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Helm Cheatsheet

Helm is the package manager for Kubernetes. A chart is a package. A release is a chart installed into your cluster.

Repos​

helm repo list                                          # list all chart repos you have added
helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami  # add the Bitnami repo
helm repo update                                        # pull latest charts from all repos
helm repo remove bitnami                                # remove a repo

helm search repo nginx                                  # search for charts named nginx
helm search repo nginx --versions                       # show all available versions
helm search hub wordpress                               # search the public Artifact Hub

Inspect a chart before installing​

helm show chart bitnami/nginx            # show chart metadata (name, version, description)
helm show values bitnami/nginx           # show all configurable values and their defaults
helm show readme bitnami/nginx           # show the chart README

Install​

helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx                     # install with a release name
helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx --namespace prod    # install into a specific namespace
helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx --create-namespace  # create namespace if it does not exist
helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx --set replicaCount=3          # override one value
helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx -f my-values.yaml             # use a values file
helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx -f values.yaml --set image.tag=1.25  # file + override

helm install my-nginx ./my-chart/        # install from a local chart directory

Upgrade​

helm upgrade my-nginx bitnami/nginx                    # upgrade to latest chart version
helm upgrade my-nginx bitnami/nginx --set replicaCount=5  # upgrade with a value change
helm upgrade my-nginx bitnami/nginx -f values.yaml     # upgrade with a values file
helm upgrade my-nginx bitnami/nginx --version 13.0.0   # upgrade to a specific chart version

helm upgrade --install my-nginx bitnami/nginx          # install if not exists, upgrade if it does

Inspect releases​

helm list                              # list all releases in current namespace
helm list -A                           # list releases in all namespaces
helm list -n prod                      # list releases in a specific namespace

helm status my-nginx                   # show the status of a release
helm get values my-nginx               # show the values used for this release
helm get values my-nginx --all         # show all values including defaults
helm get manifest my-nginx             # show the rendered Kubernetes manifests
helm history my-nginx                  # show revision history of a release

Rollback​

helm rollback my-nginx                 # roll back to the previous revision
helm rollback my-nginx 2               # roll back to revision 2 specifically
helm history my-nginx                  # check revision numbers before rolling back

Uninstall​

helm uninstall my-nginx                # delete a release (removes all Kubernetes resources)
helm uninstall my-nginx --keep-history # delete but keep history for rollback

Template and debug​

helm template my-nginx bitnami/nginx           # render the manifests without installing
helm template my-nginx bitnami/nginx -f values.yaml  # render with your values
helm lint ./my-chart/                          # check a local chart for errors
helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx --dry-run  # simulate install, show what would happen

Package and publish a chart​

helm package ./my-chart/               # bundle a chart directory into a .tgz file
helm push my-chart-1.0.0.tgz oci://registry.example.com/charts  # push to an OCI registry