Helm is the package manager for Kubernetes. It helps you define, install, and manage Kubernetes applications through charts. Helm simplifies deployment, versioning, and rollback of Kubernetes resources.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through installing Helm on Ubuntu and verifying the installation.

Prerequisites

• Ubuntu 22.04, 20.04, or 18.04
• Access to a terminal with sudo privileges
• Kubernetes cluster or minikube (optional for testing)
• curl or wget installed

Step 1: Update Your System

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Download the Helm Installation Script

The Helm team provides an installation script for Linux:

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/helm/helm/main/scripts/get-helm-3 | bash

This script automatically detects your OS and installs the latest stable Helm version.

Step 3: Verify Helm Installation

Check the Helm version to confirm successful installation:

helm version

Expected output:

version.BuildInfo{Version:"v3.x.x", GitCommit:"...", GitTreeState:"clean", GoVersion:"go1.x"}

Step 4: (Optional) Install Specific Helm Version

If you want a specific version, download the binary directly from Helm releases:

wget https://get.helm.sh/helm-v3.12.0-linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar -zxvf helm-v3.12.0-linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo mv linux-amd64/helm /usr/local/bin/helm
helm version

Step 5: Add Helm Repositories

Helm uses repositories to store charts. Add the official stable repository:

helm repo add stable https://charts.helm.sh/stable
helm repo update

Step 6: Install a Sample Chart

Test Helm by installing a sample NGINX chart:

helm install my-nginx stable/nginx-ingress

Verify that the release was installed:

helm list

Step 7: Upgrade and Rollback

Helm allows easy upgrades and rollbacks:

helm upgrade my-nginx stable/nginx-ingress
helm rollback my-nginx 1

Step 8: Uninstall a Helm Release

helm uninstall my-nginx

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve installed Helm on Ubuntu and learned how to add repositories, install charts, upgrade, rollback, and uninstall releases. Helm makes managing Kubernetes applications simple and efficient.

Next, you can explore more Helm charts for databases, monitoring, or CI/CD tools to automate deployments in your Kubernetes cluster.