Error: validation: chart.metadata is required when using helm install Traefik

I got the error because Chart.yaml was being matched by a rule in .helmignore.

I received this error message because my only chart was in the directory "charts" rather than "templates"

This is what is expected:

.
├── [1.1K]  Chart.yaml
├── [  64]  charts
└── [2.9K]  templates
    └── [2.8K]  manifest.yaml

You need to give the exact path where the Chart.yaml file is located

helm2

helm install --name <release-name> <chart-path>
(e.g., helm install --name prometheus ./prometheus/)

helm3 install <release-name> <chart-path>
(e.g., helm3 install prometheus .)

helm3 install --generate-name <chart-path>

For anyone else getting to this page by googling the error message (like I did).

I received this same error because my custom chart file was called "chart.yaml" instead of "Chart.yaml" (note the uppercase C)