diff --git a/internal/chart/v3/util/dependencies.go b/internal/chart/v3/util/dependencies.go
index d42069894..6bbaf952c 100644
--- a/internal/chart/v3/util/dependencies.go
+++ b/internal/chart/v3/util/dependencies.go
@@ -55,8 +55,8 @@ func processDependencyConditions(reqs []*chart.Dependency, cvals common.Values,
 						break
 					}
 					logger.Warn("returned non-bool value", "path", c, "chart", r.Name)
-				} else if errors.As(err, &errNoValue) {
-					// this is a real error
+				} else if !errors.As(err, &errNoValue) {
+					// ErrNoValue means the condition key is absent, which is normal; warn on real errors only
 					logger.Warn("the method PathValue returned error", slog.Any("error", err))
 				}
 			}
diff --git a/internal/plugin/loader.go b/internal/plugin/loader.go
index 02c48ee71..eaa8518e2 100644
--- a/internal/plugin/loader.go
+++ b/internal/plugin/loader.go
@@ -162,6 +162,9 @@ func LoadDir(dirname string) (Plugin, error) {
 // NewLogIgnorePluginLoadErrorFilterFunc returns an ErrorFilterFunc that logs
 // plugin load errors using the provided logger and ignores them.
 func NewLogIgnorePluginLoadErrorFilterFunc(logger *slog.Logger) ErrorFilterFunc {
+	if logger == nil {
+		logger = slog.New(slog.DiscardHandler)
+	}
 	return func(pluginYAML string, err error) error {
 		logger.Warn("failed to load plugin (ignoring)", slog.String("plugin_yaml", pluginYAML), slog.Any("error", err))
 		return nil
diff --git a/pkg/action/action.go b/pkg/action/action.go
index a7907d2aa..71bd10ee3 100644
--- a/pkg/action/action.go
+++ b/pkg/action/action.go
@@ -157,6 +157,7 @@ func ConfigurationSetLogger(h slog.Handler) ConfigurationOption {
 
 func NewConfiguration(options ...ConfigurationOption) *Configuration {
 	c := &Configuration{}
+	c.SetLogger(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil))
 
 	for _, o := range options {
 		o(c)
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/flags.go b/pkg/cmd/flags.go
index 45d1137de..19a5f24c4 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/flags.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/flags.go
@@ -72,6 +72,9 @@ type waitValue struct {
 
 func newWaitValue(defaultValue kube.WaitStrategy, ws *kube.WaitStrategy, logger *slog.Logger) *waitValue {
 	*ws = defaultValue
+	if logger == nil {
+		logger = slog.New(slog.DiscardHandler)
+	}
 	return &waitValue{ws: ws, logger: logger}
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/helpers.go b/pkg/cmd/helpers.go
index 121ac729d..7fd2a0874 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/helpers.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/helpers.go
@@ -43,6 +43,9 @@ func addDryRunFlag(cmd *cobra.Command) {
 // Determine the `action.DryRunStrategy` given -dry-run=<value>` flag (or absence of)
 // Legacy usage of the flag: boolean values, and `--dry-run` (without value) are supported, and log warnings emitted
 func cmdGetDryRunFlagStrategy(cmd *cobra.Command, isTemplate bool, logger *slog.Logger) (action.DryRunStrategy, error) {
+	if logger == nil {
+		logger = slog.New(slog.DiscardHandler)
+	}
 
 	f := cmd.Flag("dry-run")
 	v := f.Value.String()