Chapter 6. Working with Helm charts

1. Download the Linux x86_64 or Linux amd64 Helm binary and add it to your path:

   # curl -L https://mirror.openshift.com/pub/openshift-v4/clients/helm/latest/helm-linux-amd64 -o /usr/local/bin/helm

2. Make the binary file executable:

   # chmod +x /usr/local/bin/helm

3. Check the installed version:

   $ helm version

   Example output

   version.BuildInfo{Version:"v3.0", GitCommit:"b31719aab7963acf4887a1c1e6d5e53378e34d93", GitTreeState:"clean", GoVersion:"go1.13.4"}

1. Download the latest .exe file and put in a directory of your preference.
2. Right click Start and click Control Panel.
3. Select System and Security and then click System.
4. From the menu on the left, select Advanced systems settings and click Environment Variables at the bottom.
5. Select Path from the Variable section and click Edit.
6. Click New and type the path to the folder with the .exe file into the field or click Browse and select the directory, and click OK.

1. Download the latest .exe file and put in a directory of your preference.
2. Click Search and type env or environment.
3. Select Edit environment variables for your account.
4. Select Path from the Variable section and click Edit.
5. Click New and type the path to the directory with the exe file into the field or click Browse and select the directory, and click OK.

1. Download the Helm binary and add it to your path:

   # curl -L https://mirror.openshift.com/pub/openshift-v4/clients/helm/latest/helm-darwin-amd64 -o /usr/local/bin/helm

2. Make the binary file executable:

   # chmod +x /usr/local/bin/helm

3. Check the installed version:

   $ helm version

   Example output

   version.BuildInfo{Version:"v3.0", GitCommit:"b31719aab7963acf4887a1c1e6d5e53378e34d93", GitTreeState:"clean", GoVersion:"go1.13.4"}

1. In the Developer perspective, navigate to the +Add view and select a project. Then click Helm Chart option to see all the Helm Charts in the Developer Catalog.
2. Select a chart and read the description, README, and other details about the chart.

3. Click Create.

   Figure 6.1. Helm charts in developer catalog

   

4. In the Create Helm Release page:

   1. Enter a unique name for the release in the Release Name field.
   2. Select the required chart version from the Chart Version drop-down list.

   3. Configure your Helm chart by using the Form View or the YAML View.

      Note

      Where available, you can switch between the YAML View and Form View. The data is persisted when switching between the views.

   4. Click Create to create a Helm release. The web console displays the new release in the Topology view.

      If a Helm chart has release notes, the web console displays them.

      If a Helm chart creates workloads, the web console displays them on the Topology or Helm release details page. The workloads are DaemonSet, CronJob, Pod, Deployment, and DeploymentConfig.

   5. View the newly created Helm release in the Helm Releases page.

Procedure

1. Create a new project:

   $ oc new-project nodejs-ex-k

2. Download an example Node.js chart that contains OpenShift Dedicated objects:

   $ git clone https://github.com/redhat-developer/redhat-helm-charts

3. Go to the directory with the sample chart:

   $ cd redhat-helm-charts/alpha/nodejs-ex-k/

4. Edit the Chart.yaml file and add a description of your chart:

   apiVersion: v2 1
   name: nodejs-ex-k 2
   description: A Helm chart for OpenShift 3
   icon: https://static.redhat.com/libs/redhat/brand-assets/latest/corp/logo.svg 4
   version: 0.2.1 5

   1

   The chart API version. It should be v2 for Helm charts that require at least Helm 3.

   2

   The name of your chart.

   3

   The description of your chart.

   4

   The URL to an image to be used as an icon.

   5

   The Version of your chart as per the Semantic Versioning (SemVer) 2.0.0 Specification.

5. Verify that the chart is formatted properly:

   $ helm lint

   Example output

   [INFO] Chart.yaml: icon is recommended
   
   1 chart(s) linted, 0 chart(s) failed

6. Navigate to the previous directory level:

   $ cd ..

7. Install the chart:

   $ helm install nodejs-chart nodejs-ex-k

8. Verify that the chart has installed successfully:

   $ helm list

   Example output

   NAME NAMESPACE REVISION UPDATED STATUS CHART APP VERSION
   nodejs-chart nodejs-ex-k 1 2019-12-05 15:06:51.379134163 -0500 EST deployed nodejs-0.1.0  1.16.0

Procedure

1. In the Developer perspective, navigate to the +Add view and select a project.
2. From the Developer Catalog tile, select the Helm Chart option to see all the Helm charts in the Developer Catalog.

3. Use the filters to the left of the list of Helm charts to filter the required charts:

   • Use the Chart Repositories filter to filter charts provided by Red Hat Certification Charts or OpenShift Helm Charts.
   • Use the Source filter to filter charts sourced from Partners, Community, or Red Hat. Certified charts are indicated with the ( ) icon.

Procedure

1. In the Topology view, select the Helm release to see the side panel.
2. Click Actions → Upgrade Helm Release.
3. In the Upgrade Helm Release page, select the Chart Version you want to upgrade to, and then click Upgrade to create another Helm release. The Helm Releases page displays the two revisions.

1. In the Developer perspective, navigate to the Helm view to see the Helm Releases in the namespace.
2. Click the Options menu adjoining the listed release, and select Rollback.
3. In the Rollback Helm Release page, select the Revision you want to rollback to and click Rollback.
4. In the Helm Releases page, click on the chart to see the details and resources for that release.

5. Go to the Revision History tab to see all the revisions for the chart.

   Figure 6.2. Helm revision history

   
6. If required, you can further use the Options menu adjoining a particular revision and select the revision to rollback to.

Procedure

1. In the Topology view, right-click the Helm release and select Delete Helm Release.
2. In the confirmation prompt, enter the name of the chart and click Delete.