# Helmfile — Declarative Helm Chart Deployment Manager

> A declarative spec for deploying multiple Helm charts as a single unit, enabling environment-specific overrides, dependency ordering, and diff-based previews before apply.

## Install

Save the content below to `.claude/skills/` or append to your `CLAUDE.md`:

# Helmfile — Declarative Helm Chart Deployment Manager

## Quick Use
```bash
# Install
brew install helmfile
# or
go install github.com/helmfile/helmfile@latest

# Create helmfile.yaml
cat > helmfile.yaml <<EOF
repositories:
  - name: prometheus
    url: https://prometheus-community.github.io/helm-charts
releases:
  - name: prom-stack
    namespace: monitoring
    chart: prometheus/kube-prometheus-stack
    version: 60.0.0
EOF

# Preview and apply
helmfile diff
helmfile apply
```

## Introduction
Helmfile solves the multi-chart deployment problem that Helm alone leaves to scripts. Instead of running `helm install` commands one by one, you declare all releases in a single file with environment overrides, and Helmfile handles ordering, diffing, and idempotent applies.

## What Helmfile Does
- Declares multiple Helm releases in a single YAML specification file
- Supports environment-specific value overrides for dev, staging, and production
- Shows a colorized diff of pending changes before applying with `helmfile diff`
- Resolves inter-release dependencies and applies in the correct order
- Integrates with helm-secrets for encrypted value files using SOPS or AGE

## Architecture Overview
Helmfile is a Go binary that reads helmfile.yaml, resolves Go templates and environment values, then orchestrates Helm CLI commands. It shells out to `helm` for each release operation but adds dependency resolution, parallel execution, and a diff layer via the helm-diff plugin. State is tracked by Helm itself via release secrets in the cluster.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Single binary with no daemon or server component
- Define environments in helmfile.yaml with per-environment values files
- Use Go templating to dynamically generate release lists from variables
- Encrypt sensitive values with helm-secrets and SOPS for secure GitOps
- Store helmfile.yaml alongside application code for version-controlled deployments

## Key Features
- `helmfile diff` previews exactly what will change before any mutation
- Environment layering: base values + environment overrides in a clean hierarchy
- Parallel release processing with configurable concurrency limits
- Hooks for pre/post install, upgrade, and delete lifecycle events
- Glob and label selectors to target subsets of releases

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **Helm** — manages individual charts; Helmfile orchestrates multiple charts together
- **Kustomize** — patches raw YAML, no Helm chart support built in
- **ArgoCD** — GitOps controller that can consume Helmfile as a config source
- **Terraform Helm provider** — embeds Helm in Terraform state, heavier workflow
- **Flux HelmRelease** — GitOps CRD for Helm; Helmfile is imperative CLI-driven

## FAQ
**Q: Does Helmfile replace Helm?**
A: No. Helmfile wraps and orchestrates Helm. You still need Helm installed as Helmfile calls it under the hood.

**Q: Can I use Helmfile with ArgoCD?**
A: Yes. The ArgoCD Helmfile plugin renders Helmfile templates into manifests that ArgoCD can sync and manage.

**Q: How do I manage secrets in Helmfile?**
A: Use the helm-secrets plugin with SOPS or AGE encryption. Reference encrypted values files in your helmfile.yaml and they are decrypted at apply time.

**Q: Does Helmfile support Helm OCI registries?**
A: Yes. Helmfile works with Helm v3 OCI chart references, allowing you to pull charts from container registries like GHCR or ECR.

## Sources
- https://github.com/helmfile/helmfile
- https://helmfile.readthedocs.io

---
Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/helmfile-declarative-helm-chart-deployment-manager-6236585c
Author: Script Depot