How to use the Helm Chart Engineering agent skill

What the Helm skill makes the agent do

An agent skill is a set of written instructions that an AI agent loads when a task matches it. This one is defined in a single file, SKILL.md, and tells the agent to work as a senior Kubernetes engineer focused on Helm, the packaging tool for Kubernetes applications.

In practice the agent structures charts with Chart.yaml, values.yaml, templates/, charts/ and templates/tests/. It puts repeated template fragments such as labels and names into named templates in _helpers.tpl, uses standard app.kubernetes.io labels, and documents each value in values.yaml. It also sets up dependencies with condition fields, hooks with helm.sh/hook annotations, and per-environment overlay files.

• Chart structure and reusable named templates
• Configurable values files with documented defaults
• Dependency handling with optional subcharts
• Hooks for ordered operations such as migrations
• Environment-specific overrides for dev, staging and production
• Warnings about hardcoded namespaces, secrets in committed values files and missing resource limits

How to install the Helm skill

The skill is distributed as a ZIP file from this page. Download it and unzip it into one of two locations, depending on how you want to use it.

For a personal setup available across your projects, unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, unzip it into the .claude/skills/ folder inside that project. After unzipping, the helm folder should contain SKILL.md.

If you use the Claude apps instead, you can upload the ZIP under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.

• Personal: ~/.claude/skills/
• Project only: .claude/skills/ inside your project
• Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload the ZIP

How to trigger the skill with a natural request

You do not need a special command. Describe a Helm task in plain language that matches the skill's purpose, such as creating a chart, adding an environment overlay, adding a dependency, or reviewing an existing chart. The agent uses the skill when the request fits.

Be specific about your situation. Mention the application, the environments you deploy to, and whether charts are for your own app or a shared library. Specific requests produce chart code that fits your setup more closely.

• Create a Helm chart for a Go web service with a configurable ingress and a database migration hook before install and upgrade.
• Refactor my existing chart so the namespace is not hardcoded and secrets are not stored in values-prod.yaml.
• Add values-staging.yaml and values-prod.yaml overlays to this chart and explain the override order.
• Review this chart for missing resource requests and limits.

Examples of what you get back

For a migration step, the skill uses a Helm hook. A pre-install,pre-upgrade hook with a helm.sh/hook-weight annotation lets you order operations such as running a database migration before the main Deployment is rolled out.

For environment differences, the skill keeps defaults in values.yaml and puts only differences in files such as values-prod.yaml. It explains that values are applied in this order: chart defaults, parent chart values, then -f values-prod.yaml, then --set key=value. The skill's deployment pattern is helm upgrade --install -f values-prod.yaml.

What you need before you start

The skill writes and explains chart code, but you need Helm installed to test and install charts. You need access to a Kubernetes cluster only when you deploy a chart. You do not need a cluster to write charts.

The output assumes you already understand Kubernetes deployments. The skill does not teach the basics, so if you are new to Kubernetes, learn its core concepts first.

• Helm (the CLI tool) to test and install charts
• Access to a Kubernetes cluster to deploy charts (not needed for writing them)

Safety notes: scripts and network

The skill file contains no executable scripts, and it does not use the network. It only provides instructions that shape what the agent writes and explains.

The generated charts and helm commands are still your responsibility. A wrong chart or command can disrupt a real deployment, so review generated code before you run it, and do not apply production changes without review. The skill's guidance also recommends using --atomic in CI/CD pipelines so a failed release does not leave resources in a broken state, and keeping secrets out of committed values files by using external secret operators or injecting them with --set from CI secrets.

• No scripts are included in the skill.
• No network access is used by the skill.
• Review every chart and helm command before running it against a real cluster.
• Use --atomic for helm install in CI/CD pipelines.
• Do not commit secrets in values.yaml; use External Secrets, Sealed Secrets or CI-injected --set values.

Tips for better results

Give the agent your existing chart files or a clear description of them, so it can refactor rather than start over. Ask it to document every value, since the skill treats undocumented values as unusable. Ask it to check resource requests and limits in default values, because the skill flags deployments without them as a common pitfall.

Test generated charts with Helm before installing them. Keep your environment overlays small so differences between dev, staging and production are easy to see.

• Share your current chart structure when refactoring.
• Ask for documented values with type and default.
• Ask for a review against the skill's pitfalls list.
• Test with Helm before deploying to any cluster.