Helm charts concept in Kubernetes - Step-by-Step Execution

Process Flow - Helm charts concept

Start: Need to deploy app

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Create Helm Chart

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Define Templates + Values

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Run helm install

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Helm renders templates

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Kubernetes resources created

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App deployed and managed

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Use helm upgrade/rollback for changes

Helm charts package app configs and templates. Helm renders these to create Kubernetes resources, then deploys and manages the app.

Execution Sample

Kubernetes

helm create myapp
helm install myapp ./myapp
helm upgrade myapp ./myapp
helm rollback myapp 1

Create a Helm chart, install it to deploy app, upgrade to change app, rollback to revert.

Process Table

Step	Action	Input/Command	Result	Notes
1	Create Helm chart	helm create myapp	Folder 'myapp' with chart files created	Chart scaffold ready for customization
2	Install chart	helm install myapp ./myapp	Kubernetes resources created	App deployed using rendered templates
3	Upgrade chart	helm upgrade myapp ./myapp	Resources updated	Changes applied to app without downtime
4	Rollback chart	helm rollback myapp 1	Resources reverted to previous state	Undo upgrade to stable version
5	Exit	No further commands	App running with managed lifecycle	Helm manages app versions and state

💡 App deployed and managed by Helm; lifecycle commands complete

Status Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	After Step 2	After Step 3	After Step 4	Final
Chart files	None	Created scaffold files	Unchanged	Unchanged	Unchanged	Unchanged
Kubernetes resources	None	None	Created from templates	Updated with new config	Reverted to old config	Running stable state
App version	None	None	v1 (initial)	v2 (upgraded)	v1 (rolled back)	v1 (stable)

Key Moments - 3 Insights

Why do we need to run 'helm create' before installing?

Step 1 in the execution_table shows 'helm create' makes the chart files needed to define app templates and configs. Without this, 'helm install' has nothing to deploy.

What happens when we run 'helm upgrade'?

Step 3 shows 'helm upgrade' updates Kubernetes resources with new configs from the chart, changing the app without downtime.

How does 'helm rollback' affect the app?

Step 4 shows 'helm rollback' reverts resources to a previous version, undoing upgrades to restore a stable app state.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution_table, what is created after running 'helm create myapp'?

A Kubernetes resources

B App running in cluster

C Chart scaffold files

D Rollback version

💡 Hint

See Step 1 in execution_table under Result column

At which step does the app version change to v2?

A Step 2

B Step 3

C Step 4

D Step 1

💡 Hint

Check variable_tracker row 'App version' after each step

If you skip 'helm upgrade' and run 'helm rollback', what happens?

A Rollback fails because no upgrade happened

B App version stays at v1

C Resources update to v2

D Chart files get deleted

💡 Hint

Rollback reverts to previous version; without upgrade, no newer version exists (see key_moments explanation)

Concept Snapshot

Helm charts package Kubernetes app configs and templates.
Use 'helm create' to scaffold a chart.
'helm install' deploys app by rendering templates.
'helm upgrade' updates app without downtime.
'helm rollback' reverts to previous app version.
Helm manages app lifecycle easily.

Full Transcript

Helm charts help package and deploy Kubernetes apps by combining templates and configuration values. First, you create a chart scaffold with 'helm create'. Then, 'helm install' renders templates into Kubernetes resources and deploys the app. When you want to change the app, 'helm upgrade' updates resources smoothly. If something goes wrong, 'helm rollback' restores the previous stable version. This process lets you manage app versions and lifecycle simply and reliably.