feat: optional variables — omit empty values instead of zero-filling (#51)

[HahaSula]

Implements the Phase-1 scope of #51: an empty cell on a non-required variable is represented by key absence in values.yaml, instead of being backfilled with a zero value.

Changes

• src/utils/valueUtils.js (new)
  • pruneEmptyValues(rows, vars) — strips '' / null / undefined keys for non-required vars on save; required vars and keys not described by the schema are never pruned
  • pruneAllValues(values, schema) — applies it per alert group; _common and unknown groups pass through unchanged
  • buildNewRow(vars, commonValues) — extracted from AlertTable.handleAdd; optional vars without a default start with no key at all (required vars and booleans keep today's zero-value backfill)
• AlertUserView — handleSave / handleOverviewSave prune before POST
• templateGenerator
  • non-required selector labels are wrapped in {{- if hasKey $row "x" }} guards (hasKey, not truthiness — stays correct for numeric enum selectors where 0 is legitimate); required selectors render unguarded
  • summary annotation prefers a required selector; with only optional selectors it uses an inline guard; with no selectors it drops the on-clause instead of referencing a phantom .namespace (which rendered <no value> before)
• docs/chart-authoring.md (new) — the contract for hand-written charts: empty = key absent, never write explicit null (Helm delete-key coalesce), hasKey guard convention, _common fallback semantics, promtool safety-net limits

Why key absence (not null)

JSON Schema type only validates keys that are present, so CD-side helm template validation passes unchanged with the declared types untouched. Explicit null is a Helm delete-key instruction during coalesce and never reliably reaches templates. See #51 for the full discussion.

Testing

• 13 new unit tests for valueUtils, 7 new for templateGenerator guards/summary; existing schemaUtils / templateGenerator suites unaffected
• npm run lint clean
• 11 pre-existing failures in render-api / chartDiscovery / helmUnittest (environment-dependent: helm/promtool binaries, env vars) were verified to fail identically without this change
• The E2E checklist in feat: optional variables - omit empty values instead of zero-filling #51 is not covered here — needs the full minikube environment; follow-up on this branch or a separate PR

Closes nothing on its own — #51 stays open for the E2E checklist and Future work (required enforcement, server-side ajv validation).

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Summary by CodeRabbit

• New Features

  • Optional empty values are now omitted when deployments are saved, while required values and meaningful zero/false values are preserved.
  • New alert rows now receive consistent defaults and avoid duplicating shared values.
  • Generated Prometheus rules safely handle optional selectors and common variables.

• Bug Fixes

  • Improved alert summaries and selector labels when optional or required selectors are present.

• Documentation

  • Added guidance for chart authors on empty values, shared-value inheritance, template guards, and preview validation.

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ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: defaults

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro Plus

Run ID: 1d8e536a-95bb-4544-bc7b-daa677a94de5

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 6a37b6e and 7ee9620.

📒 Files selected for processing (7)

• docs/chart-authoring.md
• src/components/AlertTable.jsx
• src/pages/AlertUserView.jsx
• src/utils/__tests__/templateGenerator.test.js
• src/utils/__tests__/valueUtils.test.js
• src/utils/templateGenerator.js
• src/utils/valueUtils.js

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Optional variable handling now omits empty optional values during persistence, centralizes new-row construction, guards optional selectors in generated templates, and documents the chart-authoring and validation contract.

Changes

Optional variable contract

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Value pruning and row construction src/utils/valueUtils.js, src/components/AlertTable.jsx, src/pages/AlertUserView.jsx, src/utils/__tests__/valueUtils.test.js	Optional empty values are pruned before saves, new rows use shared schema-aware defaults, and the behaviors are tested.
Selector guard generation src/utils/templateGenerator.js, src/utils/__tests__/templateGenerator.test.js	Generated rules distinguish required and optional selectors, guard optional references, and select summary clauses accordingly.
Chart authoring contract docs/chart-authoring.md	Documentation describes omitted optional keys, hasKey guards, common-value merging, and Preview validation behavior.

Estimated code review effort: 3 (Moderate) | ~25 minutes

Sequence Diagram(s)

sequenceDiagram
  participant AlertUserView
  participant pruneAllValues
  participant saveDeployment
  AlertUserView->>pruneAllValues: deployment values and schema
  pruneAllValues->>pruneAllValues: remove empty optional keys
  pruneAllValues-->>AlertUserView: pruned values
  AlertUserView->>saveDeployment: persist pruned values

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Possibly related issues

• Issue 51 — Covers the same optional-variable design across row creation, persistence pruning, template guards, documentation, and tests.

Possibly related PRs

• null-ptr-exception/ruleMgmt#27 — Overlaps the AlertUserView.jsx save flow.
• null-ptr-exception/ruleMgmt#44 — Consumes the saved values.yaml shape affected by client-side pruning.

Suggested reviewers: rophy

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Docstring Coverage	⚠️ Warning	Docstring coverage is 37.50% which is insufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%.	Write docstrings for the functions missing them to satisfy the coverage threshold.

✅ Passed checks (4 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title accurately summarizes the main change: optional variables now omit empty values instead of being zero-filled.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

✨ Finishing Touches

📝 Generate docstrings

• Create stacked PR
• Commit on current branch

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Commit unit tests in branch feat/optional-variables

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[HahaSula]

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