Helm Chart Expert Skill

Purpose

Guide for creating production-ready Helm charts and conducting comprehensive chart reviews. Core workflow covers essential patterns with references to detailed examples for complex scenarios.

Quick Start Checklist

New Chart Creation

# 1. Create chart structure
helm create mychart

# 2. Validate structure
helm lint ./mychart

# 3. Test rendering
helm template ./mychart --debug

# 4. Dry run
helm install test ./mychart --dry-run --debug

Quick Template Check

# Render without installing
helm template myrelease ./mychart -f values-dev.yaml

# Debug with values
helm install myrelease ./mychart --dry-run --debug

# Diff before upgrade (requires helm-diff plugin)
helm diff upgrade myrelease ./mychart

When to Load Additional References

The quick reference above covers essential chart creation patterns. Load detailed references when:

For detailed chart templates and examples:

Read `~/.claude/skills/helm-chart-expert/references/TEMPLATES.md`

Use when: Creating new charts, need Chart.yaml/values.yaml/deployment examples, implementing all Kubernetes resources

For ArgoCD integration patterns:

Read `~/.claude/skills/helm-chart-expert/references/ARGOCD-PATTERNS.md`

Use when: Integrating with ArgoCD, multi-environment deployments, ApplicationSets, sync waves, GitOps workflows

For production deployment patterns:

Read `~/.claude/skills/helm-chart-expert/references/PRODUCTION-PATTERNS.md`

Use when: Secrets management, testing strategies, blue-green/canary deployments, monitoring setup, upgrade strategies

For troubleshooting and advanced techniques:

Read `~/.claude/skills/helm-chart-expert/references/TROUBLESHOOTING.md`

Use when: Debugging chart issues, nil pointer errors, advanced templating, dynamic resource generation, performance optimization

Chart Review Checklist

Security Review

No hardcoded secrets in values.yaml or templates
Image tags are specific (no
```
latest
```
)
Security contexts are defined and restrictive
RBAC is properly configured with least privilege
Network policies are defined where applicable
Pod Security Standards are enforced
Resource limits are set for all containers

Structure Review

Chart.yaml has all required fields
Version follows SemVer2 format
Dependencies use version ranges (~)
One resource per file in templates/
Template helpers are properly namespaced
File naming follows conventions (lowercase, dashes)

Values Review

All values are documented with clear comments
Naming is consistent (camelCase)
Types are explicit (strings are quoted)
Flat structure preferred where possible
Defaults are secure and production-ready
Environment-specific values are separated

Template Review

Labels are consistent and follow k8s recommendations
Nil checks for nested values
Whitespace is properly managed ({{- and -}})
Helper functions are used for repeated logic
Conditionals are properly structured
Resources can be disabled via values

Testing Review

Documentation Review

README.md exists with usage examples
CHANGELOG.md tracks versions
values.yaml is fully documented
Examples for common scenarios
Upgrade notes for breaking changes
Dependencies are documented

Final Review Checklist

Before Release

After Release

Integration with Other Skills

Works With:

security-scan - Scan rendered Helm templates for hardcoded secrets
quality-check - Lint YAML files for formatting issues
Manual invocation for Helm-specific work

Invokes:

None (standalone reference skill)

Invoked By:

User (manual invocation when working with Helm)

Example Usage

# Manual invocation
/skill helm-chart-expert

# User requests
User: "Help me create a production-ready Helm chart"
User: "Review this Helm chart for security issues"
User: "Show me how to integrate with ArgoCD"
User: "How do I handle secrets in Helm?"

References

Maintained by: DevOps team Review Schedule: Quarterly Last Updated: 2025-01-12

Related Agent

For comprehensive Helm/Kubernetes guidance that coordinates this and other Helm skills, use the

helm-kubernetes-expert

agent.

Claude-skill-registry helm-chart-expert