Managing Chart Metadata

1. Setting Chart Annotations

Annotation Key	Value Type	Description	Example
helm.sh/chart	`string`	Chart name and version	`"myapp-1.2.3"`
app.kubernetes.io/name	`string`	Name of the application	`"myapp"`
app.kubernetes.io/version	`string`	Version of the application	`"v1.2.3"`
app.kubernetes.io/instance	`string`	Name of the chart instance	`"myapp-production"`
app.kubernetes.io/managed-by	`string`	Tool used to manage the chart	`"helm"`

Example: Setting Annotations in Chart.yaml

apiVersion: v2
name: myapp
description: A Helm chart for myapp
version: 1.2.3
appVersion: "v1.2.3"
annotations:
  helm.sh/chart: "myapp-1.2.3"
  app.kubernetes.io/name: "myapp"
  app.kubernetes.io/version: "v1.2.3"
  app.kubernetes.io/instance: "myapp-production"
  app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: "helm"

2. Adding Custom Metadata

Field	Description	Example
annotations	Map of key-value pairs for additional metadata	`{"helm.sh/chart": "my-chart-1.0.0"}`
labels	Map of key-value pairs for organizational tagging	`{"app.kubernetes.io/name": "my-app"}`

Example: Custom Metadata in Chart.yaml

apiVersion: v2
name: my-app
version: 1.0.0
annotations:
  helm.sh/chart: "my-chart-1.0.0"
  app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: "Helm"
labels:
  app.kubernetes.io/name: "my-app"
  app.kubernetes.io/version: "1.0.0"

3. Documenting Chart Purpose

Field	Description	Example
name	The name of the chart	`"my-app"`
version	Chart version (semantic versioning)	`"1.2.3"`
description	A one-sentence description of the chart's purpose	`"A Helm chart for deploying a web application"`
home	Homepage URL for the project	`"https://example.com/my-app"`
icon	URL to an icon image	`"https://example.com/my-app-icon.png"`
keywords	List of keywords for the chart	`["web", "application", "frontend"]`
maintainers	List of chart maintainers with name and email	`[{ "name": "John Doe", "email": "john@example.com" }]`

Example: Chart Metadata

name: my-app
version: 1.2.3
description: A Helm chart for deploying a web application
home: https://example.com/my-app
icon: https://example.com/my-app-icon.png
keywords:
  - web
  - application
  - frontend
maintainers:
  - name: John Doe
    email: john@example.com

4. Listing Chart Dependencies

Command	Description	Flags
helm dependency list	Lists all dependencies defined in the `Chart.yaml` file.	`--chart-repo`, `--output`

Example: Listing Chart Dependencies

helm dependency list my-chart

Note: The helm dependency list command reads from the Chart.yaml and requirements.yaml files to display the dependencies.

Summary of Helm Dependency Commands

helm dependency list: Lists all dependencies defined in the chart.
helm dependency update: Updates dependencies based on Chart.yaml.
helm dependency build: Builds dependencies using Chart.lock.

5. Setting Minimum Kubernetes Version

Field	Value	Description
kubeVersion	`">=1.20.0"`	Minimum Kubernetes version required for the chart

Example: kubeVersion in Chart.yaml

apiVersion: v2
name: my-app
version: 1.0.0
kubeVersion: ">=1.20.0"

Note: The kubeVersion field ensures that the chart is only installed on Kubernetes clusters that meet or exceed the specified version.

6. Adding Chart Maturity

Field	Description	Values	Notes
maturity	Indicates the maturity level of the chart	`experimental`, `beta`, `stable`, `deprecated`	Used for categorizing charts in repositories and dashboards

Example: Setting maturity in Chart.yaml

maturity: beta

Note: Setting maturity helps users understand the stability and support level of a chart.

7. Linking to Source Code

Field	Description	Example
sources	List of URLs to the source code for this chart	`["https://github.com/example/my-chart"]`

Example: Defining Source URLs

sources:
  - https://github.com/example/my-chart
  - https://gitlab.com/example/my-chart

Note: The sources field is optional but recommended for transparency and maintainability.

8. Providing Support Contacts

Field	Description	Example
maintainers	List of maintainers with name and email	`[ { "name": "John Doe", "email": "john.doe@example.com" } ]`
sources	List of URLs to project sources	`[ "https://github.com/example/project" ]`
home	URL to project homepage	`https://example.com/project`
icon	URL to project icon	`https://example.com/project/icon.png`

Example: Maintainer Contact in Chart Metadata

maintainers:
- name: Jane Smith
  email: jane.smith@example.com
  url: https://github.com/janesmith

Note: Including support contact information helps users get help when they encounter issues with your chart.

9. Setting Chart License

Property	Values	Description
license	`MIT`, `Apache-2.0`, `GPL-3.0`, etc.	License identifier for the chart
licenseUrl	`https://example.com/license`	URL to the full license text

Example: Setting License in Chart.yaml

apiVersion: v2
name: my-app
description: A Helm chart for my application
version: 0.1.0
appVersion: "1.0"
license: MIT
licenseUrl: https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT

10. Adding Chart Category

Field	Description	Example
categories	List of categories to which the chart belongs. Used for organizing charts in repositories.	`["database", "web-server"]`

Example: Setting Chart Categories

apiVersion: v2
name: my-app
version: 1.0.0
categories:
  - database
  - web-server