What is Helm and how does it work with Kubernetes?

In the vast Kubernetes landscape, Helm emerges as the de facto for container management and Kubernetes deployments, simplifying the deployment and management of applications. Let’s embark on a journey to explore Helm, the package manager that makes handling Kubernetes packages a breeze.

Understanding Helm

What is Helm?

Helm is not just a package manager for Kubernetes; It also automates the creation, packaging, configuration, and deployment of Kubernetes applications. It takes care of the complicated stuff like putting together all the files your app needs and making sure everything runs smoothly.

In a nutshell, imagine your app is like a big team (microservices architecture), and each part is a team member (microservice). As your app grows, it becomes harder to keep every microservice organized. That’s where Kubernetes comes in — it’s like a manager for your application microservices. But managing everything can still be a bit tricky.

As your application grows more complex, you end up with more YAML manifests. Along with that, the settings you can tweak in those YAML files also multiply. Pretty soon, keeping track of all these files and updating them to deploy your app in different settings becomes quite a challenge.

Here’s where Helm jumps in. It works like an assistant for Kubernetes. It handles the details, making sure your app is set up perfectly. Whether it’s dealing with different versions, managing resources, or handling updates, Helm makes sure your app runs like a charm. It ensures that deployments are consistent, repeatable, and dependable.

How Helm Works: A Visual Overview

The Helm application library uses something called Charts to set up and manage Kubernetes applications. These charts take care of defining, creating, installing, and updating your applications. With Helm charts, you can handle Kubernetes manifests without diving into the Kubernetes command-line interface (CLI) or dealing with complex commands to control the cluster.

Let’s break it down with a real example of how Helm comes in handy. Imagine you have an application you want to put into action in a real production…