helmfile init: Install Required Plugins
helmfile init checks for helm and the plugins helmfile depends on, installing any that are missing.
Before helmfile apply works, the runner needs helm plus the helm-diff plugin. init bootstraps those dependencies in one step.
What it does
helmfile init verifies that helm is installed and that the plugins helmfile uses (notably helm-diff, and helm-secrets when you use secrets) are present, prompting to install the missing ones. With --force it installs without prompting, which is what CI needs.
Common usage
# bootstrap a clean runner non-interactively
helmfile init --force
helmfile applyOptions
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
| --force | Install missing dependencies without prompting |
In CI
Run helmfile init --force as a setup step so the helm-diff plugin is present before helmfile diff or helmfile apply, both of which rely on it. On an image that already ships the plugins, init is a fast no-op.
Common errors in CI
"helm: command not found" means helm itself is not on PATH; install it first. If a later helmfile diff prints "Error: unknown command \"diff\" for \"helm\"", the helm-diff plugin is missing because init was skipped or failed. A prompt that hangs the job means --force was omitted.