advanced

Helm basics

Package Kubernetes manifests with templates, values, releases, chart dependencies, and environment-specific overrides.

Helm packages Kubernetes manifests as charts with templates, values, dependencies, and release history. It reduces repetition but adds a templating layer that must stay reviewable.

					helm upgrade --install api ./charts/api \
  -f values.staging.yaml \
  --namespace staging

Render templates in CI (`helm template`) so reviewers see the final YAML. Compare Helm with raw manifests and Kustomize overlays.

On interviews: values files per environment, chart versioning, rollback (`helm rollback`), subcharts, and testing rendered output.

Common pitfalls: overly clever templates hide the final manifest; secrets in values files; unreviewed chart upgrades.

The trade-off is DRY packaging versus template opacity and upgrade risk.

Checklist:

Render templates in CI.
Keep values explicit per environment.
Review chart upgrades like app releases.
Pin chart and dependency versions.