.ChartPrepareOptions, f func() []error) error {
@@ -118,18 +119,25 @@ func (r *Run) WithPreparedCharts(helmfileCommand string, opts state.ChartPrepare
 	// remain available for the entire operation lifecycle. See issue #1799.
 	defer r.state.CleanupChartifyTempDirs()
 
-	releaseToChart, prepareErr := r.prepareChartsIfNeeded(helmfileCommand, dir, opts.Concurrency, opts)
-	// IMPORTANT: on opts.AllowFailedReleases: do not abort only on error here, just forward it to the caller in order to allow for partial results
-	// Only in case prepareCharts failed with a general error and returned to processable release abort anyways
-	if prepareErr != nil && releaseToChart == nil {
+	releaseToChart, failedReleases, prepareErr := r.prepareChartsIfNeeded(helmfileCommand, dir, opts.Concurrency, opts)
+	// A prepare error with no per-release attribution (state parsing, dependency
+	// resolution, ...) is a general failure: always abort, even with
+	// opts.AllowFailedReleases, since there are no processable partial results.
+	// Otherwise, abort only when partial results are not allowed; the failed
+	// releases are skipped below and their errors are reported at the end.
+	if prepareErr != nil && (len(failedReleases) == 0 || !opts.AllowFailedReleases) {
 		return prepareErr
 	}
-	if !opts.AllowFailedReleases {
-		if prepareErr != nil {
-			return prepareErr
-		}
-	}
 
+	// Releases whose chart preparation failed are removed from the state, so that
+	// the operation below never executes them against their original, un-prepared
+	// chart reference. That would either fail again with a duplicate error or,
+	// worse, bypass chartify modifications (patches, dependencies) and produce an
+	// unintended result. Their preparation errors are reported via prepareErr.
+	releases := r.state.Releases
+	if len(failedReleases) > 0 {
+		releases = make([]state.ReleaseSpec, 0, len(r.state.Releases))
+	}
 	for i := range r.state.Releases {
 		rel := &r.state.Releases[i]
 		key := state.PrepareChartKey{
@@ -137,6 +145,9 @@ func (r *Run) WithPreparedCharts(helmfileCommand string, opts state.ChartPrepare
 			Namespace:   rel.Namespace,
 			KubeContext: rel.KubeContext,
 		}
+		if _, failed := failedReleases[key]; failed {
+			continue
+		}
 		if chart, ok := releaseToChart[key]; ok && chart != rel.Chart {
 			// The chart has been downloaded and modified by Helmfile (and chartify under the hood).
 			// We let the later step use the modified version of the chart, located under the `chart` variable,
@@ -145,7 +156,11 @@ func (r *Run) WithPreparedCharts(helmfileCommand string, opts state.ChartPrepare
 			// if it has been modified or not.
 			rel.ChartPath = chart
 		}
+		if len(failedReleases) > 0 {
+			releases = append(releases, *rel)
+		}
 	}
+	r.state.Releases = releases
 
 	r.ReleaseToChart = releaseToChart
 
@@ -160,26 +175,26 @@ func (r *Run) WithPreparedCharts(helmfileCommand string, opts state.ChartPrepare
 
 	_, cleanupErr := r.state.TriggerGlobalCleanupEvent(helmfileCommand, firstErr)
 	if !opts.AllowFailedReleases {
-		// return directly on first error
 		return cleanupErr
-	} else {
-		// merge the two errors into a single error output
-		var merged []error
-		if prepareErr != nil {
-			if me, ok := prepareErr.(*MultiError); ok {
-				merged = append(merged, me.Errors...)
-			} else {
-				merged = append(merged, prepareErr)
-			}
-		}
-		if cleanupErr != nil {
-			merged = append(merged, fmt.Errorf("error during global cleanup event: %w", cleanupErr))
-		}
-		if len(merged) > 0 {
-			return &MultiError{Errors: merged}
-		}
-		return nil
 	}
+
+	// merge the preparation and cleanup errors into a single error output
+	var merged []error
+	if prepareErr != nil {
+		var me *MultiError
+		if errors.As(prepareErr, &me) {
+			merged = append(merged, me.Errors...)
+		} else {
+			merged = append(merged, prepareErr)
+		}
+	}
+	if cleanupErr != nil {
+		merged = append(merged, fmt.Errorf("error during global cleanup event: %w", cleanupErr))
+	}
+	if len(merged) > 0 {
+		return &MultiError{Errors: merged}
+	}
+	return nil
 }
 
