beginnerpackaging

What are Helm charts and what is their folder structure?

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Quick Answer

A Helm chart packages Kubernetes manifests as versioned, parameterized templates. Its structure includes Chart.yaml (metadata), values.yaml (defaults), templates/ (the templated manifests), charts/ (dependencies), and README.md.

Detailed Answer

templates/ holds the YAML with Go-template placeholders (deployment.yaml, service.yaml, ingress.yaml, configmap.yaml, pvc.yaml) rendered against values, so one chart serves many environments via different values files. Chart.yaml carries the chart and app versions; charts/ vendors subchart dependencies. helm install/upgrade/rollback manage the release lifecycle.

Code Example

mychart/
  Chart.yaml
  values.yaml
  templates/
    deployment.yaml
    service.yaml
    ingress.yaml
  charts/
  README.md

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Interview Tip

Explain values.yaml + templates/ give one chart across many environments — the reuse story is what interviewers want.

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What are Helm charts and what is their folder structure?

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