diff --git a/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dockerfile-google.yml b/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dockerfile-google.yml
index e93298b..b945bc6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dockerfile-google.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dockerfile-google.yml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ concurrency:
 env:
   APPLICATION_NAME: 'demo-api-go'
   SYSTEM_NAME: 'core'
-  HELM_VALUES_PATH: '.github/test-go/deploy/values.yml'
+  HELM_VALUES_FILE: '.github/test-go/deploy/values.yml'
   PROJECT_FILE: '.github/test-go/Dockerfile'
 
 jobs:
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'dev'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           runtime-cloud-provider: 'GKE'
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'test'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           runtime-cloud-provider: 'GKE'
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'prod'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           runtime-cloud-provider: 'GKE'
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
diff --git a/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dockerfile.yml b/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dockerfile.yml
index 5702eb6..6898de2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dockerfile.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dockerfile.yml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ concurrency:
 env:
   APPLICATION_NAME: 'demo-api-go'
   SYSTEM_NAME: 'core'
-  HELM_VALUES_PATH: '.github/test-go/deploy/values.yml'
+  HELM_VALUES_FILE: '.github/test-go/deploy/values.yml'
   PROJECT_FILE: '.github/test-go/Dockerfile'
 
 jobs:
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'dev'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
           slack-channel: '#team-${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}-alerts'
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'test'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
           slack-channel: '#team-${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}-alerts'
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'prod'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
           slack-channel: '#team-${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}-alerts'
diff --git a/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dotnet-google.yml b/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dotnet-google.yml
index 3ff8ddb..4fa6a07 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dotnet-google.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dotnet-google.yml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ concurrency:
 env:
   APPLICATION_NAME: 'demo-api'
   SYSTEM_NAME: 'core'
-  HELM_VALUES_PATH: '.github/test/deploy/values.yml'
+  HELM_VALUES_FILE: '.github/test/deploy/values.yml'
   PROJECT_FILE: '.github/test/src/core-demo-api.csproj'
 
 jobs:
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'dev'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           runtime-cloud-provider: 'GKE'
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'test'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           runtime-cloud-provider: 'GKE'
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'prod'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           runtime-cloud-provider: 'GKE'
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
diff --git a/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dotnet-iss.yml b/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dotnet-iss.yml
index 4aef74f..b321f9a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dotnet-iss.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dotnet-iss.yml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ concurrency:
 env:
   APPLICATION_NAME: 'demo-api'
   SYSTEM_NAME: 'iss'
-  HELM_VALUES_PATH: '.github/test/deploy/values.yml'
+  HELM_VALUES_FILE: '.github/test/deploy/values.yml'
   PROJECT_FILE: '.github/test/src/core-demo-api.csproj'
 
 jobs:
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'dev'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           runtime-cloud-provider: 'ISS'
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'test'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           runtime-cloud-provider: 'ISS'
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'prod'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           runtime-cloud-provider: 'ISS'
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
diff --git a/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dotnet.yml b/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dotnet.yml
index 2b1f5fc..57791b0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dotnet.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-dotnet.yml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ concurrency:
 env:
   APPLICATION_NAME: 'demo-api'
   SYSTEM_NAME: 'core'
-  HELM_VALUES_PATH: '.github/test/deploy/values.yml'
+  HELM_VALUES_FILE: '.github/test/deploy/values.yml'
   PROJECT_FILE: '.github/test/src/core-demo-api.csproj'
 
 jobs:
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'dev'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
           slack-channel: '#team-${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}-alerts'
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'test'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
           slack-channel: '#team-${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}-alerts'
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'prod'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
           slack-channel: '#team-${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}-alerts'
diff --git a/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-go-google.yml b/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-go-google.yml
index 7ab9206..2cc4ed2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-go-google.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-go-google.yml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ concurrency:
 env:
   APPLICATION_NAME: 'demo-api-go'
   SYSTEM_NAME: 'core'
-  HELM_VALUES_PATH: '.github/test-go/deploy/values.yml'
+  HELM_VALUES_FILE: '.github/test-go/deploy/values.yml'
   PROJECT_FILE: '.github/test-go/go.mod'
 
 jobs:
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'dev'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           runtime-cloud-provider: 'GKE'
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'test'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           runtime-cloud-provider: 'GKE'
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'prod'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           runtime-cloud-provider: 'GKE'
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
diff --git a/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-go.yml b/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-go.yml
index 2b4dc80..e2e52c8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-go.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/example-build-deploy-go.yml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ concurrency:
 env:
   APPLICATION_NAME: 'demo-api-go'
   SYSTEM_NAME: 'core'
-  HELM_VALUES_PATH: '.github/test-go/deploy/values.yml'
+  HELM_VALUES_FILE: '.github/test-go/deploy/values.yml'
   PROJECT_FILE: '.github/test-go/go.mod'
 
