Helm

Helm helps you manage Kubernetes applications via Charts (packages of pre-configured K8s resources). Helm v4 (2025) improves OCI integration and enables server-side apply.

When to Use

• Packaging: Distribute your K8s app to others.
• Templating: Manage complexity. One deployment.yaml template for Dev, Staging, and Prod.
• Management: Easy upgrades/rollbacks (helm rollback).

Quick Start

# Install a chart
helm install my-release oci://registry-1.docker.io/bitnamicharts/nginx

# Create a chart
helm create my-chart

# values.yaml
replicaCount: 2
image:
  repository: nginx
  tag: "1.25"

Core Concepts

Charts

A collection of files that describe a related set of Kubernetes resources. Chart.yaml, values.yaml, templates/.

OCI Registries

Helm v4 treats OCI (Docker) registries as first-class citizens. You push Charts to Docker Hub/ECR/GHCR just like container images.

Release

An instance of a chart running in a cluster.

Best Practices (2025)

Do:

• Store Charts in OCI: Push charts to your container registry (helm push). Deprecate HTTP chart repositories.
• Use helm upgrade --install: Idempotent command for CI/CD pipelines.
• Use helm lint & kubeval: Validate templates before deploying.

Don't:

• Don't overuse logic in templates: If your Go templates look like spaghetti code, consider using a simpler tool (Kustomize) or an Operator.

References

• Helm Documentation