Helm and Package Management Flashcards

What is a Helm 'hook' and when is it executed?

Answer: An annotation-driven Kubernetes resource executed at specific points in a release lifecycle

Helm hooks are Kubernetes manifests annotated with `helm.sh/hook` that run at lifecycle points such as pre-install, post-install, pre-upgrade, or pre-delete.

Which `helm` subcommand displays the values currently applied to a deployed release?

Answer: helm get values

`helm get values ` retrieves the user-supplied values for a running release; adding `--all` also shows computed defaults.

What is the effect of setting `helm.sh/hook-delete-policy: before-hook-creation` on a hook resource?

Answer: Deletes the previous hook resource before creating a new one on the next run

The `before-hook-creation` policy tells Helm to delete the existing hook resource before creating a fresh one, preventing conflicts on re-runs.

Which file in a Helm chart directory contains metadata such as the chart name, version, and description?

Answer: Chart.yaml

`Chart.yaml` is the mandatory metadata file that declares the chart's name, version, type, description, and other top-level properties.

When using `helm upgrade --install`, what happens if the specified release does not yet exist?

Answer: Helm performs an initial installation instead of an upgrade

`--install` makes `helm upgrade` idempotent: if the release doesn't exist it is installed; if it does, it is upgraded.

What does the Helm function `tpl` allow you to do inside templates?

Answer: Render a string as a Helm template, enabling dynamic values

The `tpl` function processes a string value as a Go template, which lets values in values.yaml themselves contain template expressions.

Which Helm repository command refreshes the locally cached list of charts from all added repositories?

Answer: helm repo update

`helm repo update` fetches the latest `index.yaml` from every configured repository and updates the local cache so new chart versions are discoverable.