helm

Best Practices

• Use apiVersion v2 in Chart.yaml with proper type (application or library)
• Define sensible defaults in values.yaml that work out of the box for local development
• Set resource requests and limits in values (resources.requests/limits)
• Use named templates in _helpers.tpl for DRY label management and fullname generation
• Include standard Kubernetes labels (app.kubernetes.io/name, instance, version, component, managed-by)
• Define health check probes (readinessProbe, livenessProbe) with configurable paths and ports
• Make image repository, tag, and pullPolicy configurable via values
• Include NOTES.txt with post-install instructions showing how to access the application
• Image tags should be specific versions, not :latest — default to chart appVersion
• Chart name must be lowercase alphanumeric with hyphens
• values.yaml must include image, service, resources, and replicaCount sections
• Use chart dependencies in Chart.yaml for sub-charts (databases, caches)
• Support values.schema.json for input validation when chart has complex values
• Use conditional rendering (if .Values.ingress.enabled) for optional resources

Documentation Sources