DEMO HELM Controller with Helm Repository as Source

In this walkthrough, we’ll package a Helm chart as a .tgz artifact, host it in a Helm repository (via GitHub Pages and Artifact Hub), then use Flux’s Source Controller and Helm Controller to automate its deployment.

1. Helm Chart Package on GitHub Releases

We’ve bundled our application into block-buster-helm-app-7.6.0.tgz and published it on the GitHub Releases page. Below is an example of the default values.yaml included in the chart:

# Sample values.yaml (for reference)
replicaCount: 1

service:
  type: NodePort
  nodePort: 30006

namespace:
  name: 6-demo

2. Chart Listing on Artifact Hub

Our chart is also discoverable on Artifact Hub. Artifact Hub provides metadata, download statistics, and security reports for Helm charts.

# Extended sample values.yaml
replicaCount: 1

service:
  type: NodePort
  nodePort: 30006

namespace:
  name: 6-demo

labels:
  app:
    name: block-buster
    version: 7.6.0
    env: dev

You could install manually:

helm repo add block-buster-app https://sidd-harth.github.io/block-buster-helm-app/
helm install my-block-buster-helm-app block-buster-app/block-buster-helm-app --version 7.6.0

3. Defining a HelmRepository in Flux

To automate updates, Flux’s Source Controller can track the Helm repository for new chart versions.

cd block-buster/flux-clusters/dev-cluster/

flux create source helm 6-demo-source-helm-bb-app \
  --url https://sidd-harth.github.io/block-buster-helm-app \
  --interval 1m \
  --timeout 10s \
  --export > 6-demo-source-helm-bb-app.yaml

This generates:

apiVersion: source.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v1beta2
kind: HelmRepository
metadata:
  name: 6-demo-source-helm-bb-app
  namespace: flux-system
spec:
  url: https://sidd-harth.github.io/block-buster-helm-app
  interval: 1m0s
  timeout: 10s

4. Customizing Chart Values

Create a file named 6-demo-values.yaml to override default settings:

replicaCount: 2

service:
  type: NodePort
  nodePort: 30006

namespace:
  name: 6-demo

labels:
  app:
    name: block-buster
    version: 7.6.0
    env: dev

Save it alongside your Flux manifests.

5. Creating a HelmRelease with Flux

Now define a HelmRelease to instruct Flux’s Helm Controller to deploy the chart:

flux create helmrelease 6-demo-helm-release-bb-app \
  --chart block-buster-helm-app \
  --interval 10s \
  --target-namespace 6-demo \
  --source HelmRepository/6-demo-source-helm-bb-app \
  --values 6-demo-values.yaml \
  --export > 6-demo-helm-release-bb-app.yaml

Generated manifest:

apiVersion: helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2beta1
kind: HelmRelease
metadata:
  name: 6-demo-helm-release-bb-app
  namespace: flux-system
spec:
  interval: 10s
  targetNamespace: 6-demo
  chart:
    spec:
      chart: block-buster-helm-app
      sourceRef:
        kind: HelmRepository
        name: 6-demo-source-helm-bb-app
      reconcileStrategy: ChartVersion
  values:
    replicaCount: 2
    service:
      type: NodePort
      nodePort: 30006
    namespace:
      name: 6-demo
    labels:
      app:
        name: block-buster
        version: 7.6.0
        env: dev

6. Committing to Git and Triggering Flux

git add \
  6-demo-source-helm-bb-app.yaml \
  6-demo-helm-release-bb-app.yaml \
  6-demo-values.yaml

git commit -m "Add HelmRepository and HelmRelease for block-buster-app v7.6.0"
git push

Flux will detect the new manifests and begin reconciliation.

7. Verifying Flux Resources

Check the status of your HelmRepository:

flux get sources helm -n flux-system

NAME                          READY  MESSAGE
6-demo-source-helm-bb-app     True   stored artifact: revision 'sha256:...'

List all source types:

flux get sources -A

Inspect your HelmRelease:

flux get helmreleases -A

NAME                          READY  MESSAGE
6-demo-helm-release-bb-app    True   Release reconciliation succeeded

8. Exploring Source Controller Data

Enter the source-controller pod to view how Flux stores chart artifacts:

kubectl -n flux-system exec deploy/source-controller -- sh
/data$ ls -d */
gitrepository/  bucket/  helmchart/  helmrepository/
/data$ cd helmrepository/flux-system/6-demo-source-helm-bb-app/
/data/helmrepository/...$ cat index-*.yaml
/data$ cd ../helmchart/flux-system/6-demo-helm-release-bb-app/
/data/...$ tar -tf latest.tar.gz
# Shows Chart.yaml, values.yaml, templates/, etc.

9. Validating the Deployment

Once reconciled, Flux will create the target namespace (6-demo) and deploy your app:

kubectl -n 6-demo get all

You should see:

• 2 Pods (as per replicaCount)
• A Deployment
• A NodePort Service on port 30006

Access the game in your browser:

http://<node-ip>:30006

Links and References

• Flux Documentation
• Helm Documentation
• Artifact Hub
• Kubernetes Basics

Congratulations—you’ve automated the deployment of a Helm chart .tgz artifact using Flux’s Helm Controller and Source Controller!