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This page documents all Helm charts deployed in the cluster using Flux’s HelmRelease custom resources.

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Overview

HelmRelease resources tell Flux how to install and manage Helm charts. They support automatic upgrades, rollbacks, and custom values.

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Infrastructure Components

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cert-manager

Manages TLS certificates with Let’s Encrypt:
overlays/base/cert-manager/helm-release.yaml
apiVersion: helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2
kind: HelmRelease
metadata:
  name: cert-manager
  namespace: flux-system
spec:
  chart:
    spec:
      chart: cert-manager
      reconcileStrategy: ChartVersion
      sourceRef:
        kind: HelmRepository
        name: cert-manager
        namespace: cert-manager
      version: 1.18.2
  interval: 1m0s
  releaseName: cert-manager
  targetNamespace: cert-manager
  install:
    crds: Create
  upgrade:
    crds: CreateReplace
  values:
    config:
      apiVersion: controller.config.cert-manager.io/v1alpha1
      kind: ControllerConfiguration
      enableGatewayAPI: true
    crds:
      enabled: true

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grafana-operator

Manages Grafana instances using the Grafana Operator:
overlays/base/grafana/grafana-operator/helm-release.yaml
apiVersion: helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2
kind: HelmRelease
metadata:
  name: grafana-operator
spec:
  timeout: 15m
  chart:
    spec:
      chart: grafana-operator
      sourceRef:
        kind: HelmRepository
        name: grafana
      version: 5.21.4
  interval: 24h
  releaseName: grafana-operator
  install:
    crds: Create
  upgrade:
    crds: CreateReplace

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Prometheus Stack

Complete monitoring stack with Prometheus, Alertmanager, and exporters:
overlays/base/prometheus/helmrelease.yaml
apiVersion: helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2
kind: HelmRelease
metadata:
  name: prometheus
spec:
  chart:
    spec:
      chart: kube-prometheus-stack
      sourceRef:
        kind: HelmRepository
        name: prometheus
      version: "=79.5.0"
  interval: 24h
  releaseName: prometheus
  targetNamespace: observability
  install:
    crds: Create
  upgrade:
    crds: CreateReplace
  values:
    nodeExporter:
      enabled: true
    grafana:
      enabled: false
    prometheus:
      prometheusSpec:
        replicas: 2
        retention: 2d
        retentionSize: 25GiB
        storageSpec:
          volumeClaimTemplate:
            spec:
              accessModes:
                - ReadWriteOnce
              resources:
                requests:
                  storage: 50Gi
              storageClassName: local-storage

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Grafana Loki

Log aggregation system:
overlays/base/grafana/grafana-loki/helm-release.yaml
apiVersion: helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2
kind: HelmRelease
metadata:
  name: grafana-loki
spec:
  timeout: 15m
  chart:
    spec:
      chart: loki
      sourceRef:
        kind: HelmRepository
        name: grafana
      version: 6.49.0
  interval: 24h
  releaseName: loki-monolith
  values:
    deploymentMode: SingleBinary
    singleBinary:
      replicas: 1
      persistence:
        storageClass: local-storage
      extraArgs:
        - -store.retention=31d
    minio:
      enabled: true
      persistence:
        size: 30Gi
        storageClass: local-storage
Version: 6.49.0
Mode: Single Binary (monolith)
Retention: 31 days
Storage: MinIO with 30Gi volume

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MetalLB

Bare-metal load balancer:
overlays/base/metallb/helm-release.yaml
apiVersion: helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2
kind: HelmRelease
metadata:
  name: metallb
spec:
  chart:
    spec:
      chart: metallb
      sourceRef:
        kind: HelmRepository
        name: metallb
      version: "=0.15.3"
  interval: 24h
  releaseName: metallb
  install:
    crds: Create
  upgrade:
    crds: CreateReplace
Version: 0.15.3
Purpose: Provides LoadBalancer service type support

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Kubernetes Gateway (kgateway)

API Gateway for service routing:
overlays/base/kgateway/helm-release.yaml
apiVersion: helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2
kind: HelmRelease
metadata:
  name: kgateway
spec:
  interval: 10m
  chart:
    spec:
      chart: kgateway
      sourceRef:
        kind: HelmRepository
        name: kgateway
      version: "v2.1.2"
  dependsOn:
    - name: kgateway-crds
Version: v2.1.2
Dependency: Requires kgateway-crds to be installed first

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Sealed Secrets

Encrypts secrets in Git:
overlays/base/sealed-secrets/helm-release.yaml
apiVersion: helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2
kind: HelmRelease
metadata:
  name: sealed-secrets
spec:
  chart:
    spec:
      chart: sealed-secrets
      sourceRef:
        kind: HelmRepository
        name: sealed-secrets
      version: "=2.17.3"
  interval: 24h
  releaseName: sealed-secrets-controller
  install:
    crds: Create
  upgrade:
    crds: CreateReplace
  values:
    metrics:
      serviceMonitor:
        enabled: false
        namespace: sealed-secrets
Version: 2.17.3
Controller: sealed-secrets-controller

