Helm - Kubernetes Package Manager & Helm Charts Hands-On

Name: Helm - Kubernetes Package Manager & Helm Charts Hands-On
Rating: 4.5 (500 reviews)

Build, template and deploy Helm charts on Kubernetes, and automate releases with GitLab CI/CD pipelines

Created byAhmed Elfakharany

Last updated 9/2026

English

Arabic [Auto],German [Auto],

What you'll learn

Introduction to Helm: What is Helm, its architecture, and its benefits for Kubernetes deployment.
Helm Installation and Configuration: How to install and configure Helm on a Kubernetes cluster, and how to set up a local development environment.
Helm Charts: What are Helm charts, how to create and manage them, and best practices for chart development.
Helm Commands and Templates: How to use Helm commands and templates for chart deployment, customization, and management.
Helm Repositories: How to create and manage Helm repositories, and how to share and distribute charts.
Gitlab CI/CD: Introduction to Gitlab CI/CD and how to set up a pipeline for building and deploying Helm charts.
Gitlab Integration with Kubernetes: How to integrate Gitlab with Kubernetes for seamless deployment and monitoring.
Advanced Topics: Advanced Helm features and techniques, such as Helm plugins
Best Practices and Troubleshooting: Best practices for using Helm and Gitlab for Kubernetes deployment, and common issues and their solutions.

Course content

8 sections • 43 lectures • 3h 46m total length

What problem does Helm solve for Kubenretes users?3:13
Helm reduces duplication and drift by turning duplicated Kubernetes YAML into a single, parameterized chart. A values file drives environment differences, so one change updates staging and production.
Course roadmap: the Release Runway project3:59
Follow Release Runway from a public Helm chart to a complete Helm delivery workflow, learning installation, values-driven customization, template fundamentals, linting, packaging, CI, GitOps with Argo CD, and AI-assisted review.
Installing Helm 4 (latest)2:47
Verifying Helm and Kubernetes connectivity2:50
Verify that Helm is installed and that the active kubectl context targets the intended cluster before proceeding.
Observing Helm environment variables2:48
Run Helm env to reveal where Helm stores config and cache, and where it records release state in the cluster as secrets.
Quiz: Why Helm and setting up your environment

Adding and updating a chart repository4:58
Connect Helm to the Bitnami chart repository by adding it, confirm it appears in the repo list, and run a repo update to refresh the local chart index.
Customizing chart installation values6:05
Search your repositories with Helm SearchRepo to view chart names and their chart version and application version. Use the --versions flag to see all releases and pin a specific version.
Inspect a Helm release3:53
Install a helm release by deploying the vietnamese-nginx chart as a running nginx web server in namespace team-a, using release name web, and review install notes for next steps.
Listing and reading Helm releases and their status2:51
Inspecting release values and manifests2:23
Learn to inspect a Helm release by viewing its stored values and rendered manifests, using Helm get values and Helm get manifest to verify inputs against outputs.
Reachig the deployed app to prove success6:07
Helm install and upgrade tips and tricks6:19
Quiz: Your first Helm release

How do values drive a Helm chart?4:42
Explore how values drive a Helm chart by configuring defaults to set replicas, image tag, and service port without touching templates, then read the default values file.
Helm templates primer4:48
Packaging our app in a Helm chart5:33
Package your dockerized app in a helm chart, set the image tag with a default to chart.yaml version via values.yaml, and create a versioned archive for sharing.
Helm templates playground4:45
Helm template functions7:48
Explore how Helm 4 reads multi-document yaml values separated by three dashes and resolves them into a single final values set without errors.
The .Files method10:23
Explore the dot files method in Helm for reading local config files and injecting them into config maps and secrets, with glob-based file inclusion and base64 encoding.
Conditional statements (if and with)7:59
Looping with range10:12
The helper.tpl file and named templates12:12
Learn how named templates in Helm charts encapsulate reusable logic, with examples of overriding names, generating fully qualified names, and customizing imagePullPolicy by environment.
Quiz: Helm templates development

Helm chart dependencies11:36
Library charts4:51
Learn to read Helm release history with helm history, identify the deployed revision, and select a safe earlier revision for potential rollback by reviewing status, revisions, and descriptions.
Build your own helm repository6:37
Rollback a Helm release to a known good revision using the helm rollback command, restoring its configuration from history and creating a new rollback revision while confirming the restored state.
Helm repository on public webserver2:43
Learn how to uninstall a Helm release while ensuring Helm updates its records and removes managed objects, and choose to keep the release history using the -keephistory flag.
Helm Chart museum12:03
Helm S3 and Git plugins5:20
Build your own Helm plugin10:34
Use custom protocol for Helm chart downloads9:04
Creating a custom boilerplate Helm chart4:56
Quiz: Advanced Helm: dependencies, repositories and plugins

Linting a chart3:21
Run helm lint to validate your chart before install or upgrade, read findings, fix files, and repeat until the chart linted successfully with zero failed charts.
Guarding inputs with a values schema3:25
Learn to guard Helm charts by adding a values.schema.json to validate inputs, enforce required fields and types (e.g., replicaCount, image.repository), and fail early with clear errors.
Quiz: Linting charts and values schemas

