Mastering Helm: Top Kubernetes Commands You Need to Know

Helm is a package manager for Kubernetes, just like apt for Ubuntu or yum for CentOS. Helm simplifies the deployment, upgrade, rollback, and management of Kubernetes applications using Helm charts.

Helm Commands – Purpose and Business Use Cases

Helm Command	Purpose	Business Use Case
helm repo add	Adds a chart repository to your local Helm setup	Allows teams to use and manage official or custom application charts from a central repository (e.g., Bitnami, internal repo)
helm repo update	Updates information of available charts in all added repos	Ensures the latest version of apps/microservices are always available for deployment
helm search repo	Searches for charts in added repositories	Helps DevOps teams find required services like MySQL, Redis, or NGINX quickly
helm install	Installs a Helm chart into the Kubernetes cluster	Automates app deployments (e.g., deploying a .NET Core app with MySQL backend in staging)
helm upgrade	Upgrades an existing release with new config or version	Enables smooth rolling updates of production apps without downtime
helm rollback	Rolls back a release to a previous revision	Quick recovery in case of failed deployments, improving reliability and uptime
helm list	Lists all Helm releases in a namespace	Helps in auditing and managing running Kubernetes apps
helm uninstall	Uninstalls and removes a Helm release	Safe and clean removal of apps or microservices when decommissioning services
helm create	Generates a boilerplate Helm chart for your app	Standardizes deployment templates for consistent infrastructure setup
helm template	Renders Helm templates locally without deploying	Useful for debugging and previewing YAMLs before actual deployment

Real-World Business Use Case

Example: E-Commerce App Deployment

Scenario:
An e-commerce platform uses microservices for user authentication, product catalog, and order processing. Each service is developed in .NET Core and communicates with a shared MySQL database.

Helm in Action:

• helm create auth-service – scaffold deployment config
• helm install mysql bitnami/mysql – deploy MySQL as a backend
• helm install auth-release ./auth-service – deploy .NET Auth microservice
• helm upgrade auth-release ./auth-service – update Auth service with new features
• helm rollback auth-release 2 – rollback to last stable version if issues found
• helm list – list all releases for tracking and monitoring

Business Benefits:

Benefit	Description
Faster Deployment	Teams can quickly deploy complex apps across multiple environments
Version Control	Applications are versioned and can be easily rolled back
Standardization	Ensures consistent deployment standards across dev, staging, and prod
Easy Testing	Helm charts can be templated and tested before deployment
Reusability	Helm charts can be reused across different microservices or teams

Real-Time Business Use Case: .NET App + MySQL Deployment

Scenario:

A company needs to deploy a microservice-based Order Management System with a .NET Core backend and MySQL database on Kubernetes using Helm.

Helm Chart Structure for .NET App (dotnet-app)

dotnet-app/
│
├── Chart.yaml
├── values.yaml
├── templates/
│   ├── deployment.yaml
│   ├── service.yaml
│   └── ingress.yaml

Sample Values.yaml

image:
  repository: myrepo/dotnet-orders
  tag: "1.0.0"
  pullPolicy: IfNotPresent

service:
  type: ClusterIP
  port: 80

mysql:
  host: my-mysql.default.svc.cluster.local
  port: 3306
  user: root
  password: admin123
  database: appdb

Deployment Steps:

1. Install MySQL:

helm install my-mysql bitnami/mysql --set auth.rootPassword=admin123,auth.database=appdb

2.Create your .NET Helm Chart:

helm create dotnet-app

3. Update deployment.yaml to connect to MySQL (via env variables)

4.Install the .NET App:

helm install dotnet-release ./dotnet-app

5.Verify Deployment:

kubectl get pods,svc

Business Use Case Justification:

• ✅ Modular Deployment: Each service can be independently versioned, upgraded, or rolled back.
• ✅ Database as a Helm Release: Quick reusability across environments.
• ✅ CI/CD Ready: Helm charts are version-controlled and can be used in pipelines.
• ✅ Easy Scaling: Just edit values.yaml or use HPA YAML in templates.
• ✅ Multi-Environment Friendly: Different values for dev/staging/prod via -f dev-values.yaml.

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