Helm essentials

Helm is the package manager for Kubernetes — analogous to apt / yum / Homebrew on Linux. It defines, installs, and upgrades Kubernetes applications via Charts.

Core concepts

• Chart — Helm's packaging format. Bundles all the K8s resource definitions for an app (Deployment, Service, ConfigMap, …). Like a .deb / .rpm.
• Repository — a Chart store, public or private.
• Release — a Chart instance running in your cluster. Each helm install creates a new Release.
• Values — Chart configuration provided via values.yaml or CLI flags.

What it does

• Application deployment — one-shot install / uninstall of complex apps.
• Versioning — version control with rollback.
• Dependencies — Charts can depend on Charts.
• Configuration — dynamic via values.yaml.
• Templating — Go templates render K8s manifests.

Install helm-cli

1. Visit Helm Releases. If GitHub is blocked, use the mirror. Pick the right OS build, download or copy the link:

   

2. Download via curl (or click the link in a browser):

   Linux / macOS:

   curl -LO <link>

   Windows CMD / PowerShell:

   curl.exe -LO <link>

3. Unpack:

   tar -xf <archive>

4. Put helm on PATH:

   Linux / macOS:

   chmod +x helm
   mv helm /usr/local/bin

   Windows:

   setx PATH "%PATH%;D:\helm"

   Replace D:\helm with the actual directory of helm.exe. Open a new terminal so PATH refreshes.

5. Verify:

   helm version

Common commands

Basics

helm version          # version
helm env              # environment info
helm help             # help

Chart management

# Search
helm search hub  <keyword>           # Artifact Hub
helm search repo <keyword>           # local repos

# Repos
helm repo add    <repo-name> <repo-url>
helm repo update
helm repo list
helm repo remove <repo-name>

# Inspect / pull a Chart
helm show chart  <chart-name>
helm pull        <chart-name>

Example: add the Bitnami repo:

helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami

Install / upgrade

# Install (optional namespace + custom values)
helm install <release-name> <chart-name>
helm install <release-name> <chart-name> -n <namespace>
helm install <release-name> <chart-name> -n <namespace> -f values.yaml

# Upgrade / rollback
helm upgrade  <release-name> <chart-name>
helm rollback <release-name> <revision>

View / delete

helm list                     # all releases
helm list -n <namespace>      # by namespace

helm status   <release-name>
helm history  <release-name>
helm uninstall <release-name>

Chart authoring

helm create  <chart-name>
helm package <chart-directory>
helm lint    <chart-directory>
helm push    <chart-package> <repo-name>

Misc

# Render templates without applying
helm template <release-name> <chart-name>

# Inspect a Release
helm get values   <release-name>
helm get manifest <release-name>

Wrap-up

Helm dramatically simplifies K8s app deployment and lifecycle management. Templating + version control gives you flexible, reusable solutions for any team size.

More: Helm docs, Kubernetes docs.