Packaging Charts

1. Creating Chart Package

Field	Description	Example
apiVersion	API version of the chart	`v2`
name	Name of the chart	`myapp`
version	Chart version (semantic versioning)	`1.0.0`
appVersion	Version of the application being deployed	`1.2.3`
description	Short description of the chart	`A Helm chart for deploying myapp`
home	Home page URL of the chart	`https://example.com/myapp`
icon	URL to an icon image	`https://example.com/myapp-icon.png`
maintainers	List of chart maintainers	`[{name: "John Doe", email: "john@example.com"}]`
keywords	List of keywords for the chart	`[web, app, example]`
sources	List of URLs to source code	`[https://github.com/example/myapp]`

Example: Creating a basic Chart.yaml

apiVersion: v2
name: myapp
version: 1.0.0
appVersion: 1.2.3
description: A Helm chart for deploying myapp
home: https://example.com/myapp
icon: https://example.com/myapp-icon.png
maintainers:
  - name: John Doe
    email: john@example.com
keywords:
  - web
  - app
  - example
sources:
  - https://github.com/example/myapp

Note: The apiVersion field must be set to v2 for charts using the newer Helm 3 format.

Warning: Chart versions must follow semantic versioning (SemVer) standards.

2. Setting Package Destination

Option	Values	Description
--destination	`string`	Directory to copy the packaged chart into. Defaults to current working directory.
--app-version	`string`	Override the appVersion in the Chart.yaml file.
--version	`string`	Override the version in the Chart.yaml file.

Example: Packaging to a specific directory

helm package my-chart --destination ./packages

Note: The --destination flag allows you to specify where the packaged chart tarball will be saved. If not specified, it defaults to the current working directory.

3. Signing Chart Package

Option	Values	Description
--sign	`true`	Sign the chart package using the specified key
--key	`string`	Name of the key to use for signing
--keyring	`string`	Path to the keyring file for signing

Example: Signing a Chart Package

helm package --sign --key my-key ./my-chart

Note: The chart must be signed with a GPG key that is available in the local keyring.

4. Using Package Key

Property	Description	Default	Notes
package.key	Key used to sign the package	None	Required for signed packages

Example: Signing a Helm Chart Package

helm package . --key "my-key" --keyring "/path/to/keyring.gpg"

Note: The package.key is used to specify the GPG key for signing Helm charts. This ensures the integrity and authenticity of the chart.

5. Setting Package Version

Property	Value	Description
version	`1.2.3`	Version of the chart, following semantic versioning
appVersion	`2.0.0`	Version of the application being packaged

Example: Setting version in Chart.yaml

apiVersion: v2
name: my-app
description: A Helm chart for my application
version: 1.2.3
appVersion: 2.0.0

6. Setting App Version

Field	Description	Example
appVersion	Version of the application enclosed in the chart	`"1.2.3"`

Example: Setting appVersion in Chart.yaml

apiVersion: v2
name: my-app
description: A Helm chart for my application
version: 1.0.0
appVersion: "1.2.3"

7. Updating Dependencies Before Packaging

Dependency	Type	Version	Notes
chart.yaml	metadata	`v2`	Chart versioning schema
requirements.yaml	dependencies	`v1`	Legacy dependency management (deprecated)
Chart.lock	lockfile	`v1`	Locks resolved dependency versions

Example: Updating dependencies using Helm dependency plugin

helm dependency update

Note: The helm dependency update command reads from requirements.yaml and updates the Chart.lock file with resolved versions.

Warning: Helm v3+ no longer supports requirements.yaml. Use Chart.yaml with dependencies list instead.

Summary of Dependency Management

DEPRECATED requirements.yaml is replaced by Chart.yaml dependencies
Chart.lock ensures reproducible builds
Use helm dependency update to resolve and lock dependencies

8. Creating Package from Path

Example: Creating a Helm Package

helm package /path/to/chart/directory

Option	Values	Description
--destination	`string`	Directory to store the packaged chart
--app-version	`string`	Override app version in the chart
--version	`string`	Override chart version in the chart
--dependency-update	`bool`	Update dependencies before packaging

Note: The chart must have a valid Chart.yaml file to be packaged.

9. Verifying Package Contents

Example: Check chart contents

helm package my-chart
helm show chart my-chart-1.0.0.tgz
helm show values my-chart-1.0.0.tgz
helm show readme my-chart-1.0.0.tgz

Command	Description	Output
helm show chart	Display the chart's `Chart.yaml` file contents	Chart metadata (name, version, appVersion, etc.)
helm show values	Display the chart's default `values.yaml` file contents	Default configuration values
helm show readme	Display the chart's `README.md` file contents	Chart documentation and usage instructions

Note: Use helm package to create the chart archive before verifying its contents.

Example: Validate chart structure

helm template my-chart --debug
helm lint my-chart

Command	Description	Use Case
helm template	Render templates to stdout (without installing)	Debug and verify rendered output
helm lint	Validate chart structure and syntax	Check for common issues or errors in chart files

10. Generating Package Checksum

Field	Description	Value
checksum	Checksum of the chart package	`sha256:abc123...`

Example: Generating Checksum

helm package my-chart
sha256:abc123...