Helm Cheat Sheet

Reference for Helm chart structure, templating syntax, values files, and helm CLI commands for packaging Kubernetes applications.

2 PagesIntermediateFeb 20, 2026

Chart Structure

Standard directory layout of a Helm chart.

bash

mychart/  Chart.yaml          # Chart metadata (name, version)  values.yaml          # Default configuration values  charts/               # Subcharts/dependencies  templates/    deployment.yaml    service.yaml    _helpers.tpl        # Reusable template partials  .helmignore

Deployment Template

A templated Deployment manifest referencing values.

yaml

apiVersion: apps/v1kind: Deploymentmetadata:  name: {{ .Release.Name }}-appspec:  replicas: {{ .Values.replicaCount }}  selector:    matchLabels:      app: {{ .Chart.Name }}  template:    metadata:      labels:        app: {{ .Chart.Name }}    spec:      containers:        - name: {{ .Chart.Name }}          image: "{{ .Values.image.repository }}:{{ .Values.image.tag }}"          ports:            - containerPort: {{ .Values.service.port }}

Helm CLI

Common commands for managing releases.

bash

helm create mychart                      # Scaffold a new charthelm install myrelease ./mychart         # Install a chart as a releasehelm upgrade myrelease ./mychart         # Upgrade an existing releasehelm upgrade --install myrelease ./mychart  # Install or upgradehelm rollback myrelease 1                # Roll back to revision 1helm list                                # List releaseshelm uninstall myrelease                 # Remove a releasehelm template ./mychart                  # Render templates locallyhelm lint ./mychart                      # Validate chart syntax

Key Concepts

Core Helm terminology.

chart- A package of pre-configured Kubernetes resource templates
release- A running instance of a chart installed into a cluster
values.yaml- Default configuration values injected into templates
repository- A collection of charts served over HTTP (helm repo add/update)
hooks- Annotations that run jobs at specific points in a release lifecycle (pre-install, post-upgrade)

Pro Tip

Run 'helm template' before 'helm install' to render manifests locally and catch templating errors, since Helm's error messages for broken Go template syntax are often unclear at install time.

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