feat: add --force-conflicts flag support for Helm 4 by yxxhero · Pull Request #2480 · helmfile/helmfile

yxxhero · 2026-03-11T23:43:11Z

Summary

Add forceConflicts option to HelmSpec (helmDefaults) and ReleaseSpec for per-release configuration
--force-conflicts flag is only available in Helm 4 and forces server-side apply changes against conflicts
Added validation to ensure force and forceConflicts are mutually exclusive
Added validation to error when forceConflicts is used with Helm 3

Usage

helmDefaults:
  forceConflicts: true  # Requires Helm 4

releases:
  - name: my-release
    chart: my/chart
    forceConflicts: true  # Mutually exclusive with force

Fixes #2429

Add support for Helm 4's --force-conflicts flag which forces server-side apply changes against conflicts. This flag is mutually exclusive with --force/--force-replace and only available in Helm 4. Fixes #2429 Signed-off-by: yxxhero <[email protected]>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds support for Helm 4’s --force-conflicts flag via new forceConflicts configuration on both global Helm defaults and per-release settings, with validation for Helm version and mutual exclusivity with force.

Changes:

Add ForceConflicts fields to HelmSpec and ReleaseSpec
Extend upgrade flag construction to emit --force-conflicts for Helm 4
Add tests for Helm 4 flag behavior and validation errors (Helm 3 + mutual exclusivity)

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

File	Description
pkg/state/state.go	Adds new config fields and validation + flag generation for `--force-conflicts` in Helm 4
pkg/state/state_test.go	Adds test cases covering `--force-conflicts` behavior and error conditions

Copilot · 2026-03-11T23:48:36Z

+		return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("releases[].forceConflicts requires Helm 4 or greater")
+	}
+
+	if forceEnabled && forceConflictsEnabled {
+		return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("force and forceConflicts are mutually exclusive")


The error messages are misleading when forceConflictsEnabled comes from helmDefaults.forceConflicts (since the message hard-codes releases[].forceConflicts), and the mutual-exclusion error doesn’t indicate whether the conflict originates from defaults vs per-release. Consider making the messages path-agnostic (e.g., “forceConflicts requires Helm 4 or greater”) or explicitly mentioning both sources (helmDefaults vs releases[]), so users can locate the misconfiguration reliably.

Suggested change

return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("releases[].forceConflicts requires Helm 4 or greater")

}

if forceEnabled && forceConflictsEnabled {

return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("force and forceConflicts are mutually exclusive")

return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("forceConflicts requires Helm 4 or greater (set via releases[].forceConflicts or helmDefaults.forceConflicts)")

}

if forceEnabled && forceConflictsEnabled {

return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("force and forceConflicts are mutually exclusive (check both releases[].force/forceConflicts and helmDefaults.force/forceConflicts)")

Copilot · 2026-03-11T23:48:36Z

 	Atomic bool `yaml:"atomic"`
 	// CleanupOnFail, when set to true, the --cleanup-on-fail helm flag is passed to the upgrade command
 	CleanupOnFail bool `yaml:"cleanupOnFail,omitempty"`
+	// ForceConflicts, when set to true, force server-side apply changes against conflicts (Helm 4 only)


Correct grammar: “when set to true, forces server-side apply changes against conflicts”.

Suggested change

// ForceConflicts, when set to true, force server-side apply changes against conflicts (Helm 4 only)

// ForceConflicts, when set to true, forces server-side apply changes when there are conflicts (Helm 4 only)

Copilot · 2026-03-11T23:48:36Z

+			name: "force-conflicts-from-default-helm4",
+			defaults: HelmSpec{
+				ForceConflicts:  true,
+				CreateNamespace: &disable,
+			},
+			version: semver.MustParse("4.0.0"),


There’s coverage for “defaults + Helm 4 works”, and “per-release + Helm 3 errors”, but no test asserting that helmDefaults.forceConflicts: true with Helm 3 fails. Adding a case for defaults-driven forceConflicts on Helm 3 would lock in the intended validation and also help catch regressions in the error-message/source handling.

- Fix comment grammar: 'forces' instead of 'force' - Improve error messages to indicate both sources (releases[] and helmDefaults) - Add test case for helmDefaults.forceConflicts with Helm 3 (should error) - Update TestGenerateID expected hashes after adding ForceConflicts field to structs Signed-off-by: yxxhero <[email protected]>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

yxxhero requested review from aditmeno, itscaro, mumoshu, xiaomudk and zhaque44 as code owners March 11, 2026 23:43

yxxhero requested a review from Copilot March 11, 2026 23:43

Copilot AI reviewed Mar 11, 2026

View reviewed changes

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of yxxhero March 11, 2026 23:49 View session

yxxhero requested a review from Copilot March 12, 2026 01:05

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of yxxhero March 12, 2026 01:05 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Mar 12, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread pkg/state/temp_test.go

xiaomudk approved these changes Mar 14, 2026

View reviewed changes

yxxhero merged commit d613c54 into main Mar 14, 2026
20 checks passed

yxxhero deleted the feat/add-force-conflicts-flag branch March 14, 2026 00:44

coderabbitai Bot mentioned this pull request May 15, 2026

fix(bundler): add --force-conflicts to per-component helm upgrade --install NVIDIA/aicr#934

Merged

5 tasks

Provide feedback

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

feat: add --force-conflicts flag support for Helm 4#2480

feat: add --force-conflicts flag support for Helm 4#2480
yxxhero merged 2 commits into
mainfrom
feat/add-force-conflicts-flag

yxxhero commented Mar 11, 2026

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Mar 11, 2026

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Mar 11, 2026

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Mar 11, 2026

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

3 participants

	// ForceConflicts, when set to true, force server-side apply changes against conflicts (Helm 4 only)
	// ForceConflicts, when set to true, forces server-side apply changes when there are conflicts (Helm 4 only)

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Conversation

yxxhero commented Mar 11, 2026

Summary

Usage

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Pull request overview

Reviewed changes

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Mar 11, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Mar 11, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI Mar 11, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Pull request overview

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

3 participants