Helm
/helm/ · noun · Open Source · Origin: 2015
Definitions
The de facto package manager for Kubernetes, using templated YAML files called 'charts' to define, install, and upgrade applications. Helm charts bundle together all the Kubernetes resources an application needs (deployments, services, configs) into a versioned, shareable package. Love it or hate it, you'll encounter Helm in virtually every Kubernetes environment.
In plain English: A package manager for Kubernetes that lets you install complex applications with a single command instead of writing dozens of configuration files.
Example: Just helm install the monitoring stack — the chart handles all 47 Kubernetes resources, the Prometheus config, and the Grafana dashboards.
Etymology
- 2015
- Helm was created at Deis (later acquired by Microsoft) as a package manager for Kubernetes, borrowing the concept of 'charts' as reusable deployment templates.
- 2016
- Helm joined the Kubernetes ecosystem as an official project. Helm 2 introduced Tiller, a server-side component that managed releases inside the cluster.
- 2019
- Helm 3 removed Tiller entirely, addressing security concerns. It moved release state to Kubernetes secrets and simplified the architecture significantly.
- 2020
- Helm graduated as a CNCF project. It became the de facto standard for packaging and deploying applications on Kubernetes, with thousands of public charts available.
Origin Story
The Package Manager That Conquered Kubernetes
Helm is a package manager for Kubernetes that bundles application configurations into reusable, versioned packages called 'charts.' It was created in 2015 by engineers at Deis, a startup focused on Kubernetes tooling, to solve a growing pain point: deploying applications to Kubernetes required writing and maintaining dozens of YAML manifest files, and there was no standard way to template, share, or version them. Helm's charts provided that missing abstraction, packaging all the Kubernetes resources an application needed into a single distributable unit with configurable values. When Microsoft acquired Deis in 2017, Helm came along and gained significant enterprise backing. It was donated to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) and eventually graduated as a full CNCF project in 2020, signaling its maturity and widespread adoption. Helm 3, released in November 2019, made a major architectural change by removing Tiller, a server-side component that had been a persistent security concern. Today, Helm is the de facto standard for Kubernetes application packaging, with thousands of community-maintained charts available in the Artifact Hub repository, covering everything from databases to monitoring stacks.
Coined by: Deis (Matt Butcher and team)
Context: Created in 2015 at Deis to provide package management for Kubernetes deployments.
Fun fact: The removal of Tiller in Helm 3 was driven almost entirely by security concerns: Tiller ran with cluster-admin privileges inside the Kubernetes cluster, meaning anyone who could talk to Tiller effectively had full control of the cluster.