Section 3: Helm as a Package Manager (Pre-Built Charts)

3.1 What This Section Covers

Helm can be used as a package manager to install and manage existing charts (applications/controllers) from repositories — similar to apt or yum for Linux.

This section covers:

  • Searching charts
  • Adding/removing repositories
  • Installing/upgrading from repos
  • Installing specific versions
  • Using alternative install methods (helm pull)
  • Practical examples for CKA exam context
## 3.2 Searching Charts on Artifact Hub

Artifact Hub ([https://artifacthub.io/](https://artifacthub.io/)) is the central registry for Helm charts.

**Example:** Find `nginx` charts:


# Search directly on Artifact Hub website
# OR search from CLI using the hub plugin
helm search hub nginx

This searches the global hub, not your local repos.

3.3 Adding a Repository

helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
  • bitnami: Local alias for the repo
  • URL: Location of chart index

3.4 Listing All Repositories

helm repo list

Shows all repos your cluster knows about.

3.5 Removing a Repository

helm repo remove bitnami

Removes the repo alias and its index.

3.6 Searching in Local Repos

helm search repo nginx

Searches only the repos you have added locally.

3.7 Installing from a Repo

helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx
  • my-nginx: Release name in cluster
  • bitnami/nginx: repo/chart name

3.8 Installing a Specific Version

helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx --version 9.3.5

Useful when you need exact chart versions.

3.9 Upgrading from a Repo

helm upgrade my-nginx bitnami/nginx

Upgrades the release to the latest available version.

3.10 Alternative Install Method: Pull & Untar

# Download chart to local
helm pull bitnami/nginx --untar

# Install from local directory
helm install my-nginx ./nginx

This method is useful for customizing before installation.

3.11 Uninstalling a Release

helm uninstall my-nginx

Removes all Kubernetes objects created by the chart.

3.12 Examples

  1. Install ingress-nginx from Bitnami repo
helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
helm install ingress bitnami/nginx-ingress-controller
  1. Upgrade cert-manager from repo
helm upgrade cert-manager jetstack/cert-manager \
  --namespace cert-manager \
  --version v1.11.0

✅ Exam Tip: Always run helm repo update before searching or installing to avoid outdated indexes.