helm-generator

name	helm-generator
description	Comprehensive toolkit for generating best practice Helm charts and resources following current standards and conventions. Use this skill when creating new Helm charts, implementing Helm templates, or building Helm projects from scratch.

Helm Chart Generator

Overview

Generate production-ready Helm charts with best practices built-in. Create complete charts or individual resources with standard helpers, proper templating, and automatic validation.

Official Documentation:

• Helm Docs - Main documentation
• Chart Best Practices - Official best practices guide
• Template Functions - Built-in functions
• Sprig Functions - Extended function library

When to Use This Skill

Use helm-generator	Use OTHER skill
Create new Helm charts	devops-skills:helm-validator: Validate/lint existing charts
Generate Helm templates	k8s-generator: Raw K8s YAML (no Helm)
Convert K8s manifests to Helm	k8s-debug: Debug deployed resources
Implement CRDs in Helm	k8s-yaml-validator: Validate K8s manifests

Trigger phrases: "create", "generate", "build", "scaffold" Helm charts/templates

Chart Generation Workflow

Stage 1: Understand Requirements

Gather information about:

• Scope: Full chart, specific resources, or manifest conversion
• Application: Name, image, ports, env vars, resources, scaling, storage
• CRDs/Operators: cert-manager, Prometheus Operator, Istio, etc.
• Security: RBAC, security contexts, network policies

REQUIRED: Use AskUserQuestion if any of these are missing or ambiguous:

Missing Information	Question to Ask
Image repository/tag	"What container image should be used? (e.g., nginx:1.25)"
Service port	"What port does the application listen on?"
Resource limits	"What CPU/memory limits should be set? (e.g., 500m CPU, 512Mi memory)"
Probe endpoints	"What health check endpoints does the app expose? (e.g., /health, /ready)"
Scaling requirements	"Should autoscaling be enabled? If yes, min/max replicas and target CPU%?"
Workload type	"What workload type: Deployment, StatefulSet, or DaemonSet?"
Storage requirements	"Does the application need persistent storage? Size and access mode?"

Do NOT assume values for critical settings. Ask first, then proceed.

Stage 2: CRD Documentation Lookup

If custom resources are needed:

1. Try context7 MCP first:

   mcp__context7__resolve-library-id with operator name
   mcp__context7__get-library-docs with topic for CRD kind
   

2. Fallback to WebSearch:

   "<operator>" "<CRD-kind>" "<version>" kubernetes documentation spec
   

See references/crd_patterns.md for common CRD examples.

Stage 3: Create Chart Structure

Use the scaffolding script:

bash scripts/generate_chart_structure.sh <chart-name> <output-directory> [options]

Script options:

• --image <repo> - Image repository (default: nginx). Note: Pass only the repository name without tag (e.g., redis not redis:7-alpine)
• --port <number> - Service port (default: 80)
• --type <type> - Workload type: deployment, statefulset, daemonset (default: deployment)
• --with-templates - Generate resource templates (deployment.yaml, service.yaml, etc.)
• --with-ingress - Include ingress template
• --with-hpa - Include HPA template
• --force - Overwrite existing chart without prompting

Important customization notes:

• The script uses http as the default port name in templates. Customize port names for non-HTTP services (e.g., redis, mysql, grpc)
• Templates include checksum annotations for ConfigMap/Secret changes (conditionally enabled via .Values.configMap.enabled and .Values.secret.enabled)

Standard structure:

mychart/
  Chart.yaml           # Chart metadata (apiVersion: v2)
  values.yaml          # Default configuration
  values.schema.json   # Optional: JSON Schema validation
  templates/
    _helpers.tpl       # Standard helpers (ALWAYS create)
    NOTES.txt          # Post-install notes
    deployment.yaml    # Workloads
    service.yaml       # Services
    ingress.yaml       # Ingress (conditional)
    configmap.yaml     # ConfigMaps
    serviceaccount.yaml # RBAC
  .helmignore          # Ignore patterns

Stage 4: Generate Standard Helpers

Use the helpers script or assets/_helpers-template.tpl:

bash scripts/generate_standard_helpers.sh <chart-name> <chart-directory>

Required helpers: name, fullname, chart, labels, selectorLabels, serviceAccountName

Stage 5: Generate Templates

⚠️ CRITICAL REQUIREMENT: Read Reference Files NOW

You MUST use the Read tool to load these reference files at this stage, even if you read them earlier in the conversation:

1. Read references/resource_templates.md - for the specific resource type patterns
2. Read references/helm_template_functions.md - for template function usage
3. Read references/crd_patterns.md - if generating CRD resources (ServiceMonitor, Certificate, etc.)

