Helm

Helm is a tool for managing Charts. Charts are packages of pre-configured Kubernetes resources.

Use Helm to:

• Find and use popular software packaged as Helm Charts to run in Kubernetes
• Share your own applications as Helm Charts
• Create reproducible builds of your Kubernetes applications
• Intelligently manage your Kubernetes manifest files
• Manage releases of Helm packages

Helm in a Handbasket

Helm is a tool that streamlines installing and managing Kubernetes applications. Think of it like apt/yum/homebrew for Kubernetes.

• Helm renders your templates and communicates with the Kubernetes API
• Helm runs on your laptop, CI/CD, or wherever you want it to run.
• Charts are Helm packages that contain at least two things:
  • A description of the package (Chart.yaml)
  • One or more templates, which contain Kubernetes manifest files
• Charts can be stored on disk, or fetched from remote chart repositories (like Debian or RedHat packages)

Helm Development and Stable Versions

Helm v4 is the current stable release, developed on the main branch. Helm v3 is in support mode on the dev-v3 branch: bug fixes until July 8th 2026, security fixes until November 11th 2026.

Install

Binary downloads of the Helm client can be found on the Releases page.

Unpack the helm binary and add it to your PATH and you are good to go!

If you want to use a package manager:

• Homebrew users can use brew install helm.
• Chocolatey users can use choco install kubernetes-helm.
• Winget users can use winget install Helm.Helm.
• Scoop users can use scoop install helm.
• Snapcraft users can use snap install helm --classic.
• Flox users can use flox install kubernetes-helm.
• Mise-en-place users can use mise use -g helm@latest

To rapidly get Helm up and running, start with the Quick Start Guide.

See the installation guide for more options, including installing pre-releases.

Docs

Get started with the Quick Start guide or plunge into the complete documentation.

Roadmap

The Helm roadmap uses GitHub milestones to track the progress of the project.

Helm v4 development happens on the main branch. Helm v3 is in support mode on the dev-v3 branch and receives only bug and security fixes.

Community, discussion, contribution, and support

You can reach the Helm community and developers via the following channels:

• Kubernetes Slack:
  • #helm-users
  • #helm-dev
  • #charts
• Mailing List:
  • Helm Mailing List
• Developer Call: Thursdays at 9:30-10:00 Pacific (meeting details)

Contribution

If you're interested in contributing, please refer to the Contributing Guide before submitting a pull request.

Code of conduct

Participation in the Helm community is governed by the Code of Conduct.