Helm cheat sheet

Helm 3 uses your ~/.kube/config, so it targets the same cluster kubectl does.

Repositories

Task	Command
Add	`helm repo add podinfo https://stefanprodan.github.io/podinfo`
List / update / remove	`helm repo list` / `helm repo update` / `helm repo remove podinfo`
Search a repo	`helm search repo podinfo`
Search Artifact Hub	`helm search hub postgres`
Show all versions	`helm search repo podinfo --versions`

Look before you install

Task	Command
Chart metadata	`helm show chart podinfo/podinfo`
Configurable values	`helm show values podinfo/podinfo`
Readme	`helm show readme podinfo/podinfo`
Render locally, no cluster	`helm template ./myapp`
Render server-side, no install	`helm install web ./myapp --dry-run --debug`

Releases

Task	Command
Install	`helm install web podinfo/podinfo`
Generated name	`helm install podinfo/podinfo --generate-name`
Into a namespace, creating it	`helm install web podinfo/podinfo -n dev --create-namespace`
Override on the command line	`helm install web podinfo/podinfo --set replicaCount=3`
Override from a file	`helm install web podinfo/podinfo -f my-values.yaml`
Wait for readiness	`helm install web podinfo/podinfo --wait --timeout 5m`
List	`helm list` / `helm list -A`
What is deployed	`helm get manifest web` / `helm get values web`
Upgrade	`helm upgrade web podinfo/podinfo --set replicaCount=5`
Upgrade or install	`helm upgrade --install web podinfo/podinfo`
History	`helm history web`
Roll back	`helm rollback web 1`
Uninstall	`helm uninstall web`
Status	`helm status web`

--set beats -f, and a later -f beats an earlier one.

Building a chart

Task	Command
Scaffold	`helm create myapp`
Lint	`helm lint myapp`
Package	`helm package myapp`
Dependencies	`helm dependency update myapp`
Install from dir / tarball	`helm install demo ./myapp` / `./myapp-0.1.0.tgz`

Template snippets

{{ .Values.replicaCount }}                   value from values.yaml
{{ .Chart.Name }} / {{ .Chart.AppVersion }}  from Chart.yaml
{{ .Release.Name }} / {{ .Release.Namespace }}  set at install time
{{ .Values.tag | default "latest" | quote }}  pipeline + default + quoting
{{ required "image.repository is required" .Values.image.repository }}
{{- if .Values.ingress.enabled }} ... {{- end }}
{{ include "myapp.fullname" . }}             macro from _helpers.tpl

{{- trims whitespace before, -}} after. Wrong indentation is the number one chart bug.

Reference

helm.sh/docs/helm