Why: Prior context may be incomplete or summarized. Reading reference files at generation time guarantees all patterns, functions, and examples are available for accurate template creation.

Do NOT skip this step. Template quality depends on having current reference patterns loaded.

Reference templates for all resource types in references/resource_templates.md:

• Workloads: Deployment, StatefulSet, DaemonSet, Job, CronJob
• Services: Service, Ingress
• Config: ConfigMap, Secret
• RBAC: ServiceAccount, Role, RoleBinding, ClusterRole, ClusterRoleBinding
• Network: NetworkPolicy
• Autoscaling: HPA, PodDisruptionBudget

Key patterns (MUST include in all templates):

# Use helpers for names and labels
metadata:
  name: {{ include "mychart.fullname" . }}
  labels: {{- include "mychart.labels" . | nindent 4 }}

# Conditional sections with 'with'
{{- with .Values.nodeSelector }}
nodeSelector: {{- toYaml . | nindent 2 }}
{{- end }}

# Config change restart trigger (ALWAYS add to workloads)
annotations:
  checksum/config: {{ include (print $.Template.BasePath "/configmap.yaml") . | sha256sum }}

Checksum annotation is REQUIRED for Deployments/StatefulSets/DaemonSets to trigger pod restarts when ConfigMaps or Secrets change. Add conditionally if ConfigMap is optional:

{{- if .Values.configMap.enabled }}
checksum/config: {{ include (print $.Template.BasePath "/configmap.yaml") . | sha256sum }}
{{- end }}

Stage 6: Create values.yaml

Structure guidelines:

• Group related settings logically
• Document every value with # -- comments
• Provide sensible defaults
• Include security contexts, resource limits, probes

See assets/values-schema-template.json for JSON Schema validation.

Stage 7: Validate

ALWAYS validate using devops-skills:helm-validator skill:

1. helm lint
2. helm template (render check)
3. YAML/schema validation
4. Dry-run if cluster available

Fix issues and re-validate until all checks pass.

Template Functions Quick Reference

See references/helm_template_functions.md for complete guide.

Function	Purpose	Example
required	Enforce required values	{{ required "msg" .Values.x }}
default	Fallback value	{{ .Values.x | default 1 }}
quote	Quote strings	{{ .Values.x | quote }}
include	Use helpers	{{ include "name" . | nindent 4 }}
toYaml	Convert to YAML	{{ toYaml .Values.x | nindent 2 }}
tpl	Render as template	{{ tpl .Values.config . }}
nindent	Newline + indent	{{- include "x" . | nindent 4 }}

Conditional patterns:

{{- if .Values.enabled }}...{{- end }}
{{- if not .Values.autoscaling.enabled }}replicas: {{ .Values.replicaCount }}{{- end }}

Iteration:

{{- range .Values.items }}
- {{ . }}
{{- end }}

Working with CRDs

See references/crd_patterns.md for complete examples.

Key points:

• CRDs you ship → crds/ directory (not templated, not deleted on uninstall)
• CR instances → templates/ directory (fully templated)
• Always lookup documentation for CRD spec requirements
• Document operator dependencies in Chart.yaml annotations

Converting Manifests to Helm

1. Parameterize: Names → helpers, values → values.yaml
2. Apply patterns: Labels, conditionals, toYaml for complex objects
3. Add helpers: Create _helpers.tpl with standard helpers
4. Validate: Use devops-skills:helm-validator, test with different values

Error Handling

Issue	Solution
Template syntax errors	Check {{- / -}} matching, use helm template --debug
Undefined values	Use default or required functions
Indentation issues	Use nindent consistently
CRD validation fails	Verify apiVersion, check docs for required fields

Resources

Scripts

Script	Usage
scripts/generate_chart_structure.sh	bash <script> <chart-name> <output-dir>
scripts/generate_standard_helpers.sh	bash <script> <chart-name> <chart-dir>

References

File	Content
references/helm_template_functions.md	Complete template function guide
references/resource_templates.md	All K8s resource templates
references/crd_patterns.md	CRD patterns (cert-manager, Prometheus, Istio, ArgoCD)

Assets

File	Purpose
assets/_helpers-template.tpl	Standard helpers template
assets/values-schema-template.json	JSON Schema for values validation

Integration with devops-skills:helm-validator

After generating charts, automatically invoke devops-skills:helm-validator to ensure quality:

1. Generate chart/templates
2. Invoke devops-skills:helm-validator skill
3. Fix identified issues
4. Re-validate until passing