Helm and Package Management Flashcards

What is the purpose of the `helm dependency update` command?

Answer: Downloads and updates the chart dependencies listed in Chart.yaml

`helm dependency update` resolves and downloads chart dependencies declared in the `dependencies` section of Chart.yaml into the `charts/` directory.

Which Helm built-in object provides access to Kubernetes cluster version information in templates?

Answer: .Capabilities

The `.Capabilities` object exposes information about the Kubernetes cluster, including API versions and the Kubernetes version.

What does a `helm rollback` command do when given a release name and revision number?

Answer: Restores the release to the specified previous revision

`helm rollback ` restores a Helm-managed release to a previously deployed revision stored in the release history.

In Helm, what is the function of the `_helpers.tpl` file inside a chart's `templates/` directory?

Answer: Contains reusable named templates and helper functions

`_helpers.tpl` is a convention file prefixed with an underscore so Helm skips rendering it as a manifest; it holds reusable named templates called via `template` or `include`.

Which command would you use to see the actual Kubernetes manifests Helm would generate without deploying them?

Answer: helm template

`helm template` renders chart templates locally and prints the resulting Kubernetes manifests without contacting the cluster.

What flag must be passed to `helm install` or `helm upgrade` to perform a dry run that also validates against the Kubernetes API server?

Answer: --dry-run=server

`--dry-run=server` sends manifests to the API server for validation without persisting them, catching issues that local rendering cannot detect.

How does Helm store release state by default in a Kubernetes cluster?

Answer: As ConfigMaps or Secrets in the release namespace

By default Helm 3 stores release information as Secrets (encoded) in the release's namespace, allowing multi-user access and cluster-side persistence.