 jobs:
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'dev'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
           slack-channel: '#team-${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}-alerts'
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'test'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
           slack-channel: '#team-${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}-alerts'
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ env.APPLICATION_NAME }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'prod'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_PATH }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ env.HELM_VALUES_FILE }}
           # Will post to the Slack channel of your system if the deployment fails.
           # Can be commented out if you don't want this.
           slack-channel: '#team-${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}-alerts'
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test-actions.yml b/.github/workflows/test-actions.yml
index 0c7ef07..c378a8d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test-actions.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test-actions.yml
@@ -7,9 +7,8 @@ on:
       - '.github/workflows/test-actions.yml'
       - '.github/test/**'
       - '.github/test-go/**'
+      - '.github/test-docker/**'
       - '**/action.yml'
-      - '**/requirements.txt'
-      - '**/*.py'
       - '!README.md'
   workflow_dispatch:
     inputs:
@@ -81,11 +80,11 @@ jobs:
             "application-name": ["${{ env.APPLICATION_BASE_NAME }}", "${{ env.APPLICATION_BASE_NAME }}-go"],
             "include": [
               {
-                "helm-values-path": ".github/test/deploy/values.yml"
+                "helm-values-file": ".github/test/deploy/values.yml"
               },
               {
                 "application-name": "${{ env.APPLICATION_BASE_NAME }}-go",
-                "helm-values-path": ".github/test-go/deploy/values.yml"
+                "helm-values-file": ".github/test-go/deploy/values.yml"
               }
             ]
           }
@@ -221,7 +220,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ matrix.application-name }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'dev'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ matrix.helm-values-path }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ matrix.helm-values-file }}
           slack-channel: '#team-core-alerts-muted'
           AZURE_CLIENT_ID: ${{ vars.AKS_CLIENT_ID }}
 
@@ -249,7 +248,7 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ matrix.application-name }}
           namespace: ${{ env.SYSTEM_NAME }}
           environment: 'dev'
-          helm-values-path: ${{ matrix.helm-values-path }}
+          helm-values-file: ${{ matrix.helm-values-file }}
           runtime-cloud-provider: 'GKE'
           GC_SERVICE_ACCOUNT: ${{ vars.GC_SERVICE_ACCOUNT }}
           GC_WORKLOAD_IDENTITY_PROVIDER: ${{ vars.GC_WORKLOAD_IDENTITY_PROVIDER }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/update-starter-workflows.yml b/.github/workflows/update-starter-workflows.yml
index 2f3809f..9939bb2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/update-starter-workflows.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/update-starter-workflows.yml
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ jobs:
 
             sed -i "s/  APPLICATION_NAME: '.*'/  APPLICATION_NAME: '<your application name here>'/g" "$new_workflow_path"
             sed -i "s/  SYSTEM_NAME: '.*'/  SYSTEM_NAME: '<your system name here>'/g" "$new_workflow_path"
-            sed -i "s/  HELM_VALUES_PATH: '.*'/  HELM_VALUES_PATH: '.github\/deploy\/values.yml'/g" "$new_workflow_path"
+            sed -i "s/  HELM_VALUES_FILE: '.*'/  HELM_VALUES_FILE: '.github\/deploy\/values.yml'/g" "$new_workflow_path"
             sed -i "s/  PROJECT_FILE: '.*'/  PROJECT_FILE: '<your project file path here>'/g" "$new_workflow_path"
             sed -i "s/#  pull_request:/  pull_request:/g" "$new_workflow_path"
             sed -i 's/#    branches:/    branches:/g' "$new_workflow_path"
diff --git a/build/action.yml b/build/action.yml
index 0fb00de..84e41ad 100644
--- a/build/action.yml
+++ b/build/action.yml
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ runs:
     - name: Install 3lv CLI
       uses: 3lvia/cli/setup@trunk
       with:
-        version: '0.16.0' # TODO: remove this (which will get latest version) when 3lv CLI is stable
+        version: '0.17.2' # TODO: remove this (which will get latest version) when 3lv CLI is stable
 
     - name: Handle deprecated inputs
       shell: bash
diff --git a/deploy/action.yml b/deploy/action.yml
index 979058a..5b48915 100644
--- a/deploy/action.yml
+++ b/deploy/action.yml
@@ -15,6 +15,11 @@ inputs:
     description: 'Environment to deploy to.'
     required: true
   helm-values-path:
+    description: 'Path to Helm values file, relative to the root of the repository.'
+    required: false
+    deprecationMessage: |
+      Please use `helm-values-file` instead, which is a drop-in replacement. `helm-values-path` will be removed in the future.
+  helm-values-file:
     description: 'Path to Helm values file, relative to the root of the repository.'
     required: false
     default: '.github/deploy/values.yml'
@@ -135,14 +140,14 @@ runs:
     - name: Install 3lv CLI
       uses: 3lvia/cli/setup@trunk
       with:
-        version: '0.16.0' # TODO: remove this (which will get latest version) when 3lv CLI is stable
+        version: '0.17.2' # TODO: remove this (which will get latest version) when 3lv CLI is stable
 
     - name: Deploy
       shell: bash
       run: |
         3lv deploy \
           --system-name '${{ inputs.namespace }}' \
-          --helm-values-file '${{ inputs.helm-values-path }}' \
+          --helm-values-file "$HELM_VALUES_FILE" \
           --environment '${{ inputs.environment }}' \
           --workload-type '${{ inputs.workload-type }}' \
           --runtime-cloud-provider '${{ inputs.runtime-cloud-provider }}' \
@@ -153,6 +158,9 @@ runs:
           --run-id '${{ github.run_id }}' \
           '${{ inputs.name }}'
       env:
+        HELM_VALUES_FILE: ${{ inputs.helm-values-path == '' && inputs.helm-values-file || inputs.helm-values-path }}
+        # Pass optional inputs as environment variables, since they can be empty.
+        # The CLI does not accept empty strings passed to the flags, e.g. `--gke-project-id ''` will cause an error.
         3LV_AZURE_TENANT_ID: ${{ inputs.AZURE_TENANT_ID }}
         3LV_AZURE_CLIENT_ID: ${{ inputs.AZURE_CLIENT_ID }}
         3LV_AZURE_FEDERATED_TOKEN: ${{ steps.get-federated-token.outputs.token }}