Kubernetes • Helm • DevOps

Helm Commands Cheat Sheet

Practical Helm commands for Kubernetes charts, repositories, releases, deployments, upgrades, rollbacks, values, templates, dependencies, OCI registries and CI/CD automation.

What is Helm?

Helm is a package manager for Kubernetes. Helm charts package Kubernetes resources into reusable application definitions, while Helm releases track installed instances of those charts.

Showing 128 commands.

Helm Setup and Version

helm version

Display the installed Helm client version.

helm version --short

Display a shorter Helm version output.

helm help

Display general Helm help.

helm env

Display Helm environment information and configuration paths.

helm <command> --help

Display help for a specific Helm command.

helm completion powershell

Generate PowerShell shell completion.

helm completion bash

Generate Bash shell completion.

helm completion zsh

Generate Zsh shell completion.

Helm Repository Management

helm repo add <name> <url>

Add a chart repository.

helm repo list

List configured Helm repositories.

helm repo update

Update local information about charts in configured repositories.

helm repo remove <name>

Remove a configured chart repository.

helm repo index <directory>

Generate an index file for a directory containing packaged charts.

Search Helm Charts

helm search repo <keyword>

Search configured chart repositories.

helm search hub <keyword>

Search charts through Artifact Hub.

helm search repo nginx

Search configured repositories for nginx charts.

helm search repo <keyword> --versions

Show all available chart versions matching the search.

Chart Information

helm show chart <chart>

Display Chart.yaml metadata.

helm show values <chart>

Display the default values exposed by a chart.

helm show readme <chart>

Display the chart README.

helm show crds <chart>

Display CRDs included by a chart.

helm show all <chart>

Display all available chart information.

Create and Download Charts

helm create <name>

Create a new Helm chart using the standard chart structure.

helm pull <chart>

Download a chart locally.

helm pull <chart> --untar

Download and extract a chart locally.

helm pull <chart> --version <version>

Download a specific chart version.

helm pull <chart> --destination <directory>

Download a chart into a specified directory.

helm package <chart-path>

Package a chart directory into a versioned archive.

helm package <chart-path> --destination <directory>

Package a chart into a specified destination directory.

Chart Validation

helm lint <chart>

Check a chart for possible installation and convention issues.

helm lint <chart> --strict

Treat lint warnings as errors.

helm lint <chart> --values values.yaml

Lint a chart using a custom values file.

helm lint <chart> --set image.tag=latest

Lint a chart with a command-line value override.

Install Helm Releases

helm install <release> <chart>

Install a Helm chart as a named release.

helm install <release> <chart> --namespace <namespace>

Install a release into a specific Kubernetes namespace.

helm install <release> <chart> --create-namespace

Create the namespace if it does not already exist.

helm install <release> <chart> --values values.yaml

Install using values from a YAML file.

helm install <release> <chart> --set key=value

Override a chart value from the command line.

helm install <release> <chart> --version <version>

Install a specific chart version.

helm install <release> <chart> --dry-run

Simulate an installation without applying it.

helm install <release> <chart> --wait

Wait for resources to become ready before returning.

helm install <release> <chart> --debug

Enable debug output during installation.

Upgrade Helm Releases

helm upgrade <release> <chart>

Upgrade an existing Helm release.

helm upgrade <release> <chart> --install

Upgrade a release or install it when it does not exist.

helm upgrade <release> <chart> --values values.yaml

Upgrade using a values file.

helm upgrade <release> <chart> --set key=value

Override values during an upgrade.

helm upgrade <release> <chart> --version <version>

Upgrade to a specific chart version.

helm upgrade <release> <chart> --reuse-values

Reuse values from the previous release.

helm upgrade <release> <chart> --reset-values

Reset values to chart defaults before applying overrides.

helm upgrade <release> <chart> --wait

Wait for resources to become ready after the upgrade.

helm upgrade <release> <chart> --rollback-on-failure

Automatically roll back when the upgrade fails.

List and Inspect Releases

helm list

List releases in the current namespace.

helm list --all-namespaces

List releases across all namespaces.

helm list --all

Include releases with statuses other than deployed.

helm list --failed

List releases with failed status.

helm status <release>

Display the current status of a release.

helm status <release> --show-resources

Display release status and associated resources.

Release History and Rollback

helm history <release>

Display release revision history.

helm history <release> --max <number>

Limit the number of historical revisions displayed.

helm rollback <release> <revision>

Roll a release back to a specific revision.

helm rollback <release> <revision> --wait

Roll back and wait for resources to become ready.

helm rollback <release> <revision> --cleanup-on-fail

Clean up resources created during a failed rollback.

Get Release Information

helm get all <release>

Display all available information for a release.

helm get values <release>

Display values currently used by a release.

helm get values <release> --all

Display computed values including chart defaults.

helm get manifest <release>

Display Kubernetes manifests generated by Helm.

helm get notes <release>

Display release notes.

helm get hooks <release>

Display hooks associated with a release.

helm get metadata <release>

Display release metadata.

