feat: add --kube-context flag support by yxxhero · Pull Request #924 · databus23/helm-diff

yxxhero · 2026-02-01T05:06:37Z

Summary

Add native --kube-context flag to all helm-diff commands (upgrade, revision, rollback, release)
Allow users to specify kubeconfig context directly instead of using HELM_KUBECONTEXT environment variable
Pass the context through to helm commands for consistent behavior

Changes

Added kubeContext field to command structs (diffCmd, revision, rollback, release)
Updated getRelease, getHooks, getRevision, and getChart functions to accept and use kubeContext parameter
Added --kube-context flag to all commands
Pass context to helm commands and action configuration

Fixes #603

Add native --kube-context flag to all helm-diff commands (upgrade, revision, rollback, release) to allow users to specify kubeconfig context directly instead of relying on HELM_KUBECONTEXT environment variable workaround. Fixes #603 Signed-off-by: yxxhero <aiopsclub@163.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR adds first-class support for a --kube-context flag across helm-diff commands so users can select a kubeconfig context without relying solely on the HELM_KUBECONTEXT workaround, and ensures that this context is consistently propagated to underlying Helm operations.

Changes:

Extend diffCmd, revision, rollback, and release structs to carry a kubeContext field and expose a --kube-context flag on upgrade, revision, rollback, and release commands.
Thread kubeContext through helper functions (getRelease, getHooks, getRevision, getChart), the templating path, and value-reuse logic so Helm CLI invocations receive --kube-context (and --namespace where appropriate).
For three-way-merge/ownership flows, set envSettings.KubeContext before initializing action.Configuration so the Helm SDK also respects the chosen context.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 5 out of 5 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
cmd/upgrade.go	Adds `kubeContext` to `diffCmd`, wires a `--kube-context` flag into `helm diff upgrade`, and passes the context through to `getRelease`, `getHooks`, `template`, and the Helm SDK action configuration where three-way merge/ownership is used.
cmd/rollback.go	Adds a `kubeContext` field and `--kube-context` flag to the rollback command and passes that context into `getRelease`/`getRevision` calls so rollbacks use the selected kube context.
cmd/revision.go	Extends the revision command with a `kubeContext` field and flag and forwards it into `getRelease`/`getRevision` so revision comparisons run against the correct context.
cmd/release.go	Adds `kubeContext` support and flag to the release comparison command and threads it into `getRelease`/`getChart` for both releases being compared.
cmd/helm.go	Updates Helm helper functions to accept and append `--kube-context` (and now `--namespace` for some calls) and ensures `template` and `writeExistingValues` propagate the selected context to the underlying `helm` CLI.

Copilot · 2026-02-01T05:10:48Z

cmd/helm.go

+func getHooks(release, namespace, kubeContext string) ([]byte, error) {
 	args := []string{"get", "hooks", release}
 	if namespace != "" {
 		args = append(args, "--namespace", namespace)
 	}


The new kubeContext plumbing in the Helm CLI helper functions (e.g., getRelease/getHooks/getRevision/getChart) is not covered by tests, even though we use a fake HELM_BIN in main_test.go to assert exact argument lists. It would be good to add tests that run a diff command with --kube-context and extend the stubs to expect the --kube-context flag so regressions in how the context is forwarded to Helm are caught early.

Copilot · 2026-02-01T05:10:49Z

cmd/helm.go

 		flags = append(flags, "--namespace", d.namespace)
 	}
+	if d.kubeContext != "" {
+		flags = append(flags, "--kube-context", d.kubeContext)
+	}


template now appends --kube-context (and --namespace) to the Helm CLI flags, but there is no test asserting that these flags are actually passed through. Please add coverage (using the fake HELM_BIN harness) for a helm diff upgrade invocation with --kube-context so changes to this flag wiring do not silently break context selection.

Copilot · 2026-02-01T05:10:49Z

cmd/helm.go

+	if d.namespace != "" {
+		args = append(args, "--namespace", d.namespace)
+	}
+	if d.kubeContext != "" {
+		args = append(args, "--kube-context", d.kubeContext)


writeExistingValues now forwards --namespace and --kube-context to helm get values, but this behavior is not exercised by tests. Consider adding a test path that triggers value reuse (e.g., --reuse-values/--reset-then-reuse-values) with --kube-context set and updating the fake Helm stubs to expect these flags, to ensure existing-values resolution stays aligned with the selected kube context.

Add tests to verify that --kube-context flag is properly passed to helm commands, addressing review comments from PR #924: - Test basic --kube-context flag propagation to helm commands - Test --kube-context with --reuse-values flag - Test that --namespace is also passed when using --kube-context - Add wildcard argument matching for dynamic temp file paths Signed-off-by: yxxhero <aiopsclub@163.com>

…commands Signed-off-by: yxxhero <aiopsclub@163.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 6 out of 6 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

Copilot · 2026-02-14T05:39:50Z

cmd/upgrade.go

+		if d.kubeContext != "" {
+			envSettings.KubeContext = d.kubeContext
+		}
 		if err := actionConfig.Init(envSettings.RESTClientGetter(), envSettings.Namespace(), os.Getenv("HELM_DRIVER")); err != nil {


envSettings is a package-level variable and runHelm3 mutates envSettings.KubeContext when --kube-context is set. Because it is not reset, subsequent executions in the same process (e.g., tests or library usage) can unintentionally reuse the previous kube context, and it also introduces a potential data race if commands are ever run concurrently. Prefer using a fresh cli.New() (or copying the settings) inside runHelm3 for actionConfig.Init, or save/restore the previous KubeContext value around the initialization.

