tikalk/agentic-sdlc-team-ai-directives/helm-charts

Helm Charts Skill

What This Skill Provides

Helm chart design patterns including library charts, wrapper charts, template helper conventions, and packaging and distribution workflows for Kubernetes applications.

When to Use This Skill

• Creating a new Helm chart or chart library
• Reviewing or refactoring an existing Helm chart
• Packaging and publishing charts to a chart repository or OCI registry
• Designing multi-environment value override strategies
• Building wrapper charts around upstream community charts

Core Patterns

Chart Library Pattern

Rule: Centralize shared templates in a library chart to eliminate duplication across application charts.

Implementation:

• Create a type: library chart with shared _helpers.tpl templates
• Application charts declare the library as a dependency
• Store library charts in a dedicated shared chart repository
• Library charts cannot be installed directly — only used as dependencies

References: See @rule:devops/helm_chart_library.md, @rule:devops/helm_template_helpers.md

Wrapper Charts

Rule: Wrap upstream community charts to control versions and apply team defaults without forking upstream.

Implementation:

• Declare the upstream chart as a dependencies entry in Chart.yaml
• Override defaults via values.yaml in the wrapper chart
• Lock the upstream chart version in Chart.lock
• Add team-standard labels, annotations, and security contexts via the wrapper

References: See @rule:devops/helm_wrapper_charts.md

Template Helpers

Rule: Define reusable naming, labeling, and annotation helpers in _helpers.tpl.

Implementation:

• Use {{ include "chart.fullname" . }} patterns for consistent resource naming
• Define standard label sets (app, version, managed-by) in a shared helper
• Keep helpers idempotent and side-effect free

References: See @rule:devops/helm_template_helpers.md

Packaging and Distribution

Rule: Package and release charts through an automated CI/CD pipeline.

Implementation:

• Use helm package and helm push in GitHub Actions on version tag
• Version charts using semantic versioning aligned with app versions
• Publish to an OCI registry (e.g., GHCR) or a dedicated chart repository

References: See @rule:devops/helm_packaging.md