 func (r *Run) Deps(c DepsConfigProvider) []error {

pkg/state/issue923_test.go

@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ releases:
 		OutputDirTemplate:      "{{ .OutputDir }}/{{ .Release.Name }}",
 	}
 
-	releaseToChart, errs := st.PrepareCharts(helm, tempDir, 1, "apply", opts)
+	releaseToChart, _, errs := st.PrepareCharts(helm, tempDir, 1, "apply", opts)
 	require.Empty(t, errs, "PrepareCharts should not return errors")
 
 	// Verify both releases have prepared charts
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ releases:
 		OutputDirTemplate:      "{{ .OutputDir }}/{{ .Release.Name }}",
 	}
 
-	releaseToChart, errs := st.PrepareCharts(helm, tempDir, 1, "apply", opts)
+	releaseToChart, _, errs := st.PrepareCharts(helm, tempDir, 1, "apply", opts)
 	require.Empty(t, errs)
 
 	// argocd-secrets should NOT have a prepared chart

pkg/state/issue_2616_test.go

@@ -11,13 +11,10 @@ import (
 	"github.com/helmfile/helmfile/pkg/exectest"
 )
 
-// TestAllowFailedReleasesFlag_Enabled verifies that the AllowFailedReleases flag
-// works as intended with one release that should work and another release, that
-// will fail.
-// The test makes one release fail by having an oci with latest version, which will always error
-func TestAllowFailedReleasesFlag_Enabled(t *testing.T) {
-	resetChartCacheForTest()
-	helmfileContent := []byte(`
+// issue2616HelmfileContent defines two releases: one that prepares fine
+// (grafana) and one that always fails chart preparation (error), because OCI
+// charts do not support the "latest" version tag.
+var issue2616HelmfileContent = []byte(`
 repositories:
 - name: stable
   url: kubernetes-charts.storage.googleapis.com
@@ -33,9 +30,15 @@ releases:
     version: latest
 `)
 
+// issue2616PrepareCharts runs PrepareCharts for issue2616HelmfileContent.
+func issue2616PrepareCharts(t *testing.T, opts ChartPrepareOptions) (map[PrepareChartKey]string, map[PrepareChartKey]error, []error) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	resetChartCacheForTest()
+
 	logger := zap.NewExample().Sugar()
 
-	st, err := createFromYaml(helmfileContent, "example/path/to/helmfile.yaml", DefaultEnv, logger)
+	st, err := createFromYaml(issue2616HelmfileContent, "example/path/to/helmfile.yaml", DefaultEnv, logger)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
 	tempDir := t.TempDir()
@@ -46,13 +49,23 @@ releases:
 
 	// OutputDirTemplate includes .OutputDir so charts go into tempDir (auto-cleaned
 	// by t.TempDir), not the global cache or CWD.
-	opts := ChartPrepareOptions{
+	opts.OutputDirTemplate = "{{ .OutputDir }}/{{ .Release.Name }}"
+
+	releaseToChart, failedReleases, errs := st.PrepareCharts(helm, tempDir, 1, "apply", opts)
+	return releaseToChart, failedReleases, errs
+}
+
+// TestAllowFailedReleasesFlag_Enabled verifies that the AllowFailedReleases flag
+// works as intended with one release that should work and another release, that
+// will fail: the healthy release is prepared and reported in the partial
+// results, while the failing one is recorded in failedReleases so that callers
+// can skip it during execution.
+func TestAllowFailedReleasesFlag_Enabled(t *testing.T) {
+	releaseToChart, failedReleases, errs := issue2616PrepareCharts(t, ChartPrepareOptions{
 		Concurrency:         1,
-		OutputDirTemplate:   "{{ .OutputDir }}/{{ .Release.Name }}",
 		AllowFailedReleases: true,
-	}
+	})
 
