Helm Charts: Package Manager for Kubernetes

Helm simplifies application deployment to Kubernetes — parameterised templates, versioning, and sharing via chart repositories. From manual YAML files to reproducible deployments.

YAML Hell in Kubernetes¶

Deploying an application to Kubernetes requires dozens of YAML files — Deployment, Service, ConfigMap, Secret, Ingress, PVC. Values differ per environment (dev, staging, prod) but the structure is the same.

Helm solves this problem — it is a package manager for Kubernetes. A chart is a package of parameterised templates; a Values file defines the configuration for a specific environment.

Anatomy of a Helm Chart¶

Helm chart structure:

  Chart.yaml          # Chart metadata
  values.yaml         # Default values
  templates/
    deployment.yaml   # Kubernetes Deployment template
    service.yaml      # Service template
    ingress.yaml      # Ingress template
    _helpers.tpl      # Shared template functions

A template with Go template syntax:

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: {{ .Release.Name }}-{{ .Chart.Name }}
spec:
  replicas: {{ .Values.replicaCount }}
  template:
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: {{ .Chart.Name }}
        image: "{{ .Values.image.repository }}:{{ .Values.image.tag }}"
        resources:
          limits:
            cpu: {{ .Values.resources.limits.cpu }}
            memory: {{ .Values.resources.limits.memory }}

Helm Workflow¶

Basic Helm commands:

# Install a chart
helm install my-release ./my-app \
  --set image.tag=v1.2.3 \
  --values production-values.yaml

# Upgrade
helm upgrade my-release ./my-app \
  --set image.tag=v1.3.0

# Rollback
helm rollback my-release 1

# List releases
helm list

Helm maintains a release history — rolling back to a previous version is a single command. A release is an instance of a chart in the cluster.

Chart Repository and Sharing¶

Helm charts can be shared via repositories — analogous to an npm registry for Kubernetes:

• stable/ — official community charts (nginx, PostgreSQL, Redis, Prometheus)
• Private repository — ChartMuseum or S3-based for internal charts
• Dependencies — a chart can depend on other charts (requirements.yaml)

The combination of Helm + CI/CD pipeline = reproducible, auditable deployments across all environments.

Conclusion: The Standard for Kubernetes Deployment¶

Helm is becoming the de facto standard for packaging and deploying Kubernetes applications. Parameterised templates, versioning, and rollback significantly simplify operations. We recommend Helm charts for every Kubernetes project from the start.