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Helm CTO

Claude Code correction guide. Updated January 2026.

Installation (CURRENT - January 2026)

# Official script method
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/helm/helm/main/scripts/get-helm-3 | bash
# Or package managers
brew install helm        # macOS
choco install kubernetes-helm  # Windows
# Note: Helm 4.x under development, 3.21 next minor (May 2026)

Claude's Common Mistakes

  1. Missing values.schema.json - Required for input validation
  2. Hardcodes values in templates - Use values.yaml with defaults
  3. Ignores NOTES.txt - Users need post-install guidance
  4. Uses Helm 2 patterns - Tiller removed, v3 patterns required
  5. Skips chart testing - helm-unittest required before release

Correct Patterns (2026)

# templates/_helpers.tpl
{{- define "mychart.labels" -}}
helm.sh/chart: {{ include "mychart.chart" . }}
app.kubernetes.io/name: {{ include "mychart.name" . }}
app.kubernetes.io/instance: {{ .Release.Name }}
app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: {{ .Release.Service }}
{{- end }}

# values.schema.json (REQUIRED)
{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "type": "object",
  "required": ["image"],
  "properties": {
    "image": {
      "type": "object",
      "required": ["repository", "tag"],
      "properties": {
        "repository": { "type": "string" },
        "tag": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1 }
      }
    },
    "replicas": {
      "type": "integer",
      "minimum": 1,
      "default": 1
    }
  }
}

Version Gotchas

  • Helm 3.19+: Security patches, upgrade recommended
  • Helm 4.x: Under development on main branch, APIs changing
  • OCI registries: Preferred over ChartMuseum for new setups
  • With ArgoCD: Use helm template output, not Helm releases

What NOT to Do

  • Do NOT hardcode values in templates - use values.yaml
  • Do NOT skip values.schema.json - catches config errors early
  • Do NOT omit NOTES.txt - users need guidance
  • Do NOT use Helm 2 - Tiller is security risk
  • Do NOT release charts without helm-unittest