-	releaseToChart, errs := st.PrepareCharts(helm, tempDir, 1, "apply", opts)
 	require.NotEmpty(t, errs, "PrepareCharts should return an error")
 
 	// Verify only the error chart is not prepared
@@ -60,55 +73,26 @@ releases:
 		"grafana chart should be prepared")
 	assert.NotContains(t, releaseToChart, PrepareChartKey{Name: "error", Namespace: "failed"},
 		"error chart should not be prepared")
+
+	// Verify the failed release is attributed per-release, so that the caller
+	// can skip it instead of executing it against the un-prepared chart
+	assert.NotContains(t, failedReleases, PrepareChartKey{Name: "grafana", Namespace: "grafana"},
+		"grafana should not be marked as failed")
+	failedKey := PrepareChartKey{Name: "error", Namespace: "failed"}
+	assert.Contains(t, failedReleases, failedKey, "the failing release should be marked as failed")
+	assert.Error(t, failedReleases[failedKey])
 }
 
 // TestAllowFailedReleasesFlag_Disabled verifies that the AllowFailedReleases flag
 // has no unintended side effects and the default abort on error still works.
-// The test makes one release fail by having an oci with latest version, which will always error
 func TestAllowFailedReleasesFlag_Disabled(t *testing.T) {
-	resetChartCacheForTest()
-	cleanupLeakedChartDirs(t, "grafana", "error")
-	helmfileContent := []byte(`
-repositories:
-- name: stable
-  url: kubernetes-charts.storage.googleapis.com
-  oci: true
+	releaseToChart, failedReleases, errs := issue2616PrepareCharts(t, ChartPrepareOptions{
+		Concurrency: 1,
+	})
 
-releases:
-  - name: grafana
-    namespace: grafana
-    chart: stable/grafana
-  - name: error
-    namespace: failed
-    chart: oci://example.com/chart/error
-    version: latest
-`)
-
-	logger := zap.NewExample().Sugar()
-
-	st, err := createFromYaml(helmfileContent, "example/path/to/helmfile.yaml", DefaultEnv, logger)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-
-	tempDir := t.TempDir()
-
-	helm := &exectest.Helm{
-		ChartsMutex: &sync.Mutex{},
-	}
-
-	// OutputDirTemplate includes .OutputDir so charts go into tempDir (auto-cleaned
-	// by t.TempDir), not the global cache or CWD.
-	opts := ChartPrepareOptions{
-		Concurrency:       1,
-		OutputDirTemplate: "{{ .OutputDir }}/{{ .Release.Name }}",
-		// PrefetchSharedRemoteCharts: true,
-	}
-
-	releaseToChart, errs := st.PrepareCharts(helm, tempDir, 1, "apply", opts)
 	require.NotEmpty(t, errs, "PrepareCharts should return an error")
 
-	// Verify both releases are not prepared
-	assert.NotContains(t, releaseToChart, PrepareChartKey{Name: "grafana", Namespace: "grafana"},
-		"grafana chart should not be prepared")
-	assert.NotContains(t, releaseToChart, PrepareChartKey{Name: "error", Namespace: "failed"},
-		"error chart should not be prepared")
+	// Verify no partial results are returned on the default abort-on-error path
+	assert.Nil(t, releaseToChart)
+	assert.Nil(t, failedReleases)
 }

pkg/state/issue_2741_test.go

@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ func TestPrepareChartsPrefetchesSharedRemoteChart(t *testing.T) {
 		OutputDirTemplate:          "{{ .OutputDir }}/{{ .Release.Name }}",
 	}
 
