helm

Use this skill to keep Helm-based Kubernetes deployments reproducible, auditable, and safe across environments.

Intent Router

Request	Reference	Load When
Install Helm, add repos, configure registries	`resources/install-and-setup.md`	User needs to install Helm or configure repositories
install/upgrade/list/rollback/template commands	`resources/command-cookbook.md`	User needs day-to-day Helm release operations
Chart.yaml, templates, values, helpers	`resources/chart-authoring.md`	User wants to author or modify a Helm chart
Release lifecycle, --atomic, --wait, diff plugin	`resources/release-management.md`	User asks about release management or upgrade strategies

Quick Start

# Add a chart repository
helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
helm repo update

# Search for a chart
helm search repo bitnami/nginx

# Inspect default values
helm show values bitnami/nginx

# Install with custom values
helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx --set service.type=ClusterIP -n my-namespace

# Upgrade with a values file
helm upgrade my-nginx bitnami/nginx -f values.yaml -n my-namespace

# List releases
helm list -A

Core Command Tracks

Install: helm install <release> <chart> [flags] — create a new release
Upgrade: helm upgrade --install <release> <chart> — create or update release
Rollback: helm rollback <release> [revision] — revert to previous revision
Template: helm template <release> <chart> — render manifests locally without applying
Values: helm get values <release> — inspect values used by a deployed release
Status: helm status <release> — show release info and notes
Uninstall: helm uninstall <release> — remove release and resources

Safety Guardrails

Always run helm upgrade --dry-run --debug or helm template before applying changes to production.
Use the helm diff plugin (helm diff upgrade) to inspect what will change before applying.
Use --atomic in CI pipelines so failed upgrades automatically roll back.
Never pass secrets via --set; use a secrets manager or the helm-secrets plugin.
Always specify --namespace explicitly; do not rely on the default namespace.
Pin chart versions with --version in production to ensure reproducibility.
Confirm before running helm uninstall; it removes all resources managed by the release.

Workflow

Add and update chart repository: helm repo add and helm repo update.
Inspect default values: helm show values <chart>.
Create a values.yaml override file for environment-specific configuration.
Render and review manifests: helm template <release> <chart> -f values.yaml.
Install or upgrade: helm upgrade --install <release> <chart> -f values.yaml --atomic --wait.
Verify: helm list, helm status <release>, kubectl get pods -n <namespace>.
On failure, check: helm history <release> and helm rollback <release>.

# Troubleshoot a failed upgrade: inspect history and roll back
helm history my-nginx -n my-namespace
helm rollback my-nginx 1 -n my-namespace
helm status my-nginx -n my-namespace

Related Skills

kubectl — inspect and manage Kubernetes resources created by Helm
docker — build container images referenced in Helm chart values

References

resources/install-and-setup.md
resources/command-cookbook.md
resources/chart-authoring.md
resources/release-management.md
Official docs: https://helm.sh/docs/
Chart hub: https://artifacthub.io/