helm

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Translated

Helm is a package manager for Kubernetes that allows defining, installing, and upgrading applications via charts.

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Sourcealphaonedev/openclaw-graph
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NPX Install

npx skill4agent add alphaonedev/openclaw-graph helm

Tags

Translated version includes tags in frontmatter
helmkubernetespackage-managerci-cd-workflowsdeployment-lifecycle

SKILL.md Content

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helm

Purpose

Helm is a package manager for Kubernetes, enabling users to define, install, and upgrade applications using charts. It simplifies managing Kubernetes resources by packaging them into reusable templates.

When to Use

Use Helm for deploying and managing applications on Kubernetes clusters, especially when handling multiple environments, versioning dependencies, or automating deployments. Ideal for DevOps workflows involving microservices, where consistent application packaging is needed, such as in CI/CD pipelines for scalable apps.

Key Capabilities

  • Package applications as charts, which are directories containing YAML manifests and templates.
  • Support for chart repositories, allowing versioned storage and retrieval.
  • Templating engine to customize deployments with values files (e.g., YAML format for overriding parameters).
  • Rollback and upgrade features for managing release lifecycles.
  • Integration with Kubernetes RBAC for secure operations.

Usage Patterns

To use Helm, first ensure Kubernetes access via 
kubectl
or set the 
KUBECONFIG
environment variable (e.g., 
export KUBECONFIG=~/.kube/config
). Initialize Helm with 
helm init
if needed, then add repositories and install charts. For custom deployments, create a chart with 
helm create mychart
, edit values.yaml, and install. Always specify the namespace with 
--namespace
flag for multi-tenant clusters.

Common Commands/API

Helm operates via CLI commands; no direct REST API exists, but it interacts with Kubernetes API server.
  • Install a chart: 
    helm install myrelease stable/nginx --set service.type=LoadBalancer --namespace dev
    • Flags: 
      --set
      for inline overrides, 
      --values
      for external YAML file (e.g., 
      helm install --values values.yaml
      ).
  • Upgrade a release: 
    helm upgrade myrelease stable/nginx --set replicas=3
    • Use 
      --atomic
      for rollback on failure.
  • List releases: 
    helm list --all-namespaces
  • Delete a release: 
    helm uninstall myrelease --namespace dev
  • Search repositories: 
    helm search repo nginx
    Code snippet for a basic values.yaml file:
replicaCount: 2
image:
  repository: nginx
  tag: latest
To add a repository: 
helm repo add stable https://charts.helm.sh/stable
, then update with 
helm repo update
.

Integration Notes

Helm integrates with Kubernetes tools; ensure your cluster is accessible via the Kubernetes API. For authentication, use 
$KUBECONFIG
for client certificates or tokens. In CI/CD (e.g., GitHub Actions), run Helm in a container with 
kubectl
installed: set env var like 
export HELM_REPOSITORY_CONFIG=repo.yaml
. For Terraform integration, use Helm provider: define in HCL as 
resource "helm_release" "nginx" { name = "myrelease" chart = "stable/nginx" set { name = "service.type" value = "LoadBalancer" } }
. Avoid conflicts by using Helm's 
--wait
flag with Kubernetes operators.

Error Handling

Common errors include "chart not found" (fix by running 
helm repo update
), permission issues (ensure RBAC via 
kubectl create clusterrolebinding
), or failed hooks (check with 
helm status
). For deployment failures, use 
helm history release-name
to review revisions, then rollback with 
helm rollback release-name 0
. If a chart install errors due to invalid values, validate YAML first with a linter like 
yamllint values.yaml
. Always check Kubernetes events with 
kubectl get events --namespace dev
for root causes.

Concrete Usage Examples

  1. Install a WordPress chart: Add the repo with 
    helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
    , then install: 
    helm install mywordpress bitnami/wordpress --set wordpressUsername=admin --set wordpressPassword=$WP_PASSWORD --namespace web
    . This deploys WordPress with custom credentials; ensure 
    $WP_PASSWORD
    is set as an env var for security.
  2. Upgrade an existing MongoDB release: First, install with 
    helm install mymongo bitnami/mongodb --set auth.enabled=true
    , then upgrade: 
    helm upgrade mymongo bitnami/mongodb --set resources.requests.memory=512Mi --namespace db
    . This scales resources; monitor with 
    helm status mymongo
    to verify.

Graph Relationships

  • Related to: kubernetes (core dependency for deployments)
  • Co-located in: devops-sre cluster (shared with tools like kubectl, terraform)
  • Tagged with: helm, kubernetes, package-manager (links to similar skills in the cluster)