Deploying Helm Charts

Step-by-step guide to deploying, managing, and upgrading Helm chart workloads in the PodWarden UI

Overview

PodWarden supports deploying applications packaged as Helm charts alongside single-service and compose stack deployments. Helm charts are community-maintained packages that bundle all the Kubernetes resources an application needs — deployments, services, config maps, RBAC rules, and more.

You don't need to install the Helm CLI or know how Helm works internally. PodWarden handles everything through its standard deployment UI.

Prerequisites

The target cluster must have the Helm Operator System App installed. You can check this in Settings > System — the Helm Operator should appear as "Detected" for the cluster.

If the operator is not installed, PodWarden shows a warning banner when you try to deploy a Helm chart template and the deploy button is disabled.

Deploying a Helm Chart

Step 1: Select a Helm Template

From the Stacks page, find a template with the Helm badge. You can:

Import from Hub — Browse the Hub catalog and filter by stack type "Helm Chart"
Use an existing stack — If someone has already created or imported a Helm chart template

Helm chart templates show the chart name, repository, and version in the stack detail view.

Step 2: Create a Deployment

Click Deploy on the stack, then:

Choose a cluster — Only clusters with the Helm Operator installed are shown
Set a name — This becomes the Helm release name in the cluster
Select a namespace — Where the namespaced resources will be created

Step 3: Configure Values

The deployment form shows two ways to configure the Helm chart:

Form View

If the template has env_schema entries, they appear as form fields with labels, descriptions, and default values. This is the recommended way for operators who want a guided experience.

Each field maps to a Helm value path. For example, a field labeled "Grafana Admin Password" with the name grafana.adminPassword sets the nested value grafana: { adminPassword: "..." } in the chart.

YAML Override

Click YAML Editor to see and edit the full values YAML. This gives you access to every value the chart supports, not just the ones exposed through env_schema.

The YAML editor shows the merged result of:

The template's default_values (base layer)
Any env_schema values you've set in the form

You can add, change, or remove any value here. Changes in the YAML editor override form values.

Step 4: Review and Deploy

The deploy summary shows:

Chart details — Repository URL, chart name, and version
Values diff — What you changed from the defaults
Target cluster — Where the chart will be installed
Dry-run option — Toggle "Dry Run" to preview the resources before deploying

Dry-Run Inspection

With dry-run enabled, PodWarden renders the chart templates with your values and shows the full list of Kubernetes resources that would be created. Pay attention to:

Cluster-scoped resources — Highlighted with a warning badge. These affect the entire cluster, not just your namespace. Examples: ClusterRoles, ClusterRoleBindings, CustomResourceDefinitions.
Resource counts — How many deployments, services, config maps, etc. the chart creates
Namespace — Confirm resources are created in the expected namespace

After reviewing, click Deploy to proceed with the actual installation, or adjust your values and run the dry-run again.

Viewing Deployment Status

After deploying, the deployment detail page shows Helm-specific information:

Overview Tab

Status badge — Shows "Installing", "Deployed", "Failed", or "Upgrading"
Chart info — Chart name, version, and repository
Resource summary — Count of resources by type and their health status

Helm Details Tab

The dedicated Helm Details tab provides:

Release information — Current revision number, first deployed time, last deployed time
Values — The complete merged values applied to the release
Revision history — Every install and upgrade, with timestamps and status
Resources — Full list of Kubernetes resources managed by this release, grouped by type
Cluster-scoped resources — Any resources created outside the deployment namespace

Click on any resource in the list to see its current state, events, and conditions.

Logs

Helm deployments don't have a single "container log" like single-service deployments. Instead, click into individual resources (e.g., a specific deployment or statefulset) from the Helm Details tab to view their pod logs.

Upgrading a Helm Release

Upgrading the Chart Version

Open the deployment detail page
Go to the Helm Details tab
Click Upgrade Chart Version
Enter the new version number
Optionally run a dry-run to see what changes
Click Deploy

The Helm Operator handles the upgrade, creating a new revision. If the upgrade fails and rollback is configured, it automatically reverts to the previous working revision.

Updating Values Only

To change configuration without changing the chart version:

Go to the deployment's Settings or click Edit from the overview
Modify values in the form or YAML editor
Click Save and Redeploy

This creates a new revision with the updated values.

Uninstalling

Click Undeploy on the deployment. PodWarden removes the HelmRelease and HelmRepository CRDs, and the Helm Operator uninstalls the chart.

After uninstall, PodWarden reports any retained cluster-scoped resources that were not automatically cleaned up. You may need to remove these manually if no other Helm releases depend on them.

Tips

Start with dry-run — Always run a dry-run on the first deployment of a new chart to understand what resources it creates
Check cluster-scoped resources — Charts that install CRDs or cluster roles can have broader impact than expected
Use env_schema for common changes — Template authors should expose frequently-tuned values through env_schema so operators don't need to edit raw YAML
Pin chart versions — PodWarden requires exact versions to ensure reproducible deployments