Day 43 - Helm Charts Tutorial For Beginners | What is Helm Chart

About this video

### Final Comprehensive Summary In this continuation of Piyush's "40 Days of Kubernetes" series, the focus shifts to Helm—a powerful package manager for Kubernetes—amid recent updates to the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) exam by CNCF/Linux Foundation. The video dives into Helm's purpose and benefits, emphasizing its role in simplifying the deployment and management of complex Kubernetes applications. The discussion begins with an overview of package managers, drawing parallels between Helm and other popular tools like Choco (Windows), Brew (macOS), APT (Ubuntu), and Yum (Red Hat). These tools streamline software installation with minimal configuration, and Helm applies a similar concept to Kubernetes by bundling YAML files into reusable "charts." Charts are stored in repositories such as ArtifactHub.io, where users can search, download, and deploy them. Key Helm concepts are introduced: - **Chart**: A collection of YAML files defining a Kubernetes application. - **Repository**: A centralized location for storing and sharing charts. - **Release**: An instance of a chart deployed in a Kubernetes cluster. The demo is conducted on Code Cloud's Playground using a pre-configured three-node K3s Kubernetes cluster (v1.30.0). The session walks through installing Helm via package managers or official scripts, followed by creating a sample chart using the `helm create` command. This reveals the folder structure, including templates and the `values.yaml` file, which enables parameterized configurations for easy customization across environments. Helm's templating feature is highlighted, showcasing how it simplifies configuration management without modifying individual YAML files. The video demonstrates deploying Argo CD using Helm by adding its repository and executing the `helm install` command. Managing releases is also covered, with commands like `helm list` providing metadata about releases and `helm upgrade` facilitating updates to deployed applications. Further exploration includes upgrading charts, which generates new revisions rather than altering existing versions. Users can download charts as TAR files using `helm pull`, extract them, and customize their `values.yaml` files. The merging of values using in-built functions is briefly mentioned but noted as an advanced topic for future discussions. Alternative installation methods are explored, such as using a local directory instead of a remote repository. Rolling back changes with `helm rollback` and searching for charts with `helm search` are also demonstrated. The guide distinguishes between official and unofficial repositories, emphasizing the importance of selecting the correct chart version for deployments. The video concludes by reinforcing Helm's value in simplifying Kubernetes application management through reusable charts, centralized repositories, and streamlined deployment/upgrades. Viewers are encouraged to practice hands-on to solidify their understanding, with a teaser for an upcoming video on advanced customization techniques. Overall, this installment equips learners with practical knowledge of Helm, empowering them to manage Kubernetes applications more efficiently.

Course: Certified Kubernetes Administrator Full Course For beginners | CKA 2025

This playlist contains the complete CKA series for beginners, based on the latest 2025 curriculum. It includes 40+ videos with hands-on demos, assignments, and exam-based scenarios. We will cover everything from the basics to the Advanced, including fundamental concepts such as Docker, containers, Docker storage and networking, DNS, etc.