Helm is basically a package manager for Kubernetes which is used to automates the process of installing, upgrading, configuring, and removing software in a consistent manner. It is used to package yaml files and distribute them in public / private repositories, manage/create kubernetes deployments with one command.
It is quite powerful due to its templeting capabilities. You can use helm to define multiple pod/service/ingress definition using a DRY template which helps you use a single file to configure common variables that could be interchanged throughout the operation of the application on the cluster.
Some of the tasks that helm enables us to do are:
- create new charts from scratch
- package charts into chart archive (tgz) files
- interact with chart repositories where charts are stored
- install and uninstall charts into an existing Kubernetes cluster
- manage the release cycle of charts that have been installed with Helm
Helm Client
Helm client is a command-line tool for end user which aids in:
- local chart development
- managing repositories
- managing releases
- interfacing with the Helm library
- sending charts to be installed
- requesting upgrading or uninstalling of existing releases
Helm Library
Helm Library are the projects that provides the logic for executing all Helm operations and interfaces with the Kubernetes API server. It also help provides the following capability: - combining a chart and configuration to build a release - installing charts into Kubernetes, and providing the subsequent release object - upgrading and uninstalling charts by interacting with Kubernetes