-	releaseToChart, errs := st.PrepareCharts(mockHelm, tempDir, 5, "sync", opts)
+	releaseToChart, _, errs := st.PrepareCharts(mockHelm, tempDir, 5, "sync", opts)
 	require.Empty(t, errs, "PrepareCharts should not return errors")
 
 	assert.Equal(t, int32(1), mockHelm.fetchCount.Load(),
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ func TestPrepareChartsSkipsPrefetchForUniqueCharts(t *testing.T) {
 		OutputDirTemplate:          "{{ .OutputDir }}/{{ .Release.Name }}",
 	}
 
-	releaseToChart, errs := st.PrepareCharts(mockHelm, tempDir, 3, "sync", opts)
+	releaseToChart, _, errs := st.PrepareCharts(mockHelm, tempDir, 3, "sync", opts)
 	require.Empty(t, errs, "PrepareCharts should not return errors")
 
 	assert.Equal(t, int32(0), mockHelm.fetchCount.Load(),
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ func TestPrepareChartsSkipsPrefetchWhenFetchFlagsDiffer(t *testing.T) {
 		OutputDirTemplate:          "{{ .OutputDir }}/{{ .Release.Name }}",
 	}
 
-	releaseToChart, errs := st.PrepareCharts(mockHelm, tempDir, 2, "sync", opts)
+	releaseToChart, _, errs := st.PrepareCharts(mockHelm, tempDir, 2, "sync", opts)
 	require.Empty(t, errs)
 
 	assert.Equal(t, int32(0), mockHelm.fetchCount.Load(),
@@ -241,7 +241,7 @@ func TestPrepareChartsSkipsPrefetchWhenVerifyEnabled(t *testing.T) {
 		OutputDirTemplate:          "{{ .OutputDir }}/{{ .Release.Name }}",
 	}
 
-	releaseToChart, errs := st.PrepareCharts(mockHelm, tempDir, 2, "sync", opts)
+	releaseToChart, _, errs := st.PrepareCharts(mockHelm, tempDir, 2, "sync", opts)
 	require.Empty(t, errs)
 
 	assert.Equal(t, int32(0), mockHelm.fetchCount.Load(),
@@ -294,7 +294,7 @@ func TestPrepareChartsSkipsPrefetchForUnknownRepoChart(t *testing.T) {
 		OutputDirTemplate:          "{{ .OutputDir }}/{{ .Release.Name }}",
 	}
 
-	releaseToChart, errs := st.PrepareCharts(mockHelm, tempDir, 2, "diff", opts)
+	releaseToChart, _, errs := st.PrepareCharts(mockHelm, tempDir, 2, "diff", opts)
 	require.Empty(t, errs)
 
 	assert.Equal(t, int32(0), mockHelm.fetchCount.Load(),
@@ -367,7 +367,7 @@ func TestPrefetchedSharedChartAllowsConcurrentSyncRelease(t *testing.T) {
 		OutputDirTemplate:          "{{ .OutputDir }}/{{ .Release.Name }}",
 	}
 
-	releaseToChart, errs := st.PrepareCharts(fetchHelm, tempDir, 5, "sync", opts)
+	releaseToChart, _, errs := st.PrepareCharts(fetchHelm, tempDir, 5, "sync", opts)
 	require.Empty(t, errs)
 	require.Equal(t, int32(1), fetchHelm.fetchCount.Load())
 
@@ -422,7 +422,7 @@ func TestPrefetchedSharedChartAllowsConcurrentDiffRelease(t *testing.T) {
 		OutputDirTemplate:          "{{ .OutputDir }}/{{ .Release.Name }}",
 	}
 
