Helm v3 Cheat Sheet
Helm is the package manager for Kubernetes. Official Documentation: helm.sh/docs
Core Concepts
-
Chart: A package of pre-configured Kubernetes resources.
-
Release: A specific instance of a chart deployed to the cluster.
-
Repository: A collection of charts.
Common Workflow (The Happy Path)
Most users will stick to these commands for daily usage.
# 1. Add a repository
helm repo add bitnami [https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami](https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami)
# 2. Update your local cache
helm repo update
# 3. Search for a chart
helm search repo wordpress
# 4. Install a chart (creates a release)
helm install my-release bitnami/wordpress
# 5. List running releases
helm list
# 6. Uninstall a release
helm uninstall my-release
Repository Management
Manage the locations where you download charts from.
|
Command
|
Description
|
|
helm repo add <name> <url>
|
Add a chart repository.
|
|
helm repo list
|
List added chart repositories.
|
|
helm repo update
|
Update local cache of available charts from all added repos.
|
|
helm repo remove <name>
|
Remove a repository.
|
|
helm repo index <dir>
|
Generate an index.yaml file for a directory containing packaged charts (for hosting your own repo).
|
Searching
Find charts in your configured repositories or the artifact hub.
|
Command
|
Description
|
|
helm search repo <keyword>
|
Search for charts in your added repositories (displays the latest stable version by default).
|
|
helm search hub <keyword>
|
Search for charts on Artifact Hub (online).
|
|
helm search repo <keyword> --versions
|
List all available versions of a specific chart.
|
|
helm search repo <keyword> --devel
|
Search including development/latest versions (alpha, beta, rc).
|
Release Management
Manage the lifecycle of applications deployed to your cluster.
Install & Upgrade
|
Command
|
Description
|
|
helm install <name> <chart>
|
Install a chart.
|
|
helm install <name> <chart> --namespace <ns> --create-namespace
|
Install into a specific namespace, creating it if needed.
|
|
helm install <name> <chart> --values values.yaml
|
Install using a custom values file.
|
|
helm install <name> <chart> --set key=value
|
Install and override specific values on the CLI.
|
|
helm upgrade <release> <chart>
|
Upgrade an existing release.
|
|
helm upgrade <release> <chart> --install
|
Pro Tip: Upgrades a release, or installs it if it doesn't exist (idempotent).
|
|
helm upgrade <release> <chart> --atomic --cleanup-on-fail
|
Upgrade and rollback automatically if it fails.
|
List & Delete
|
Command
|
Description
|
|
helm list
|
List releases in the current namespace.
|
|
helm list --all-namespaces
|
List releases across all namespaces (alias: helm list -A).
|
|
helm list --filter 'arelease.*'
|
List releases matching a regex filter.
|
|
helm uninstall <release>
|
Remove a release (deletes all k8s resources).
|
|
helm uninstall <release> --keep-history
|
Remove a release but keep the history (allows viewing old logs/rollback).
|
Rollback & History
|
Command
|
Description
|
|
helm history <release>
|
Show revision history for a release.
|
|
helm rollback <release> <revision>
|
Roll back a release to a specific revision number.
|
|
helm status <release>
|
Show the status of a specific release.
|
Information & Debugging
Inspect charts and troubleshoot deployments.
|
Command
|
Description
|
|
helm get all <release>
|
Print all information (manifests, values, notes) for a release.
|
|
helm get manifest <release>
|
Print the actual Kubernetes YAML running in the cluster for a release.
|
|
helm get values <release>
|
Print the user-supplied values for a release.
|
|
helm show chart <chart>
|
Show the Chart.yaml content (metadata).
|
|
helm show values <chart>
|
Show the default values.yaml for a chart.
|
|
helm show readme <chart>
|
Show the chart's README.
|
|
helm template <name> <chart>
|
Render the chart templates locally without installing (good for debugging).
|
|
helm install ... --dry-run --debug
|
Simulate an install and print the generated manifests.
|
|
helm test <release>
|
Run tests defined within the chart.
|
Chart Development
Commands for creating and working on your own charts.
|
Command
|
Description
|
|
helm create <name>
|
Create a new chart directory with the recommended structure.
|
|
helm lint <path>
|
Check a chart for potential issues.
|
|
helm package <path>
|
Package a chart directory into a .tgz archive.
|
|
helm dependency list <path>
|
List dependencies for a chart.
|
|
helm dependency update <path>
|
Update dependencies based on Chart.yaml (downloads .tgz to charts/).
|
|
helm dependency build <path>
|
Rebuild the charts/ directory based on the lock file.
|
Creating & Templating Example
1. Scaffolding Run helm create mychart. This generates the standard directory structure:
-
Chart.yaml: Metadata (name, version).
-
values.yaml: Default configuration values.
-
templates/: Directory for K8s YAML files combined with Go template logic.
-
templates/_helpers.tpl: Place for reusable template snippets.
2. Using Values (values.yaml) Values allow you to separate configuration from code.
-
values.yaml:
replicaCount: 3
image:
repository: nginx
tag: latest
-
templates/deployment.yaml:
replicas: {{ .Values.replicaCount }}
image: "{{ .Values.image.repository }}:{{ .Values.image.tag }}"
3. Using Helpers (_helpers.tpl) Helpers (defined with define) prevent code duplication for things like resource names and labels.
OCI Registries (Helm 3.8+)
Using container registries (like Docker Hub, ECR, GCR) to store charts.
|
Command
|
Description
|
|
helm registry login <host>
|
Log in to a registry (e.g., helm registry login ghcr.io).
|
|
helm push <chart>.tgz oci://<host>/<org>
|
Push a packaged chart to an OCI registry.
|
|
helm pull oci://<host>/<org>/<chart>
|
Pull a chart from an OCI registry.
|
|
helm pull oci://.../chart --untar
|
Pull and unpack (untar) the chart content to a local directory.
|
Example OCI Usage
# Package the chart
helm package mychart/
# Push to registry
helm push mychart-0.1.0.tgz oci://ghcr.io/myuser/charts
# Install from registry
helm install my-release oci://ghcr.io/myuser/charts/mychart --version 0.1.0
Plugins
Plugins are tools that "plug in" to Helm to add new features that aren't built-in. Think of them like browser extensions; they add extra capabilities like better diffing, simplified pushing to S3, or secrets management.
Real World Example: helm-diff
The diff plugin shows you exactly what will change in the YAML before you upgrade, which is safer than just running an upgrade blindly.
# 1. Install the plugin
helm plugin install [https://github.com/databus23/helm-diff](https://github.com/databus23/helm-diff)
# 2. See what would change if you upgraded
helm diff upgrade my-release bitnami/wordpress
Plugin Commands
|
Command
|
Description
|
|
helm plugin list
|
List installed plugins.
|
|
helm plugin install <url>
|
Install a plugin from a URL.
|
|
helm plugin uninstall <name>
|
Remove a plugin.
|
|
helm plugin update <name>
|
Update a plugin to the latest version.
|
Comments 0