helm

name	helm
description	Package and deploy Kubernetes applications with Helm charts and releases. Use when tasks mention helm, Helm charts, helm install, helm upgrade, Helm repositories, values.yaml, or Helm releases.
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"greedychipmunk","version":"1.0"}

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

1. Add and update chart repository: helm repo add and helm repo update.
2. Inspect default values: helm show values <chart>.
3. Create a values.yaml override file for environment-specific configuration.
4. Render and review manifests: helm template <release> <chart> -f values.yaml.
5. Install or upgrade: helm upgrade --install <release> <chart> -f values.yaml --atomic --wait.
6. Verify: helm list, helm status <release>, kubectl get pods -n <namespace>.
7. 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/