Helm Chart Management

Comprehensive Helm v3 operations using kubectl-mcp-server's 16 Helm tools.

When to Apply

Use this skill when:

• User mentions: "helm", "chart", "release", "values", "repository"

• Operations: installing charts, upgrading releases, rollbacks

• Keywords: "package", "template", "lint", "repo add"

Priority Rules

Priority Rule Impact Tools

1 Template before install (dry run) CRITICAL template_helm_chart

2 Check existing releases first CRITICAL list_helm_releases

3 Lint charts before packaging HIGH lint_helm_chart

4 Note revision before upgrade HIGH get_helm_history

5 Verify values after upgrade MEDIUM get_helm_values

6 Update repos before search LOW update_helm_repos

Quick Reference

Task Tool Example

Install chart install_helm_chart

install_helm_chart(name, chart, namespace)

Upgrade release upgrade_helm_release

upgrade_helm_release(name, chart, namespace, values)

Rollback rollback_helm_release

rollback_helm_release(name, namespace, revision)

List releases list_helm_releases

list_helm_releases(namespace)

Get values get_helm_values

get_helm_values(name, namespace)

Template (dry run) template_helm_chart

template_helm_chart(name, chart, namespace)

Install Chart

install_helm_chart( name="my-release", chart="bitnami/nginx", namespace="web", values={"replicaCount": 3, "service.type": "LoadBalancer"} )

Upgrade Release

upgrade_helm_release( name="my-release", chart="bitnami/nginx", namespace="web", values={"replicaCount": 5} )

Rollback Release

rollback_helm_release( name="my-release", namespace="web", revision=1 )

Uninstall Release

uninstall_helm_chart(name="my-release", namespace="web")

Release Management

List Releases

list_helm_releases(namespace="web")

list_helm_releases()

Get Release Details

get_helm_release(name="my-release", namespace="web")

Release History

get_helm_history(name="my-release", namespace="web")

Get Release Values

get_helm_values(name="my-release", namespace="web")

Get Release Manifest

get_helm_manifest(name="my-release", namespace="web")

Repository Management

Add Repository

add_helm_repo(name="bitnami", url="https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami")

List Repositories

list_helm_repos()

Update Repositories

update_helm_repos()

Search Charts

search_helm_charts(keyword="nginx")

search_helm_charts(keyword="postgres", repo="bitnami")

Chart Development

Template Chart (Dry Run)

template_helm_chart( name="my-release", chart="./my-chart", namespace="test", values={"key": "value"} )

Lint Chart

lint_helm_chart(chart="./my-chart")

Package Chart

package_helm_chart(chart="./my-chart", destination="./packages")

Common Workflows

New Application Deployment

add_helm_repo(name="bitnami", url="...")

search_helm_charts(keyword="postgresql")

template_helm_chart(...)

install_helm_chart(...)

get_helm_release(...)

Upgrade with Rollback Safety

get_helm_history(name, namespace)

upgrade_helm_release(name, chart, namespace, values)

rollback_helm_release(name, namespace, revision)

Multi-Environment Deployment

install_helm_chart( name="app", chart="./charts/app", namespace="dev", values={"replicas": 1}, context="development" )

install_helm_chart( name="app", chart="./charts/app", namespace="staging", values={"replicas": 2}, context="staging" )

install_helm_chart( name="app", chart="./charts/app", namespace="prod", values={"replicas": 5}, context="production" )

Chart Structure

See references/CHART-STRUCTURE.md for best practices on organizing Helm charts.

Troubleshooting

See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for common issues.

Release Stuck in Pending

get_helm_release(name, namespace)

get_pods(namespace, label_selector="app.kubernetes.io/instance=<release>")

Failed Installation

get_helm_history(name, namespace)

get_events(namespace)

uninstall_helm_chart(name, namespace)

Values Not Applied

get_helm_values(name, namespace)

template_helm_chart(...)

upgrade_helm_release(...)

Scripts

See scripts/lint-chart.sh for automated chart validation.

Best Practices

Always Template First

template_helm_chart(name, chart, namespace, values)

Use Semantic Versioning

install_helm_chart(..., version="1.2.3")

Store Values in Git

• values-dev.yaml

• values-staging.yaml

• values-prod.yaml

Namespace Isolation

• One namespace per release

• Easier cleanup and RBAC

Prerequisites

• Helm CLI: Required for all Helm operations curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/helm/helm/main/scripts/get-helm-3 | bash

Related Skills

• k8s-deploy - Deployment strategies

• k8s-gitops - GitOps Helm releases