helmify-kustomize

helmify-kustomize is a cli tool designed to make a Kustomize folder compatible with Helm. This tool allows you to upload (pack) a Kustomize folder into an Helm chart format without converting it.

Features

• Processes each Kustomize overlays and base configurations and outputs Helm-compatible files based on provided templates.
• Packs all overlays as a single chart.
• Enables helm shipping functionality on a kustomize folder.

Installation

Esiest no installation (other then nodejs ) just use it with npx

npx helmify-kustomize <context> --chart-name example-service --target <targetFolder>

You can install it globally

npm i -g helmify-kustomize
helmify-kustomize <context> --chart-name example-service --target <targetFolder>

Usage

To use the module, run the following command:

npx helmify-kustomize <context> --target <targetFolder>

Options

• --chart-name <chartName> : The chart name to be used in Chart.yaml you can read more on the following section what is a valid char name.
• --chart-version <chartVersion> : The version of the chart to be used in Chart.yaml.
• --chart-description <chartDescription> : The description of the chart to be used in Chart.yaml.
• --target <targetFolder>: Target folder for output files (default: helm-output).
• -k-[name] * : any flag will be forwarded to the kustomize build command -k-something is converted to -something
• --k-[name] * : any flag will be forwarded to the kustomize build command --k-something is converted to --something

Example

npx helmify-kustomize ./kustomize-folder --chart-name example-service --target ./helm-chart

This command processes the Kustomize overlays and base configuration, then outputs the Helm-compatible files to the helm-output directory.

How It Works

1. The module reads the overlays and base configuration from the current working directory.
2. kustomize cli needs to be installed seperatly, helmify-kustomize executes kustomize build to process each overlay and the base configuration.
3. The output overlays are then rendered wrapped as helm chart templates and written to the target folder as templates, with a single if..else condition to activate the specific overlay template.
4. You can activate the specific overlay by defining the overlay name in the overlay parameter

Helm Chart Naming Conventions

When naming a Helm chart, there are some limitations and best practices you should follow. Here are the key considerations:

Character Set

• Chart names must consist of lower case alphanumeric characters (a-z, 0-9) and hyphens (-).
• They cannot contain spaces or special characters other than hyphens.

Length

• There is no explicit length limit for chart names, but it is good practice to keep names reasonably short and meaningful.

Start and End

• Chart names must start with a lower case letter.
• They must end with a lower case letter or a number.

DNS Compatibility

• Helm chart names should be DNS-compatible. This means they should follow the conventions used for domain names, which helps avoid issues with tools and services that expect DNS-compatible names.

Uniqueness

• Ensure that the chart name is unique within your repository to avoid conflicts.

Avoid Reserved Words

• Avoid using reserved words or names that might conflict with existing tools or services.

Examples

Valid Helm Chart Names

• my-app
• nginx-chart
• example-service

Invalid Helm Chart Names

• MyApp (uppercase letters)
• my_app (underscore character)
• my-app! (special character !)

Example of a Valid Chart.yaml

Here is a snippet of a Chart.yaml file with a valid chart name:

apiVersion: v2
name: my-app
description: A Helm chart for Kubernetes
version: 0.1.0
appVersion: 1.0.0

By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your Helm chart names are valid and compatible with Helm and Kubernetes naming conventions.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please submit a pull request or open an issue to discuss improvements or bugs.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.