helm_registry_auth: document/test stdout for registry success messages (Helm 4.2.1) (#1147)

* helm: document/test stdout for registry success messages (Helm 4.2.1)

Helm < 4.2.1 prints registry success messages (Login Succeeded, Pushed,
Pulled, Digest) to stderr (helm/helm#13464); Helm >= 4.2.1 moves them to
stdout (helm/helm#32056). The modules key on the return code, so logic is
unaffected, but the RETURN docs and integration assertions assumed stderr.

- helm_registry_auth: note the version-dependent output stream in
  the RETURN documentation.
- helm_registry_auth integration tests: assert success messages against the
  stdout+stderr union so they pass on both old and new Helm.

Fixes: #1146

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8

* ci: empty commit to re-trigger ci

changelogs/fragments/20260612-helm-registry-output-stream.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+minor_changes:
+  - helm_registry_auth - document that, as of Helm 4.2.1, registry success messages such as ``Login Succeeded`` are printed to stdout instead of stderr (https://github.com/ansible-collections/kubernetes.core/pull/1147).

plugins/modules/helm_registry_auth.py

@@ -106,17 +106,23 @@ EXAMPLES = r"""
 RETURN = r"""
 stdout:
   type: str
-  description: Full C(helm) command stdout, in case you want to display it or examine the event log
+  description:
+    - Full C(helm) command stdout, in case you want to display it or examine the event log.
+    - As of Helm 4.2.1 success messages such as C(Login Succeeded) are printed to stdout
+      (see U(https://github.com/helm/helm/pull/32056)). On earlier versions they are printed to stderr.
   returned: always
-stout_lines:
+  sample: 'Login Succeeded\n'
+stdout_lines:
   type: list
   description: Full C(helm) command stdout, in case you want to display it or examine the event log
   returned: always
 stderr:
   type: str
-  description: >-
+  description:
-    Full C(helm) command stderr, in case you want to display it or examine the event log.
+    - Full C(helm) command stderr, in case you want to display it or examine the event log.
-    Please be note that helm binnary may print messages to stderr even if the command is successful.
+    - Please note that the helm binary may print messages to stderr even if the command is successful.
+    - On Helm versions earlier than 4.2.1, success messages such as C(Login Succeeded) are printed
+      here; as of Helm 4.2.1 they are printed to stdout (see U(https://github.com/helm/helm/pull/32056)).
   returned: always
   sample: 'Login Succeeded\n'
 stderr_lines:

tests/integration/targets/helm_registry_auth/tasks/run_tests.yml

@@ -28,7 +28,9 @@
       register: _helm_registry_auth_correct
 
     - name: Assert that the registry is logged in
-      # Helm binary prints the message to stderr, refence: https://github.com/helm/helm/issues/13464
+      # Helm < 4.2.1 prints success messages to stderr (https://github.com/helm/helm/issues/13464),
+      # Helm >= 4.2.1 moves them to stdout (https://github.com/helm/helm/pull/32056).
+      # Check both streams to stay version-agnostic.
       assert:
         that:
           - "'Login Succeeded' in _helm_registry_auth_correct.stdout_lines + _helm_registry_auth_correct.stderr_lines"
@@ -43,9 +45,11 @@
       failed_when: _save_chart.rc != 0
 
     - name: Assert that the chart is saved
-      # Helm binary prints the message to stderr, refence: https://github.com/helm/helm/issues/13464
+      # Helm < 4.2.1 prints success messages to stderr (https://github.com/helm/helm/issues/13464),
+      # Helm >= 4.2.1 moves them to stdout (https://github.com/helm/helm/pull/32056).
+      # Check both streams to stay version-agnostic.
       assert:
-        that: "'Pushed: localhost:' + registry_port | string + '/test/k8s-monitoring' in _save_chart.stderr"
+        that: "'Pushed: localhost:' + registry_port | string + '/test/k8s-monitoring' in _save_chart.stdout + _save_chart.stderr"
 
     - name: Test logout
       helm_registry_auth:
@@ -55,9 +59,11 @@
       register: _helm_registry_auth_logout
 
     - name: Assert logout
-      # Helm binary prints the message to stderr
+      # Helm < 4.2.1 prints success messages to stderr (https://github.com/helm/helm/issues/13464),
+      # Helm >= 4.2.1 moves them to stdout (https://github.com/helm/helm/pull/32056).
+      # Check both streams to stay version-agnostic.
       assert:
-        that: "'Removing login credentials' in _helm_registry_auth_logout.stderr"
+        that: "'Removing login credentials' in _helm_registry_auth_logout.stdout + _helm_registry_auth_logout.stderr"
 
     - name: Ensure that not able to push to the registry
       ansible.builtin.shell: >-