Uninstall Releases

helm uninstall <release>

Uninstall a Helm release.

helm uninstall <release> --namespace <namespace>

Uninstall a release from a specific namespace.

helm uninstall <release> --keep-history

Uninstall a release while retaining its history.

Values and Configuration

helm show values <chart>

Review the chart's default values.

helm install <release> <chart> -f values.yaml

Install using a values file.

helm upgrade <release> <chart> -f values.yaml

Upgrade using a values file.

helm install <release> <chart> --set image.repository=myapp

Override a single chart value.

helm install <release> <chart> --set-string image.tag=001

Force a command-line value to be treated as a string.

helm install <release> <chart> --set-file config=app.conf

Load a chart value from a file.

Template Rendering and Debugging

helm template <release> <chart>

Render chart templates locally without installing them.

helm template <release> <chart> --values values.yaml

Render templates using a custom values file.

helm template <release> <chart> --debug

Render templates with additional debugging information.

helm install <release> <chart> --dry-run --debug

Simulate installation and inspect rendered output.

helm upgrade <release> <chart> --dry-run

Simulate a release upgrade.

Chart Dependencies

helm dependency list <chart>

List dependencies declared by a chart.

helm dependency update <chart>

Update chart dependencies.

helm dependency build <chart>

Rebuild dependencies using Chart.lock.

helm dependency update <chart> --skip-refresh

Update dependencies without refreshing repository indexes.

OCI Registries

helm registry login <registry>

Authenticate Helm against an OCI registry.

helm registry logout <registry>

Log out from an OCI registry.

helm pull oci://<registry>/<repository>/<chart>

Pull a Helm chart from an OCI registry.

helm push <chart>.tgz oci://<registry>/<repository>

Push a packaged chart to an OCI registry.

Helm Plugins

helm plugin list

List installed Helm plugins.

helm plugin install <url>

Install a Helm plugin.

helm plugin update <plugin>

Update an installed Helm plugin.

helm plugin uninstall <plugin>

Remove an installed Helm plugin.

Chart Verification

helm verify <chart>

Verify a signed chart package.

helm install <release> <chart> --verify

Verify a chart before installation.

helm pull <chart> --verify

Download and verify a signed chart.

Helm Tests

helm test <release>

Run tests associated with a deployed release.

helm test <release> --logs

Run release tests and stream test pod logs.

Helm Environment

helm env

Display Helm environment variables and configuration locations.

$HELM_CONFIG_HOME

Controls the Helm configuration directory.

$HELM_CACHE_HOME

Controls the Helm cache directory.

$HELM_DATA_HOME

Controls the Helm data directory.

$HELM_NAMESPACE

Sets the default namespace used by Helm.

$HELM_DEBUG

Enables Helm debug behavior when configured.

Helm Troubleshooting

helm list --all-namespaces

Check whether a release exists in another namespace.

helm status <release> -n <namespace>

Inspect release status in a specific namespace.

helm history <release> -n <namespace>

Inspect previous revisions during upgrade troubleshooting.

helm get manifest <release> -n <namespace>

Inspect Kubernetes manifests generated by Helm.

helm get values <release> -n <namespace> --all

Inspect the effective values used by a release.

helm template <release> <chart> --debug

Debug chart rendering without modifying the cluster.

helm lint <chart>

Find chart structure and template problems.

CI/CD Helm Workflow

helm lint ./chart

Validate the chart during CI.

helm dependency update ./chart

Resolve chart dependencies during the pipeline.

helm template myapp ./chart -f values-prod.yaml

Render production Kubernetes manifests during CI.

helm package ./chart

Package the chart for publishing.

helm registry login <registry>

Authenticate to the OCI registry used by the pipeline.

helm push myapp-1.0.0.tgz oci://<registry>/<repository>

Publish a packaged chart to an OCI registry.

helm upgrade --install myapp ./chart -n production --create-namespace

Deploy or upgrade the application in the production namespace.

Recommended Helm Deployment Workflow

helm repo update

Refresh available chart information.

helm show values <chart>

Review configurable chart values.

helm lint ./chart

Validate the chart before deployment.

helm dependency update ./chart

Resolve required chart dependencies.

helm template myapp ./chart -f values-prod.yaml

Review rendered Kubernetes manifests.

helm upgrade --install myapp ./chart -n production --create-namespace --wait

Install or upgrade the application and wait for resources to become ready.

helm status myapp -n production

Verify the deployed release status.

helm history myapp -n production

Review release revisions for auditing and rollback.

Common Helm Workflow

helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnamihelm repo updatehelm search repo nginxhelm show values bitnami/nginxhelm upgrade --install nginx bitnami/nginx -n web --create-namespacehelm status nginx -n webhelm history nginx -n web