Override Chart Values for Environments

Beginner8 min

Customize Helm chart behavior using values files and --set flags to manage configurations across development, staging, and production environments.

Prerequisites

-Helm 3 installed
-A Helm chart to configure

Steps

View default chart values

Inspect all configurable values and their defaults for a chart.

$ helm show values bitnami/nginx > default-values.yaml

Redirect to a file so you can use it as a starting point for your custom values.

Create an environment-specific values file

Write a values file tailored for production settings.

$ cat > values-production.yaml << 'EOF' replicaCount: 3 resources: requests: cpu: 250m memory: 256Mi limits: cpu: 500m memory: 512Mi autoscaling: enabled: true minReplicas: 3 maxReplicas: 10 targetCPUUtilizationPercentage: 75 EOF

Install using a custom values file

Deploy the chart with your environment-specific overrides.

$ helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx -f values-production.yaml --namespace production --create-namespace

Layer multiple values files

Combine a base config with environment-specific overrides. Later files take precedence.

$ helm install my-nginx bitnami/nginx -f values-base.yaml -f values-production.yaml -f values-secrets.yaml

Files are merged left to right. The rightmost file wins for conflicting keys.

Override individual values from the command line

Set specific values without modifying files, useful for CI/CD.

$ helm upgrade my-nginx bitnami/nginx -f values-production.yaml --set image.tag=1.25.3 --set service.type=LoadBalancer

Command-line --set values override everything, including values files. Use sparingly to keep configurations reproducible.

Full Script

full-script.sh

#!/bin/bash
# Helm Values Override Workflow
set -euo pipefail

CHART=${1:?"Usage: $0 <chart> <release> <environment>"}
RELEASE=${2:?"Missing release name"}
ENV=${3:?"Missing environment (dev|staging|production)"}

VALUES_FILE="values-$ENV.yaml"

if [ ! -f "$VALUES_FILE" ]; then
  echo "Error: $VALUES_FILE not found"
  echo "Creating template..."
  helm show values "$CHART" > "$VALUES_FILE"
  echo "Edit $VALUES_FILE and re-run this script"
  exit 1
fi

echo "=== Deploying $RELEASE to $ENV ==="
echo "Chart: $CHART"
echo "Values: $VALUES_FILE"

echo ""
echo "=== Rendered Values Preview ==="
helm template "$RELEASE" "$CHART" -f "$VALUES_FILE" --show-only templates/deployment.yaml 2>/dev/null | head -30

echo ""
echo "=== Installing/Upgrading ==="
helm upgrade --install "$RELEASE" "$CHART" \
  -f "$VALUES_FILE" \
  --namespace "$ENV" \
  --create-namespace \
  --atomic \
  --timeout 5m

echo ""
echo "=== Deployed Values ==="
helm get values "$RELEASE" -n "$ENV"

FAQ

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#!/bin/bash # Helm Values Override Workflow set -euo pipefail CHART=${1:?"Usage: $0 <chart> <release> <environment>"} RELEASE=${2:?"Missing release name"} ENV=${3:?"Missing environment (dev|staging|production)"} VALUES_FILE="values-$ENV.yaml" if [ ! -f "$VALUES_FILE" ]; then echo "Error: $VALUES_FILE not found" echo "Creating template..." helm show values "$CHART" > "$VALUES_FILE" echo "Edit $VALUES_FILE and re-run this script" exit 1 fi echo "=== Deploying $RELEASE to $ENV ===" echo "Chart: $CHART" echo "Values: $VALUES_FILE" echo "" echo "=== Rendered Values Preview ===" helm template "$RELEASE" "$CHART" -f "$VALUES_FILE" --show-only templates/deployment.yaml 2>/dev/null | head -30 echo "" echo "=== Installing/Upgrading ===" helm upgrade --install "$RELEASE" "$CHART" \ -f "$VALUES_FILE" \ --namespace "$ENV" \ --create-namespace \ --atomic \ --timeout 5m echo "" echo "=== Deployed Values ===" helm get values "$RELEASE" -n "$ENV"