Helm Chart Expert Skill

Purpose

Guide for creating production-ready Helm charts and conducting comprehensive chart reviews. Core workflow covers essential patterns with references to detailed examples for complex scenarios.

Quick Start Checklist

New Chart Creation

# 1. Create chart structure
helm create mychart

# 2. Validate structure
helm lint ./mychart

# 3. Test rendering
helm template ./mychart --debug

# 4. Dry run
helm install test ./mychart --dry-run --debug

Quick Template Check

# Render without installing
helm template myrelease ./mychart -f values-dev.yaml

# Debug with values
helm install myrelease ./mychart --dry-run --debug

# Diff before upgrade (requires helm-diff plugin)
helm diff upgrade myrelease ./mychart

When to Load Additional References

The quick reference above covers essential chart creation patterns. Load detailed references when:

For detailed chart templates and examples:

Read `~/.claude/skills/helm-chart-expert/references/TEMPLATES.md`

Use when: Creating new charts, need Chart.yaml/values.yaml/deployment examples, implementing all Kubernetes resources

For ArgoCD integration patterns:

Read `~/.claude/skills/helm-chart-expert/references/ARGOCD-PATTERNS.md`

Use when: Integrating with ArgoCD, multi-environment deployments, ApplicationSets, sync waves, GitOps workflows

For production deployment patterns:

Read `~/.claude/skills/helm-chart-expert/references/PRODUCTION-PATTERNS.md`

Use when: Secrets management, testing strategies, blue-green/canary deployments, monitoring setup, upgrade strategies

For troubleshooting and advanced techniques:

Read `~/.claude/skills/helm-chart-expert/references/TROUBLESHOOTING.md`

Use when: Debugging chart issues, nil pointer errors, advanced templating, dynamic resource generation, performance optimization

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Chart Review Checklist

Security Review

• No hardcoded secrets in values.yaml or templates
• Image tags are specific (no latest)
• Security contexts are defined and restrictive
• RBAC is properly configured with least privilege
• Network policies are defined where applicable
• Pod Security Standards are enforced
• Resource limits are set for all containers

Structure Review

• Chart.yaml has all required fields
• Version follows SemVer2 format
• Dependencies use version ranges (~)
• One resource per file in templates/
• Template helpers are properly namespaced
• File naming follows conventions (lowercase, dashes)

Values Review

• All values are documented with clear comments
• Naming is consistent (camelCase)
• Types are explicit (strings are quoted)
• Flat structure preferred where possible
• Defaults are secure and production-ready
• Environment-specific values are separated

Template Review

• Labels are consistent and follow k8s recommendations
• Nil checks for nested values
• Whitespace is properly managed ({{- and -}})
• Helper functions are used for repeated logic
• Conditionals are properly structured
• Resources can be disabled via values

Testing Review

• helm lint passes without errors
• helm template renders correctly
• Dry run succeeds
• Unit tests exist and pass
• Integration tests for critical paths
• Helm test hooks are defined

Documentation Review

• README.md exists with usage examples
• CHANGELOG.md tracks versions
• values.yaml is fully documented
• Examples for common scenarios
• Upgrade notes for breaking changes
• Dependencies are documented

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Final Review Checklist

Before Release

• All tests pass (lint, unit, integration)
• Security scanning completed
• Documentation updated
• CHANGELOG updated
• Version bumped appropriately
• Tested in staging environment
• Rollback procedure documented
• Resource quotas validated
• Network policies tested
• Monitoring/alerting configured

After Release

• Smoke tests pass
• Metrics flowing
• Logs accessible
• Alerts configured
• Documentation published
• Team notified

Integration with Other Skills

Works With:

• security-scan - Scan rendered Helm templates for hardcoded secrets
• quality-check - Lint YAML files for formatting issues
• Manual invocation for Helm-specific work

Invokes:

• None (standalone reference skill)

Invoked By:

• User (manual invocation when working with Helm)

Example Usage

# Manual invocation
/skill helm-chart-expert

# User requests
User: "Help me create a production-ready Helm chart"
User: "Review this Helm chart for security issues"
User: "Show me how to integrate with ArgoCD"
User: "How do I handle secrets in Helm?"

References

• Official Helm Best Practices
• Kubernetes Labels
• SemVer 2.0
• Helm Security
• ArgoCD Documentation
• GitOps Principles

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Maintained by: DevOps team Review Schedule: Quarterly Last Updated: 2025-01-12

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Related Agent

For comprehensive Helm/Kubernetes guidance that coordinates this and other Helm skills, use the helm-kubernetes-expert agent.