helm-chart-scaffolding

# Helm Chart Scaffolding Comprehensive guidance for creating, organizing, and managing Helm charts for packaging and deploying Kubernetes applications. ## Purpose This skill provides step-by-step instructions for building production-ready Helm charts, including chart structure, templating patterns, values management, and validation strategies. ## When to Use This Skill Use this skill when you need to: - Create new Helm charts from scratch - Package Kubernetes applications for distribution - Manage multi-environment deployments with Helm - Implement templating for reusable Kubernetes manifests - Set up Helm chart repositories - Follow Helm best practices and conventions ## Detailed patterns and worked examples Detailed pattern documentation lives in `references/details.md`. Read that file when the navigation tier above is insufficient. ## Best Practices 1. **Use semantic versioning** for chart and app versions 2. **Document all values** in values.yaml with comments 3. **Use template helpers** for repeated logic 4. **Validate charts** before packaging 5. **Pin dependency versions** explicitly 6. **Use conditions** for optional resources 7. **Follow naming conventions** (lowercase, hyphens) 8. **Include NOTES.txt** with usage instructions 9. **Add labels** consistently using helpers 10. **Test installations** in all environments ## Troubleshooting **Template rendering errors:** ```bash helm template my-app ./my-app --debug ``` **Dependency issues:** ```bash helm dependency update helm dependency list ``` **Installation failures:** ```bash helm install my-app ./my-app --dry-run --debug kubectl get events --sort-by='.lastTimestamp' ``` ## Related Skills - `k8s-manifest-generator` - For creating base Kubernetes manifests - `gitops-workflow` - For automated Helm chart deployments