How to Set Up Helm Package Manager for Kubernetes

What Is Helm?

Helm is the package manager for Kubernetes. It uses charts — pre-configured templates of Kubernetes resources — to deploy complex applications with a single command. Think of Helm charts as recipes for deploying apps on your Breeze.

Install Helm

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/helm/helm/main/scripts/get-helm-3 | bash
helm version

Add a Chart Repository

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

Search for Charts

helm search repo bitnami/nginx
helm search repo bitnami/ | head -20

Install a Chart

helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx \
  --set service.type=NodePort \
  --set resources.requests.memory=64Mi

List Installed Releases

helm list
helm status my-nginx

Customize with Values Files

Create values.yaml to override defaults:

replicaCount: 2
service:
  type: ClusterIP
  port: 80
resources:
  requests:
    memory: 64Mi
    cpu: 100m
  limits:
    memory: 128Mi
    cpu: 250m

helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx -f values.yaml

Upgrade and Rollback

helm upgrade my-nginx bitnami/nginx -f values.yaml
helm rollback my-nginx 1

Uninstall a Release

helm uninstall my-nginx

Useful Commands

• helm template — render chart locally without installing
• helm show values — display a chart's default values
• helm history — view release revision history

Helm simplifies deploying and managing applications on Kubernetes, saving you from writing manifests from scratch.