Helm Cheatsheet

Helm commands for managing Kubernetes packages — install, upgrade, rollback, debug charts, and manage repositories.

7 sections73 commandsClick any row to copy

Installation & Setup

brew install helm

Install Helm on macOS

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/helm/helm/main/scripts/get-helm-3 | bash

Install Helm on Linux

helm version

Show Helm version

helm env

Show Helm environment variables

helm completion bash > /etc/bash_completion.d/helm

Enable bash tab completion

helm completion zsh > ~/.zsh/completions/_helm

Enable zsh tab completion

Install Helm on macOS

Install Helm on Linux

Show Helm version

Show Helm environment variables

Enable bash tab completion

Enable zsh tab completion

Repository Management

helm repo add <name> <url>

Add a Helm chart repository

helm repo add stable https://charts.helm.sh/stable

Add official stable repo

helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami

Add Bitnami repo

helm repo list

List all added repositories

helm repo update

Fetch latest charts from all repos

helm repo remove <name>

Remove a repository

helm repo index .

Generate index.yaml for a local chart repo

helm search repo <keyword>

Search for charts across added repos

helm search hub <keyword>

Search Artifact Hub (public registry)

helm search repo nginx --versions

List all available versions of a chart

Add a Helm chart repository

Add official stable repo

Add Bitnami repo

List all added repositories

Fetch latest charts from all repos

Remove a repository

Generate index.yaml for a local chart repo

Search for charts across added repos

Search Artifact Hub (public registry)

List all available versions of a chart

Install & Upgrade

helm install <release> <chart>

Install a chart as a named release

helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx

Install nginx from Bitnami repo

helm install my-app ./mychart

Install from a local chart directory

helm install my-app ./mychart -f values.yaml

Install with custom values file

helm install my-app ./mychart --set image.tag=1.21

Override a value inline

helm install my-app ./mychart --set-string replicas=3

Override value as string

helm install my-app ./mychart -n my-namespace --create-namespace

Install into a specific namespace, create if missing

helm install my-app ./mychart --dry-run --debug

Dry-run: render manifests without deploying

helm upgrade my-app ./mychart

Upgrade an existing release

helm upgrade my-app ./mychart -f prod-values.yaml

Upgrade with custom values

helm upgrade my-app ./mychart --set image.tag=1.22

Upgrade with inline value override

helm upgrade --install my-app ./mychart

Install if not present, upgrade if it is (idempotent)

helm upgrade my-app ./mychart --atomic

Auto-rollback if upgrade fails

helm upgrade my-app ./mychart --wait --timeout 5m

Wait for pods to be ready before marking upgrade complete

helm upgrade my-app ./mychart --force

Force resource updates through delete and recreate

Install a chart as a named release

Install nginx from Bitnami repo

Install from a local chart directory

Install with custom values file

Override a value inline

Override value as string

Install into a specific namespace, create if missing

Dry-run: render manifests without deploying

Upgrade an existing release

Upgrade with custom values

Upgrade with inline value override

Install if not present, upgrade if it is (idempotent)

Auto-rollback if upgrade fails

Wait for pods to be ready before marking upgrade complete

Force resource updates through delete and recreate

Release Management

helm list

List all releases in current namespace

helm list -A

List all releases across all namespaces

helm list -n my-namespace

List releases in a specific namespace

helm list --failed

List only failed releases

helm status my-app

Show status of a release

helm status my-app -n my-namespace

Show status in specific namespace

helm history my-app

Show release revision history

helm rollback my-app

Rollback to previous revision

helm rollback my-app 2

Rollback to specific revision number

helm uninstall my-app

Uninstall a release and delete all its resources

helm uninstall my-app --keep-history

Uninstall but retain history for rollback

helm uninstall my-app -n my-namespace

Uninstall from a specific namespace

List all releases in current namespace

List all releases across all namespaces

List releases in a specific namespace

List only failed releases

Show status of a release

Show status in specific namespace

Show release revision history

Rollback to previous revision

Rollback to specific revision number

Uninstall a release and delete all its resources

Uninstall but retain history for rollback

Uninstall from a specific namespace

Inspect & Debug

helm get all my-app

Get all info (manifest, values, notes) for a release

helm get manifest my-app

Get Kubernetes manifests rendered for a release

helm get values my-app

Get user-supplied values for a release

helm get values my-app --all

Get all values (user + defaults) for a release

helm get notes my-app

Show post-install notes for a release

helm show chart bitnami/nginx

Show chart metadata (Chart.yaml)

helm show values bitnami/nginx

Show default values.yaml for a chart

helm show readme bitnami/nginx

Show chart README

helm show all bitnami/nginx

Show all chart info (chart + values + readme)

helm template my-app ./mychart

Render chart templates locally without installing

helm template my-app ./mychart -f values.yaml > rendered.yaml

Render templates to file for review

helm lint ./mychart

Lint chart for errors and best practices

helm test my-app

Run chart test hooks (test pods)

Get all info (manifest, values, notes) for a release

Get Kubernetes manifests rendered for a release

Get user-supplied values for a release

Get all values (user + defaults) for a release

Show post-install notes for a release

Show chart metadata (Chart.yaml)

Show default values.yaml for a chart

Show chart README

Show all chart info (chart + values + readme)

Render chart templates locally without installing

Render templates to file for review

Lint chart for errors and best practices

Run chart test hooks (test pods)

Chart Development

helm create mychart

Create a new chart scaffold

helm package ./mychart

Package chart into a .tgz archive

helm package ./mychart --version 1.2.0

Package with specific version

helm dependency update ./mychart

Download chart dependencies listed in Chart.yaml

helm dependency list ./mychart

List chart dependencies and their statuses

helm dependency build ./mychart

Rebuild charts/ from Chart.lock

helm push mychart-1.0.0.tgz oci://registry.example.com/charts

Push chart to OCI registry

helm pull bitnami/nginx --untar

Download and extract a chart locally

helm pull bitnami/nginx --version 15.0.0

Pull specific chart version

Create a new chart scaffold

Package chart into a .tgz archive

Package with specific version

Download chart dependencies listed in Chart.yaml

List chart dependencies and their statuses

Rebuild charts/ from Chart.lock

Push chart to OCI registry

Download and extract a chart locally

Pull specific chart version

OCI Registry & Plugins

helm registry login registry.example.com

helm registry logout registry.example.com

Logout from an OCI registry

helm install my-app oci://registry.example.com/charts/mychart --version 1.0.0

Install chart from OCI registry

helm plugin list

List installed Helm plugins

helm plugin install <url>

Install a Helm plugin

helm plugin install https://github.com/databus23/helm-diff

Install helm-diff plugin (shows diff before upgrade)

helm diff upgrade my-app ./mychart

Show diff between current and new release (requires helm-diff)

helm plugin uninstall <name>