Deploy apps using Helm Chart

This guide demonstrates how to deploy Helm charts with Argo CD. You will learn two common workflows:

Deploy a Helm chart stored in a Git repository.
Deploy a Helm chart from a remote Helm repository (Bitnami).

We’ll show how chart defaults in values.yaml are used and how to override those values when creating an Argo CD Application (via the CLI and the UI).

1) Deploy a Helm chart from a Git repository

In the demo repo, the Helm chart is located at helm-chart/ and contains three templates—ConfigMap, Deployment, and Service. The chart uses values.yaml to supply defaults such as shape colors and the Service type. Example chart layout:

> Git Repository
└── helm-chart
    ├── Chart.yaml
    ├── templates
    │   ├── NOTES.txt
    │   ├── _helpers.tpl
    │   ├── configmap.yaml
    │   ├── deployment.yaml
    │   └── service.yaml
    └── values.yaml

Important: values.yaml provides default values (for example, default shape color black and Service type ClusterIP). You can override these when creating the Argo CD Application using --helm-set flags (CLI) or via the Argo CD UI. Create the Argo CD application from the Git repo while overriding some chart values:

argocd app create random-shapes \
  --repo https://github.com/sidd-harth/test-cd.git \
  --path helm-chart \
  --helm-set replicaCount=2 \
  --helm-set color.circle=pink \
  --helm-set color.square=green \
  --helm-set service.type=NodePort \
  --dest-namespace default \
  --dest-server https://kubernetes.default.svc

Expected response:

application 'random-shapes' created

Quick reference: flags used when creating the application

Flag	Purpose	Example
`--repo`	Git repository URL that contains the chart	`https://github.com/sidd-harth/test-cd.git`
`--path`	Path inside the repo to the chart	`helm-chart`
`--helm-set`	Override values from `values.yaml`	`--helm-set color.circle=pink`
`--dest-namespace`	Target Kubernetes namespace	`default`
`--dest-server`	Target Kubernetes API server	`https://kubernetes.default.svc`

After creating the Application, it will initially appear as OutOfSync in the Argo CD UI. Synchronize it from the UI or run:

argocd app sync random-shapes

Argo CD renders the Helm templates and applies the resulting Kubernetes manifests (ConfigMap, Deployment, Service) into the target namespace. You can inspect the rendered manifests in the UI under App Details → Manifests. Retrieve application metadata, sync status, and health with:

argocd app get random-shapes

Sample excerpted output:

Name:            random-shapes
Project:         default
Server:          https://kubernetes.default.svc
Namespace:       default
Repo:            https://github.com/sidd-harth/test-cd.git
Path:            helm-chart
Sync Status:     Synced
Health Status:   Healthy

GROUP    KIND        NAMESPACE   NAME             STATUS   HEALTH   MESSAGE
core     ConfigMap   default     random-shapes    Synced   Healthy  configmap/... created
apps     Deployment  default     random-shapes    Synced   Healthy  deployment.apps/... created
core     Service     default     random-shapes    Synced   Healthy  service/... created

When you access the Service (we used NodePort in the example), the chart-rendered page should reflect overridden values—e.g., the circle in pink and the square in green while other shapes use the default black.

Argo CD renders Helm chart templates into plain Kubernetes manifests and applies them directly. Argo CD does not install Helm release metadata into the cluster; therefore helm ls will not display releases for Argo CD–managed applications.

2) Deploy a Helm chart from a Helm repository (Bitnami)

Argo CD can also use remote Helm repositories (for example, the Bitnami charts index at https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami) as a source for Applications. Add a Helm repo in the Argo CD UI with these example values:

Type: Helm
Name: Bitnami Helm Charts
URL: https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
(Optional) credentials/TLS if the repo is private

After adding the repo, create a new Application in the Argo CD UI and select the Helm repository. The UI will display available charts and versions from that repository. For this demo, select the nginx chart and choose a version such as 12.0.3. In the chart’s Helm options you can override values (for example, change the Service type to NodePort to expose the app on a node port). CLI example creating an Application that points directly to the Bitnami Helm repo:

argocd app create nginx \
  --repo https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami \
  --helm-chart nginx \
  --revision 12.0.3 \
  --dest-namespace bitnami \
  --dest-server https://kubernetes.default.svc

Expected response:

application 'nginx' created

Sync the Application to apply the rendered manifests:

argocd app sync nginx

After sync, Argo CD will have applied the chart-rendered manifests (commonly a Deployment and a Service for the nginx chart). To find the assigned NodePort:

kubectl -n bitnami get svc
# Look for PORT(S) such as 80:31640/TCP -> NodePort 31640

Then visit the node IP and the NodePort to verify the “Welcome to nginx” page. Inspect application metadata:

argocd app get nginx

Sample excerpt (showing Helm source and applied version):

Name: nginx
Project: default
Server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
Namespace: bitnami
Repo: https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
Target: 12.0.3
Sync Status: Synced to 12.0.3
Health Status: Healthy

GROUP   KIND        NAMESPACE   NAME    STATUS  HEALTH  MESSAGE
core    Service     bitnami     nginx   Synced  Healthy service/nginx created
apps    Deployment  bitnami     nginx   Synced  Healthy deployment.apps/nginx created

Quick comparison: Git-hosted chart vs. remote Helm repo

Source Type	How Argo CD Reads It	Overrides	When to Use
Git repo (chart in repo)	Argo CD uses `--path` to find the chart and renders templates from repository files.	`--helm-set` (CLI) or UI overrides	When you want chart versioning together with application code or custom charts maintained in Git
Remote Helm repo (e.g., Bitnami)	Argo CD reads the chart and versions listed by the Helm index at the repo URL.	`--helm-set` (CLI) or UI overrides	When using community charts or centralized chart repositories

Recap

Argo CD can deploy Helm charts located in a Git repository or in remote Helm repositories.
Use --helm-set flags (CLI) or the Argo CD UI to override values from values.yaml at Application creation.
Argo CD renders Helm templates and manages the resulting Kubernetes manifests; the Helm client will not show Argo CD–managed Applications via helm ls.
Use argocd app get <app-name> to inspect application metadata, applied resources, sync status, and health.

Links and References

That’s all for now.

Introduction

GitOps Introduction

ArgoCD Basics

ArgoCD Intermediate

ArgoCD Advanced/Admin

ArgoCD with Jenkins CI Pipeline

Deploy apps using Helm Chart

1) Deploy a Helm chart from a Git repository

2) Deploy a Helm chart from a Helm repository (Bitnami)

Quick comparison: Git-hosted chart vs. remote Helm repo

Recap

Links and References

Watch Video

​1) Deploy a Helm chart from a Git repository

​2) Deploy a Helm chart from a Helm repository (Bitnami)

​Quick comparison: Git-hosted chart vs. remote Helm repo

​Recap

​Links and References

Watch Video

1) Deploy a Helm chart from a Git repository

2) Deploy a Helm chart from a Helm repository (Bitnami)

Quick comparison: Git-hosted chart vs. remote Helm repo

Recap

Links and References