Helm Commands and Use Cases

This repository demonstrates various Helm commands and workflows for managing Kubernetes applications. Below, you'll find step-by-step examples, explanations, and tips to help you effectively use Helm for deploying, upgrading, and managing your applications.

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Helm
2. Helm Hub Search
3. Adding and Listing Helm Repositories
4. Searching for Charts
5. Installing Charts
6. Listing and Managing Releases
7. Upgrading a Release
8. Rolling Back a Release
9. Packaging Custom Charts

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Introduction to Helm

Helm is a package manager for Kubernetes that simplifies the deployment and management of applications. It enables you to:

• Install predefined application configurations (charts).
• Upgrade or roll back releases.
• Package your own Kubernetes manifests into reusable charts.

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Helm Hub Search

Search for charts on Artifact Hub:

helm search hub consul

Output:

URL                                                     CHART VERSION  APP VERSION  DESCRIPTION
https://artifacthub.io/packages/helm/warjiang/consul     1.3.0          1.17.0       Official HashiCorp Consul Chart
https://artifacthub.io/packages/helm/wener/consul        1.6.1          1.20.1       Official HashiCorp Consul Chart

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Adding and Listing Helm Repositories

Add a repository:

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

Output:

"bitnami" has been added to your repositories

List repositories:

helm repo list

Output:

NAME        URL
bitnami     https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
puppet      https://puppetlabs.github.io/puppetserver-helm-chart
hashicorp   https://helm.releases.hashicorp.com

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Searching for Charts

Search within repositories:

helm search repo wordpress

Output:

NAME                    CHART VERSION   APP VERSION   DESCRIPTION
bitnami/wordpress       24.0.9          6.7.1         WordPress is the world's most popular blogging platform...
bitnami/wordpress-intel 2.1.31          6.1.1         DEPRECATED WordPress for Intel...

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Installing Charts

Install a chart from a repository:

helm install amaze-surf bitnami/apache

Output:

NAME: amaze-surf
LAST DEPLOYED: <timestamp>
STATUS: deployed
NOTES:
1. Get the Apache URL by running:
   kubectl get svc --namespace default amaze-surf-apache

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Listing and Managing Releases

List installed releases:

helm list

Output:

NAME            NAMESPACE   REVISION  STATUS    CHART           APP VERSION
amaze-surf      default     1         deployed  apache-11.2.22  2.4.62

Uninstall a release:

helm uninstall amaze-surf

Output:

release "amaze-surf" uninstalled

Remove a repository:

helm repo remove hashicorp

Output:

"hashicorp" has been removed from your repositories

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Upgrading a Release

Upgrade a deployed release:

helm upgrade dazzling-web bitnami/nginx --version 13

Output:

Release "dazzling-web" has been upgraded. Happy Helming!

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Rolling Back a Release

Rollback a release to a previous revision:

helm rollback dazzling-web

Output:

Rollback was a success! Happy Helming!

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Packaging Custom Charts

Package a custom chart:

helm package ./webapp-color/

Output:

Successfully packaged chart and saved it to: ./webapp-color-0.1.0.tgz

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Conclusion

This guide outlines essential Helm commands for managing Kubernetes applications. By leveraging these commands, you can simplify deployment workflows, ensure consistency, and make your DevOps processes more efficient.

For more information, refer to the Helm Documentation.