Helm is the package manager for Kubernetes. It uses Charts — collections of pre-configured Kubernetes resource files — to deploy applications consistently. This guide installs Helm on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and demonstrates deploying a chart.

Tested and valid on:

  • Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

Prerequisites

  • Ubuntu 24.04 LTS server
  • kubectl configured to access a Kubernetes cluster
  • A user with sudo privileges

Step 1 – Install Helm

Install Helm using the official script:

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

Step 2 – Verify the Installation

Check the version:

helm version

Step 3 – Add the Stable Chart Repository

Add the Bitnami charts repository:

helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
helm repo update

Step 4 – Search for Charts

Search the Bitnami repo:

helm search repo bitnami | head -20

Step 5 – Install a Chart

Deploy Nginx with Helm:

helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx --namespace default

Check the deployment:

kubectl get pods
kubectl get services

Step 6 – Customise a Chart with values.yaml

Inspect default values:

helm show values bitnami/nginx > my-values.yaml

Edit my-values.yaml and upgrade the release:

helm upgrade my-nginx bitnami/nginx -f my-values.yaml

Step 7 – List, Rollback, and Uninstall

Manage Helm releases:

helm list
helm history my-nginx
helm rollback my-nginx 1
helm uninstall my-nginx

Conclusion

Helm is now installed on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. Use it to deploy databases, message queues, and monitoring stacks from community-maintained charts with a single command.