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Metrics Server

Provides resource metrics API:
overlays/base/metrics-server/helm-release.yaml
apiVersion: helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2
kind: HelmRelease
metadata:
  name: metrics-server
spec:
  chart:
    spec:
      chart: metrics-server
      sourceRef:
        kind: HelmRepository
        name: metrics-server
      version: 3.13.0
  interval: 1m0s
  releaseName: metrics-server
  install:
    crds: Create
  upgrade:
    crds: CreateReplace
  values:
    args:
      - --kubelet-insecure-tls
Version: 3.13.0
Configuration: Insecure TLS for testing environments

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Grafana Alloy

Telemetry collection and forwarding:
overlays/base/grafana/grafana-alloy/helm-release.yaml
apiVersion: helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2
kind: HelmRelease
metadata:
  name: grafana-alloy
spec:
  timeout: 15m
  chart:
    spec:
      chart: k8s-monitoring
      sourceRef:
        kind: HelmRepository
        name: grafana
      version: 3.2.2
  interval: 24h
  releaseName: grafana-monitoring
  values:
    clusterEvents:
      enabled: true
    podLogs:
      enabled: true
    nodeLogs:
      enabled: true
    destinations:
      - name: loki-grafana-cloud
        type: loki
        url: http://loki-monolith.observability.svc:3100/loki/api/v1/push
Version: 3.2.2
Chart: k8s-monitoring
Features: Cluster events, pod logs, node logs

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Tailscale Operator

Manages Tailscale VPN connections:
overlays/base/tailscale/helmrelease.yaml
apiVersion: helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2
kind: HelmRelease
metadata:
  name: tailscale-operator
spec:
  interval: 5m
  chart:
    spec:
      chart: tailscale-operator
      version: "=1.92.4"
      sourceRef:
        kind: HelmRepository
        name: tailscale
Version: 1.92.4

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Application Components

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n8n

Workflow automation platform:
overlays/base/n8n/helm-release.yaml
apiVersion: helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2
kind: HelmRelease
metadata:
  name: n8n
spec:
  releaseName: n8n
  interval: 5m
  chart:
    spec:
      chart: n8n
      version: "=2.0.1"
      sourceRef:
        kind: HelmRepository
        name: n8n
  values: {}
Version: 2.0.1

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HelmRelease Configuration Fields

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spec.chart.spec.chart
string
required
Name of the Helm chart to install
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spec.chart.spec.version
string
required
Chart version. Use = prefix for exact version match: "=1.18.2"
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spec.chart.spec.sourceRef
object
required
Reference to the HelmRepository containing the chart
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spec.interval
string
default:"1h"
How often to check for chart updates. Examples: 1m0s, 10m, 24h
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spec.releaseName
string
Name of the Helm release. Defaults to HelmRelease metadata name.
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spec.targetNamespace
string
Namespace where the release will be installed
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spec.install.crds
string
default:"Skip"
How to handle CRDs during installation: Skip, Create, or CreateReplace
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spec.upgrade.crds
string
default:"Skip"
How to handle CRDs during upgrades: Skip, Create, or CreateReplace
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spec.values
object
Custom values to pass to the Helm chart
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spec.timeout
string
default:"5m"
Timeout for installation/upgrade operations
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spec.dependsOn
array
List of HelmReleases or Kustomizations that must succeed first

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Upgrade Strategies

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Automatic Updates

Flux automatically upgrades releases when:
  • The chart version changes in the HelmRelease
  • Values are updated
  • The interval elapses and a new chart version is available

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Version Pinning

Pin to exact versions using = prefix: 
version: "=1.18.2"  # Exact version
version: ">=1.18.0" # Minimum version
version: "~1.18.0"  # Patch updates only

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Rollback Configuration

spec:
  upgrade:
    remediation:
      retries: 3
      remediateLastFailure: true
  rollback:
    timeout: 10m
    recreate: true

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Testing Changes

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Dry Run

Test without applying: 
flux diff helmrelease cert-manager -n flux-system

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Manual Upgrade

Force an immediate upgrade: 
flux reconcile helmrelease cert-manager -n flux-system --with-source

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Suspend Auto-Updates

flux suspend helmrelease prometheus
flux resume helmrelease prometheus

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Monitoring Releases

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Check Status

flux get helmreleases --all-namespaces
kubectl get helmrelease -A

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View Release History

helm history prometheus -n observability

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Check Logs

flux logs --level=error --kind=HelmRelease

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