-	releaseToChart, errs := st.PrepareCharts(fetchHelm, tempDir, 5, "diff", opts)
+	releaseToChart, _, errs := st.PrepareCharts(fetchHelm, tempDir, 5, "diff", opts)
 	require.Empty(t, errs)
 	require.Equal(t, int32(1), fetchHelm.fetchCount.Load())
 

pkg/state/run_helm_dep_builds_skip_refresh_test.go

@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ func TestRunHelmDepBuilds_SkipRefreshBehaviors(t *testing.T) {
 				SkipRefresh: tt.optsSkipRefresh,
 			}
 
-			err := st.runHelmDepBuilds(helm, 1, builds, opts)
+			err := st.runHelmDepBuilds(helm, 1, builds, opts, nil)
 			require.NoError(t, err)
 
 			assert.NotNil(t, helm.buildDepsFlags, "BuildDeps should have been called")
@@ -336,7 +336,7 @@ func TestRunHelmDepBuilds_MultipleBuilds(t *testing.T) {
 
 	opts := ChartPrepareOptions{SkipRefresh: false}
 
-	err := st.runHelmDepBuilds(helm, 1, builds, opts)
+	err := st.runHelmDepBuilds(helm, 1, builds, opts, nil)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
 	assert.True(t, helm.updateRepoCalled, "UpdateRepo should have been called")

pkg/state/state.go

@@ -2208,22 +2208,24 @@ func (st *HelmState) prepareChartForRelease(release *ReleaseSpec, helm helmexec.
 }
 
 // PrepareCharts downloads and prepares all charts for the selected releases.
-// Returns the chart paths and any errors encountered.
+// It returns the chart paths for the successfully prepared releases, the set of
+// releases that failed to prepare (keyed by release, with their errors), and any
+// errors encountered.
 //
 // Note: OCI chart locks are acquired and released during chart download within this function.
 // The tempDir cleanup is deferred until after helm operations complete in the caller,
 // so charts remain available during helm commands even though locks are released.
-func (st *HelmState) PrepareCharts(helm helmexec.Interface, dir string, concurrency int, helmfileCommand string, opts ChartPrepareOptions) (map[PrepareChartKey]string, []error) {
+func (st *HelmState) PrepareCharts(helm helmexec.Interface, dir string, concurrency int, helmfileCommand string, opts ChartPrepareOptions) (map[PrepareChartKey]string, map[PrepareChartKey]error, []error) {
 	if !opts.SkipResolve {
 		updated, err := st.ResolveDeps()
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, []error{err}
+			return nil, nil, []error{err}
 		}
 		*st = *updated
 	}
 	selected, err := st.GetSelectedReleases(opts.IncludeTransitiveNeeds)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, []error{err}
+		return nil, nil, []error{err}
 	}
 
 	releases := releasesNeedCharts(selected)
@@ -2310,6 +2312,12 @@ func (st *HelmState) PrepareCharts(helm helmexec.Interface, dir string, concurre
 
 	prepareChartInfo := make(map[PrepareChartKey]string, len(releases))
 
+	// Releases that failed to prepare. When opts.AllowFailedReleases is set,
+	// these releases are excluded from the returned chart paths so that callers
+	// can skip them instead of executing them against their un-prepared chart
+	// references.
+	failedReleases := make(map[PrepareChartKey]error)
+
 	errs := []error{}
 
 	jobQueue := make(chan *ReleaseSpec, len(releases))
@@ -2333,6 +2341,14 @@ func (st *HelmState) PrepareCharts(helm helmexec.Interface, dir string, concurre
 					releaseOpts.ForceDownload = true
 				}
 				result := st.prepareChartForRelease(release, helm, dir, helmfileCommand, releaseOpts, workerIndex)
+				if result.err != nil {
+					// Error results returned by prepareChartForRelease may lack the
+					// release identity. Complete it here, so that the failure can be
+					// attributed to the correct release in failedReleases below.
+					result.releaseName = release.Name
+					result.releaseNamespace = release.Namespace
+					result.releaseContext = release.KubeContext
+				}
 				results <- result
 			}
 		},
@@ -2345,10 +2361,12 @@ func (st *HelmState) PrepareCharts(helm helmexec.Interface, dir string, concurre
 
