Skaffold "helm deploy failed" in CI

When skaffold.yaml uses the helm deployer, Skaffold runs helm install or upgrade. A chart render error, a values mismatch, or a stuck prior release makes helm exit non-zero, which Skaffold reports as a helm deploy failure.

What this error means

A deploy fails with "deploying helm: ... failed" and a helm error such as "UPGRADE FAILED", a values templating error, or "another operation is in progress".

skaffold

deploying helm: install: Error: UPGRADE FAILED: another operation (install/upgrade/rollback)
is in progress

Common causes

A prior release is stuck pending

A previous helm operation left the release in a pending state, so the next upgrade is blocked.

The chart or values are invalid

A templating error or a required value not supplied by Skaffold's setValues/setValueTemplates fails the render.

How to fix it

Clear a stuck release, then redeploy

Check the release status with helm status.
Roll back or uninstall a stuck release if safe to do so.
Re-run the Skaffold deploy.

Terminal

helm status my-app -n my-namespace
helm rollback my-app -n my-namespace

Supply the values Skaffold injects

Ensure image references come through setValueTemplates so Helm gets the built tag.

skaffold.yaml

deploy:
  helm:
    releases:
      - name: my-app
        chartPath: charts/my-app
        setValueTemplates:
          image.repository: "{{.IMAGE_REPO_my_app}}"
          image.tag: "{{.IMAGE_TAG_my_app}}"

How to prevent it

Recover stuck releases before the next deploy.
Wire image values through Skaffold value templates.
Validate the chart with a render before deploying.