Learn HELM with Real Code Examples
Updated Nov 27, 2025
Architecture
Helm CLI -> Templating Engine -> Kubernetes API Server
Chart directories containing manifests and templates
Values files for environment-specific configuration
Releases representing deployed chart instances
Chart repositories for sharing and versioning
Rendering Model
Templates + values -> Rendered manifests
Helm CLI -> Kubernetes API Server -> Apply manifests
Releases tracked in cluster metadata
Dependencies resolved from charts directory or repository
Rollback restores previous release manifests
Architectural Patterns
Client-only architecture (Helm 3+)
Chart-based packaging
Release management
Repository-driven chart distribution
Integration with Kubernetes RBAC and namespaces
Real World Architectures
Multi-service microservice applications
Multi-cluster Kubernetes deployments
CI/CD automated application rollout
Cloud-native observability and monitoring stack
Hybrid cloud Kubernetes workloads
Design Principles
Declarative Kubernetes deployments
Reusability via charts
Versioned releases with rollback
Templating for environment-specific configuration
Integration with CI/CD and GitOps
Scalability Guide
Use library charts for common resources
Parameterize deployments for multiple environments
Deploy multi-service applications via dependencies
Automate with CI/CD pipelines
Leverage namespaces to isolate releases
Migration Guide
Upgrade from Helm 2 -> Helm 3 (remove Tiller)
Refactor deprecated hooks or annotations
Migrate chart repositories to OCI format
Update templates for new Kubernetes API versions
Audit values.yaml and release history