Suggested change

if d.kubeContext != "" {

envSettings.KubeContext = d.kubeContext

}

if err := actionConfig.Init(envSettings.RESTClientGetter(), envSettings.Namespace(), os.Getenv("HELM_DRIVER")); err != nil {

// Use a fresh copy of envSettings to avoid mutating shared state.

localEnv := cli.New()

*localEnv = *envSettings

if d.kubeContext != "" {

localEnv.KubeContext = d.kubeContext

}

if err := actionConfig.Init(localEnv.RESTClientGetter(), localEnv.Namespace(), os.Getenv("HELM_DRIVER")); err != nil {

Copilot · 2026-02-14T05:39:50Z

main_test.go

+	},
+	{
+		cmd:  []string{"get", "values"},
+		args: []string{"test-release", "--output", "yaml", "--all", "--kube-context", "test-context", "--namespace", "*"},


The fake helm stub for get values with both --kube-context and --namespace has the flags in a different order than the production code builds them (writeExistingValues appends --namespace before --kube-context). If a test run happens to set HELM_NAMESPACE (making d.namespace non-empty), the actual invocation will be ... --namespace <ns> --kube-context test-context and this stub won't match, causing a hard-to-diagnose test failure. Update the stub (or matching logic) so it matches the real argument order.

Suggested change

args: []string{"test-release", "--output", "yaml", "--all", "--kube-context", "test-context", "--namespace", "*"},

args: []string{"test-release", "--output", "yaml", "--all", "--namespace", "*", "--kube-context", "test-context"},

Copilot · 2026-02-14T05:39:50Z

main_test.go

+func TestHelmDiffWithKubeContext(t *testing.T) {
+	os.Setenv(env, envValue)
+	defer os.Unsetenv(env)
+
+	helmBin, helmBinSet := os.LookupEnv("HELM_BIN")
+	os.Setenv("HELM_BIN", os.Args[0])
+	defer func() {
+		if helmBinSet {
+			os.Setenv("HELM_BIN", helmBin)
+		} else {
+			os.Unsetenv("HELM_BIN")
+		}
+	}()
+
+	oldArgs := os.Args
+	defer func() { os.Args = oldArgs }()
+
+	os.Args = []string{"helm-diff", "upgrade", "-f", "test/testdata/test-values.yaml", "--kube-context", "test-context", "test-release", "test/testdata/test-chart"}
+	require.NoError(t, cmd.New().Execute())
+}


These tests duplicate the same environment setup/teardown logic (BECOME_FAKE_HELM, HELM_BIN, and os.Args) across many functions, which makes future edits error-prone. Consider extracting a small helper (or a table-driven test) to centralize this setup and reduce repetition.

- Use local copy of envSettings in actionConfig.Init to avoid mutating shared state and prevent data races - Fix test stub flag order to match production code (--namespace before --kube-context) - Extract helmDiffTestHelper to reduce duplicated test setup code Signed-off-by: yxxhero <aiopsclub@163.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 6 out of 6 changed files in this pull request and generated no new comments.

yxxhero requested a review from Copilot February 1, 2026 05:07

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of yxxhero February 1, 2026 05:07 View session

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yxxhero added 2 commits February 1, 2026 13:49

test: add kube-context flag tests for revision, rollback and release …

f17a1b1

…commands Signed-off-by: yxxhero <aiopsclub@163.com>

yxxhero requested a review from Copilot February 14, 2026 05:36

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of yxxhero February 14, 2026 05:36 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Feb 14, 2026

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yxxhero requested a review from Copilot February 14, 2026 06:15

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of yxxhero February 14, 2026 06:15 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Feb 14, 2026

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yxxhero merged commit 1c05fd9 into master Feb 14, 2026
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feat: add --kube-context flag support#924

feat: add --kube-context flag support#924
yxxhero merged 4 commits intomasterfrom
feat/kube-context-flag

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-		if d.kubeContext != "" {
-			envSettings.KubeContext = d.kubeContext
-		}
-		if err := actionConfig.Init(envSettings.RESTClientGetter(), envSettings.Namespace(), os.Getenv("HELM_DRIVER")); err != nil {
+		// Use a fresh copy of envSettings to avoid mutating shared state.
+		localEnv := cli.New()
+		*localEnv = *envSettings
+		if d.kubeContext != "" {
+			localEnv.KubeContext = d.kubeContext
+		}
+		if err := actionConfig.Init(localEnv.RESTClientGetter(), localEnv.Namespace(), os.Getenv("HELM_DRIVER")); err != nil {

	args: []string{"test-release", "--output", "yaml", "--all", "--kube-context", "test-context", "--namespace", "*"},
	args: []string{"test-release", "--output", "yaml", "--all", "--namespace", "*", "--kube-context", "test-context"},

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yxxhero commented Feb 1, 2026

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