Course Objective & Scope
Managing dozens of Kubernetes YAML files across dev, staging and production by copy-and-paste quickly leads to release errors and configuration drift. This course teaches how to package, parameterise and version Kubernetes applications as Helm charts.
Chart layout, the Go template language and Sprig functions, named templates (`_helpers.tpl`), subchart dependencies, lifecycle hooks, hosting charts in OCI container registries and validation with `helm lint`/`helm test` are practised hands-on. Participants build a reusable standard starter/library chart for their internal microservices.
Who Should Attend?
- DevOps and platform engineers standardising Kubernetes deployments
- Software developers managing multi-environment microservice releases
- Infrastructure teams using Helm inside CI/CD and GitOps pipelines
- Prerequisite: working knowledge of core Kubernetes objects (Pod, Deployment, Service)
Key Takeaways
- Develop a modular, readable Helm chart from scratch
- Eliminate repetitive YAML using Go templates, control structures and `_helpers.tpl`
- Validate inputs with per-environment `values.yaml` files and `values.schema.json`
- Run upgrades, rollbacks, pre/post hooks and `helm test` checks safely
- Package charts and integrate them with OCI registries and GitOps workflows
Curriculum
Helm Architecture and Release Management
- Charts, repositories, releases and Kubernetes Secret state storage
- install, upgrade, rollback, uninstall and history commands
Chart Structure and Templating
- Chart.yaml, values.yaml and the templates/ directory layout
- Built-in objects (.Values, .Release, .Chart) and Sprig functions
- if/else, with, range loops and whitespace control
Reusable Templates and Dependencies
- Using _helpers.tpl, define, template and include
- Subchart dependencies and library chart design
- Parameter validation with values.schema.json
Lifecycle Hooks, Testing and Quality Checks
- pre-install and post-upgrade hooks for database migrations
- helm template, helm lint, helm diff and helm test
OCI Registries, Security and GitOps Integration
- Pushing/pulling charts in OCI registries and provenance signing
- Combining Helm with Kustomize and integrating with Argo CD/Flux
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