Install PGO with Helm chart on Kubernetes clusters

PGO is available as a Helm chart through the Crunchy Data chart repository. Helm gives you a familiar, values-driven installation workflow and makes it straightforward to manage upgrades with helm upgrade. If your team already uses Helm for Kubernetes workloads, this is the quickest path to a running operator.

Like the Kustomize installation, the Helm chart pulls container images from the Crunchy Data Developer Portal. Register for a free account before installing.

Prerequisites

kubectl v1.24 or later, configured to talk to your cluster
Helm v3.8 or later
Cluster permissions to create Namespace, CustomResourceDefinition, and ClusterRole resources

Add the Crunchy Data chart repository

Add and update the Crunchy Data Helm repository so Helm can find the pgo chart:

helm repo add crunchy-data https://charts.crunchydata.com
helm repo update

Confirm the chart is available:

helm search repo crunchy-data/pgo

NAME                 CHART VERSION   APP VERSION   DESCRIPTION
crunchy-data/pgo     5.x.x           5.x.x         The Postgres Operator from Crunchy Data

Install PGO

All namespaces (default)
Single namespace

The default Helm install deploys PGO to the postgres-operator namespace and configures it to watch all namespaces using a ClusterRole.

Create the operator namespace

kubectl create namespace postgres-operator

Install the chart

helm install pgo crunchy-data/pgo \
  --namespace postgres-operator

Helm creates the CRDs, RBAC resources, and the operator Deployment in a single step.

Verify the installation

kubectl get pods -n postgres-operator

NAME                   READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
pgo-5d7b8c9f6d-x4p2k   1/1     Running   0          60s

To restrict PGO to one namespace, set singleNamespace to true in your values. This replaces the ClusterRole with a Role scoped to the operator namespace.

Create the operator namespace

kubectl create namespace postgres-operator

Install the chart with single-namespace mode

helm install pgo crunchy-data/pgo \
  --namespace postgres-operator \
  --set singleNamespace=true

Verify the installation

kubectl get pods -n postgres-operator

NAME                   READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
pgo-7c9d4b8f5d-r2n8m   1/1     Running   0          45s

In single-namespace mode, you must create your PostgresCluster resources in the same namespace as the operator (postgres-operator by default).

Configure values

Helm values let you customize the installation without maintaining forked manifests. Inspect all available options:

helm show values crunchy-data/pgo

Common overrides:

Value	Default	Description
`singleNamespace`	`false`	Restrict the operator to its own namespace
`image.repository`	Crunchy registry	Override the operator image repository
`image.tag`	Chart app version	Pin a specific operator image tag
`resources.limits.cpu`	(none)	CPU limit for the operator container
`resources.limits.memory`	(none)	Memory limit for the operator container
`featureGates`	`""`	Comma-separated list of feature gates to enable

Use a values file

For repeatable installs, write your overrides to a file:

# pgo-values.yaml
singleNamespace: false

resources:
  limits:
    cpu: "500m"
    memory: "128Mi"

featureGates: "TablespaceVolumes=true"

Then install with:

helm install pgo crunchy-data/pgo \
  --namespace postgres-operator \
  --values pgo-values.yaml

Differences from the Kustomize installation

Aspect	Kustomize	Helm
Install method	`kubectl apply --server-side -k`	`helm install`
Config format	Kustomize overlays and patches	Helm values (YAML)
Upgrade method	Re-apply the overlay	`helm upgrade`
Release tracking	No built-in state	Helm stores release history in the cluster
CRD management	Applied as part of the overlay	Applied by Helm’s CRD install hook

Helm does not upgrade CRDs during helm upgrade by default. When upgrading PGO to a new version with updated CRDs, apply the CRDs manually first. See Upgrade PGO for the full upgrade procedure.

Uninstall PGO

Uninstalling the chart removes the operator Deployment and RBAC resources. Existing PostgresCluster resources continue running until you delete them. If you also remove the CRDs, Kubernetes will garbage-collect all custom resource objects.

helm uninstall pgo --namespace postgres-operator

To remove the CRDs as well:

kubectl delete crd \
  postgresclusters.postgres-operator.crunchydata.com \
  pgupgrades.postgres-operator.crunchydata.com \
  pgadmins.postgres-operator.crunchydata.com

Next steps

Create your first cluster

Deploy a production-grade Postgres cluster with high availability.

Install with Kustomize

Use the upstream Kustomize overlays for a GitOps-friendly install.

Upgrade PGO

Keep the operator and your Postgres clusters up to date.

PostgresCluster reference

Full API reference for the PostgresCluster custom resource.

Get Started

Installation

Core Operations

Day-Two Operations

Security

Install PGO with Helm chart on Kubernetes clusters

Prerequisites

Add the Crunchy Data chart repository

Install PGO

Configure values

Use a values file

Differences from the Kustomize installation

Uninstall PGO

Next steps

Create your first cluster

Install with Kustomize

Upgrade PGO

PostgresCluster reference

​Prerequisites

​Add the Crunchy Data chart repository

​Install PGO

​Configure values

​Use a values file

​Differences from the Kustomize installation

​Uninstall PGO

​Next steps

Create your first cluster

Install with Kustomize

Upgrade PGO

PostgresCluster reference

Prerequisites

Add the Crunchy Data chart repository

Install PGO

Configure values

Use a values file

Differences from the Kustomize installation

Uninstall PGO

Next steps