 					if !opts.AllowFailedReleases {
 						return
-					} else {
-						// continue processing other releases even if one fails
-						continue
 					}
+
+					// Continue processing the other releases and record which one
+					// failed, so that the caller can skip it during execution.
+					failedReleases[chartPrepareResultKey(downloadRes)] = downloadRes.err
+					continue
 				}
 				func() {
 					prepareChartInfoMutex.Lock()
@@ -2368,27 +2386,40 @@ func (st *HelmState) PrepareCharts(helm helmexec.Interface, dir string, concurre
 		},
 	)
 
-	if len(errs) > 0 {
-		if !opts.AllowFailedReleases {
-			return nil, errs
-		}
-		// else if AllowFailedReleases: return partial results along with errs.
+	if len(errs) > 0 && !opts.AllowFailedReleases {
+		return nil, nil, errs
 	}
 
 	if len(builds) > 0 {
-		if err := st.runHelmDepBuilds(helm, concurrency, builds, opts); err != nil {
+		if err := st.runHelmDepBuilds(helm, concurrency, builds, opts, failedReleases); err != nil {
 			if !opts.AllowFailedReleases {
-				return nil, []error{err}
+				return nil, nil, []error{err}
 			}
 			errs = append(errs, err)
 		}
 	}
 
-	return prepareChartInfo, errs
+	// Drop the chart paths of releases whose `helm dep build` failed (only
+	// possible with opts.AllowFailedReleases), so that callers skip them too.
+	for key := range failedReleases {
+		delete(prepareChartInfo, key)
+	}
+
+	return prepareChartInfo, failedReleases, errs
+}
+
+// chartPrepareResultKey returns the map key identifying the release a chart
+// preparation result belongs to.
+func chartPrepareResultKey(r *chartPrepareResult) PrepareChartKey {
+	return PrepareChartKey{
+		Name:        r.releaseName,
+		Namespace:   r.releaseNamespace,
+		KubeContext: r.releaseContext,
+	}
 }
 
 // nolint: unparam
-func (st *HelmState) runHelmDepBuilds(helm helmexec.Interface, concurrency int, builds []*chartPrepareResult, opts ChartPrepareOptions) error {
+func (st *HelmState) runHelmDepBuilds(helm helmexec.Interface, concurrency int, builds []*chartPrepareResult, opts ChartPrepareOptions, failedReleases map[PrepareChartKey]error) error {
 	// NOTES:
 	// 1. `helm dep build` fails when it was run concurrency on the same chart.
 	//    To avoid that, we run `helm dep build` only once per each local chart.
@@ -2412,7 +2443,15 @@ func (st *HelmState) runHelmDepBuilds(helm helmexec.Interface, concurrency int,
 
 	if anySkipRefresh && !opts.SkipRefresh && !st.HelmDefaults.SkipRefresh && st.NeedsRepoUpdate() {
 		if err := helm.UpdateRepo(); err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("updating repo: %w", err)
+			err = fmt.Errorf("updating repo: %w", err)
+			if opts.AllowFailedReleases {
+				// None of the dep builds below can be trusted to produce usable
+				// charts: mark all of them as failed and let the caller skip them.
+				for _, r := range builds {
+					failedReleases[chartPrepareResultKey(r)] = err
+				}
+			}
+			return err
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -2441,7 +2480,14 @@ func (st *HelmState) runHelmDepBuilds(helm helmexec.Interface, concurrency int,
 				continue
 			}
 
-			return fmt.Errorf("building dependencies of local chart: %w", err)
+			err = fmt.Errorf("building dependencies of local chart %q for release %q: %w", r.chartName, r.releaseName, err)
+			if opts.AllowFailedReleases {
+				// Record the failed release and keep building the remaining charts.
+				failedReleases[chartPrepareResultKey(r)] = err
+				continue
+			}
+
+			return err
 		}
 	}