Configure chart-testing to install all charts #2310
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This fixes a critical issue where Helm chart tests fail when PRs only
modify the operator chart without bumping the operator-crds chart version.
Problem:
--------
By default, 'ct install' only installs charts that have changed in a PR
(detected by comparing to the target branch). The operator chart depends
on the operator-crds chart, but this dependency is not explicitly declared
in Chart.yaml. When a PR modifies only the operator chart:
1. ct detects only the operator chart as changed
2. ct installs ONLY the operator chart (not operator-crds)
3. The operator pod starts but immediately crashes with:
"unable to retrieve the complete list of server APIs:
toolhive.stacklok.dev/v1alpha1: no matches for toolhive.stacklok.dev/v1alpha1"
4. This happens because the operator tries to create field indexes for
CRD fields at startup (e.g., MCPServer.Spec.GroupRef in main.go:82-96)
Root Cause:
-----------
The operator and operator-crds charts have an implicit dependency:
- The operator image includes code that requires CRDs to exist at startup
- The charts are separate and the dependency is not declared
- chart-testing's default behavior is to only test changed charts
Previous Workaround:
--------------------
PRs had to manually bump both chart versions together (see PR #2284),
but this is error-prone and not obvious to contributors.
Solution:
---------
Set 'all: true' in ct-install.yaml to ensure chart-testing always
installs all charts in the chart-dirs, regardless of which ones changed.
This ensures the CRDs are always present before the operator starts.
This is the recommended approach when charts have dependencies that
aren't explicitly declared in Chart.yaml dependencies.
Alternative Solutions Considered:
----------------------------------
1. Declare dependency in Chart.yaml - Would work but requires managing
chart repositories and complicates local development
2. Combine charts - Would require significant restructuring
3. Manual version bumps - Current approach, error-prone
Testing:
--------
With this change, PRs that only modify the operator chart (like #2176)
will now pass Helm chart tests because both charts will be installed.
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Codecov Report✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests. Additional details and impacted files@@ Coverage Diff @@
## main #2310 +/- ##
==========================================
+ Coverage 53.61% 54.09% +0.48%
==========================================
Files 239 239
Lines 30733 23265 -7468
==========================================
- Hits 16477 12585 -3892
+ Misses 13085 9509 -3576
Partials 1171 1171 ☔ View full report in Codecov by Sentry. 🚀 New features to boost your workflow:
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ChrisJBurns
approved these changes
Oct 24, 2025
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Problem
Helm chart tests are failing for PRs that only modify the operator chart without bumping the operator-crds chart version (e.g., PR #2176).
Root Cause
By default,
ct installonly installs charts that have changed in a PR. The operator chart has an implicit dependency on the operator-crds chart:MCPServer.Spec.GroupRefincmd/thv-operator/main.go:82-96)ct installdetects only that chart as changedct installinstalls ONLY the operator chart (not operator-crds)Why This Happens
The dependency between operator and operator-crds charts is not declared in Chart.yaml, so chart-testing doesn't know to install both charts together. This is a common pattern when charts need to be independently versioned but have runtime dependencies.
Solution
Configure
ct installto useall: true, which tells chart-testing to install all charts in the chart directories regardless of which ones changed. This ensures:Changes
all: truetoct-install.yamlTesting
This will fix the failing Helm chart tests in PR #2176 and prevent similar issues in the future.
Alternative Solutions Considered
The
all: trueapproach is the simplest and most maintainable solution for charts with implicit dependencies.🤖 Generated with Claude Code