CONTRIBUTING prerequisites omit Helm, which 166 tests in bun run test need

[cevheri]

CONTRIBUTING.md lists two prerequisites, Bun (or Node.js 24+) and Git, and then tells a contributor to run bun run test. That command needs a third tool the page never names. Twelve files under tests/unit/ (helm-chart-*.test.ts, distribution-check.test.ts, generate-channel-showcase.test.ts) render the chart with the helm binary. Measured 2026-09-05 on a checkout of main:

• With helm absent from PATH, 166 tests fail, each with error: Executable not found in $PATH: "helm".
• With helm installed but the subchart not vendored, helm template refuses: found in Chart.yaml, but missing in charts/ directory: postgresql. The tarball is gitignored (.gitignore, *.tgz), so a fresh clone never has it.
• After helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami and helm dependency build charts/libredb-studio --skip-refresh, the same twelve files pass 337 of 337.

The two commands are the ones CI runs (.github/workflows/ci.yml, the "Lint, Typecheck and Build" and "Unit & Integration Tests" jobs, on Helm 4.1.3). CONTRIBUTING mentions helm dependency build only in the "Helm Chart Changes" section, which a contributor fixing a provider has no reason to open. The first contributor to hit this (PR #569) ran the whole suite, got 355 failures, and had to work out from the error text that none of them were theirs.

Fix. Docs only, in CONTRIBUTING.md:

1. Add Helm to "Prerequisites", naming the version CI runs (4.1.3), with the two commands above as the setup step that makes bun run test runnable.
2. Note beside bun run test in "Available Scripts" that the chart tests need it, and what the failure looks like without it, so the 166 errors are recognisable.
3. One hint for a trap I hit while measuring: a stale docker login makes helm dependency build fail with 401 Unauthorized from registry-1.docker.io even though the chart is anonymously pullable (docker logout fixes it).

If you want to make it stick, tests/unit/gitattributes.test.ts is the pattern for a small guard that reads a root file and asserts a whole line is present; one asserting that the Prerequisites section names helm would do. Optional.

Done when a contributor who follows only the Development Setup section has every tool the test suite spawns, and the twelve chart test files pass on a fresh clone. Docs only, no product code.

One thing this issue does not cover, so nobody chases it here: on the same fresh checkout, with helm and the subchart in place, bun run test still reports 183 failures in seven unit files, all of which pass when run in their own process. That is the single-process first phase of the test script, not a missing tool; it is tracked separately, and bun run test:ci, which is what CI runs, is green (14070 tests, 0 failures, measured 2026-09-05). Until that lands, verify with bun run test:ci.

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Curated for Hacktoberfest 2026. Comment to claim it before you start so two people do not work on the same issue. A PR must reference this issue and land with its tests in the same change; see CONTRIBUTING.md. Repo rules that apply: write the failing test first, run bun run test (never bare bun test), and the 100% line-coverage gate must stay green.

[SatvikMishra08]

Claiming this for Hacktoberfest — docs-only update to CONTRIBUTING.md (Helm 4.1.3 + helm dependency build in Prerequisites / Available Scripts). Skipping the optional guard test.

[addielaruee]

I will take this documentation and test-guard update.

[cevheri]

Thanks for the interest. SatvikMishra08 claimed this 23 minutes earlier and PR #571 already carries the docs change, so please do not duplicate it. If you want the optional guard test from the last paragraph (a small test asserting the Prerequisites section names helm, in the style of tests/unit/gitattributes.test.ts), say so here and open it as a follow-up PR that references this issue once #571 lands.

[cevheri]

@addielaruee I picked out #566 for you, it is docs plus a drift guard test, which is the same shape as what you asked for here. Details are in a comment on that issue. GitHub will not let me assign you until you comment there, so leave a note on #566 and I will assign it.

[cevheri]

Status for anyone reading the thread: @SatvikMishra08 claimed this first and is assigned, and PR #571 carries the docs change. It is in review with two small suggestions, nothing blocking.

The optional guard test in the last paragraph of this issue is still unclaimed. Satvik, it is yours if you want it, either as a second commit on #571 or a follow-up PR, whichever you prefer. No obligation, the issue closes on the docs change alone.

[addielaruee]

I am releasing this claim without a PR: the required Bun-based test gate is unavailable in my current environment, so I cannot verify the change to the repository standard.

[cevheri]

@addielaruee thanks for saying so instead of going quiet; that is the right call when a gate cannot run.

The gate does not have to run on your machine. Open the PR as a draft with a short Testing section that names the commands you could not run, and I approve the workflow run; the required checks (lint, typecheck, build, the full test suite and the coverage gate) then run on the PR itself, and they are the authority, not a local run. If your environment reaches the npm registry, npm install -g bun gives you Bun without root and without the install script. helm is needed only by the chart tests, which your change would not touch.

#566 is still open and unassigned, and it is the same shape as what you asked for here: a documentation change plus a drift guard test. Comment there if you want it and I will assign you.