Packaging a chart3:04
Package a Helm chart by turning a chart directory into a single vergent archive with Helm package, producing a portable .tgz named from the vergent in chart.yml.
Why charts live in OCI registries2:51
Discover why charts now live in OCI registries beside container images, removing the need for index.yaml and enabling push and pull with shared access rules.
Logging in and pushing to an OCI registry2:54
Log in to an OCI registry with helm registry login. Push the packaged chart (.tgz) with helm push to the registry, making it a shareable artifact.
Digest-aware behavior in Helm 43:10
Explore how Helm 4 uses digests to guarantee exact chart content when pulling and installing from an OCI registry, pinning to the digest via the at sign to prevent drift.
Quiz: Packaging charts and OCI registry workflows

Requirements

Basic understanding of Kubernetes architecture and concepts such as Pods, Services, Deployments, and ConfigMaps.
Familiarity with YAML syntax for Kubernetes manifests.
Experience with the Linux command line and shell scripting.
Familiarity with containerization concepts and Docker.
Basic knowledge of software development principles, such as agile methodology, continuous integration, and continuous delivery.
Access to a Kubernetes cluster and Gitlab instance for hands-on practice.

Description

Helm is a tool used to package Kubernetes manifest files that are used to install a cloud-native application. Deployments, Services, Ingresses, ConfigMaps, etc. are all packed into a Helm chart. Using this Helm chart, you can deploy the app to a Kubernetes cluster the same way you use apt-get in Ubuntu, or brew on a macOS.

After completing this course, you will have a working knowledge of Helm. You'll be able not only to use ready-made Helm Charts to automate day-to-day deployments, but you'll also automate the most complex Kubernetes deployments and contribute them to the community.

I've designed this course to focus on the important parts of Helm. I did my best not to bother you with boring material that you'd seldom use in your day-to-day life as a Helm and Kubernetes engineer. Instead, I will give you the core stuff of the tool together with some tips and tricks that will let you code Helm charts like a pro in no time!

To get the most out of this course, I highly encourage you to open your laptop and do the labs that I explain in the class. There's nothing better than getting your hands dirty learning a new tool or technology. That way, by the end of this course, you'll find yourself already developing, applying, maintaining, and even sharing your very own Helm charts.

The best way to learn any tool is by using it! In this course, we'll work together to deploy ready-made Helm charts to Kubernetes using Helm. After mastering that, we'll start analyzing the Helm chart bit by bit. Along the way, you'll learn the following:

Understand why we need a package manager for Kubernetes
Deploying Helm to minikube (local Kubernetes cluster)
Understanding Helm repositories
Adding one or more Helm repositories to your system
Searching the Helm repository for your desired Chart
Using Helm to deploy ready-made Charts from popular repositories
Inspecting a Helm Chart deployment
Upgrading a Helm deployment and viewing its history
Customizing the Helm Chart to your own needs by modifying the values file
How (and when) to create your own Helm Charts
Understanding Helm Templates
Testing your Helm templates without applying them using the dry-run flag.
Revisiting Helm history by upgrading and rolling back package deployments
Using Helm functions (include, indent, nindent, toYaml, b64enc, and more)
Decision making using conditional and logical statements (IF, NOT, AND, OR)
Loop through simple and complex objects using the "range" keyword
Deep diving into Helm variables
Debugging your Helm charts
Creating your own Helm repositories and pushing Charts
Deploying even more complex Kubernetes environments using Helm Chart dependencies
Learning about popular community-based Helm projects like Chartmuseum
Extending Helm by building your own repositories
Exploring different Helm plugins to automate repetitive tasks and store charts in the cloud
Build your own Helm plugins and use custom commands and protocols
Configure Helm to create your own specific boilerplate charts using Helm starters

With a 30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked, you have zero risk trying out this course. Go ahead and Enroll Now!

Who this course is for:

Developers who are already familiar with Kubernetes and want to learn how to use Helm to simplify their deployment process.
DevOps engineers who want to enhance their knowledge of Kubernetes deployment using Helm and Gitlab CI/CD pipeline.
System administrators who are interested in understanding how to use Helm for packaging and deploying applications on Kubernetes clusters.
IT professionals who are looking to learn new tools and technologies related to Kubernetes and CI/CD.
Students who want to learn about the latest trends and techniques in containerization and deployment with Kubernetes and Helm.
Anyone who wants to gain knowledge and practical experience in using Helm for Kubernetes deployment and Gitlab CI/CD pipeline.

Helm - Kubernetes Package Manager & Helm Charts Hands-On

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction5 lectures • 16min

Your first Helm release7 lectures • 33min

Helm templates development9 lectures • 1hr 8min

Advanced Helm9 lectures • 1hr 8min

Validating charts before shipping2 lectures • 7min

Troubleshooting common Helm faitures3 lectures • 9min

Packaging and OCI registry workflows4 lectures • 12min

Helm in a CI pipeline4 lectures • 14min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: