GitLab CI Integration

Learn how to automate your Helm chart publishing workflow using GitLab CI/CD.

Pipeline Configuration

Create the following pipeline configuration in your repository:

.gitlab-ci.yml

variables:
  HELM_VERSION: "3.12.0"

stages:
  - lint
  - test
  - publish

.helm_setup: &helm_setup |
  curl -fsSL -o get_helm.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/helm/helm/main/scripts/get-helm-3
  chmod 700 get_helm.sh
  ./get_helm.sh --version $HELM_VERSION
  helm repo add helmbay https://charts.helmbay.com/$HELMBAY_REPO
  helm repo update

lint:
  stage: lint
  image: alpine/helm:$HELM_VERSION
  script:
    - |
      for chart in charts/*; do
        if [ -d "$chart" ]; then
          helm lint "$chart"
        fi
      done

test:
  stage: test
  image: alpine/helm:$HELM_VERSION
  services:
    - docker:dind
  variables:
    KUBECONFIG: /etc/deploy/config
  before_script:
    - *helm_setup
  script:
    - |
      for chart in charts/*; do
        if [ -d "$chart" ]; then
          helm install test-release "$chart" --dry-run
        fi
      done

publish:
  stage: publish
  image: alpine/helm:$HELM_VERSION
  rules:
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == $CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH
  before_script:
    - *helm_setup
  script:
    - |
      for chart in charts/*; do
        if [ -d "$chart" ]; then
          helm package "$chart"
          helm push ${chart##*/}-*.tgz oci://charts.helmbay.com/$HELMBAY_REPO
        fi
      done

Required Variables

Configure the following variables in your GitLab CI/CD settings:

Name	Type	Description
HELMBAY_TOKEN Required	Variable	API token for authentication
HELMBAY_REPO Required	Variable	Repository name in Helmbay

Best Practices

Pipeline Structure

Use stages for organized workflow
Implement proper caching
Keep configuration DRY with anchors
Use specific image versions

Security

Use GitLab CI/CD variables
Implement protected branches
Scan for vulnerabilities
Regular credential rotation

Testing

Run comprehensive tests
Validate chart templates
Test with multiple K8s versions
Archive test artifacts

Examples

Advanced Pipeline

Example with matrix testing and parallel jobs

.gitlab-ci.yml

include:
  - template: Security/Container-Scanning.gitlab-ci.yml

.test_template: &test_definition
  stage: test
  script:
    - helm dependency build
    - helm template --debug .
    - helm install --dry-run --debug .

test:k8s-1.24:
  <<: *test_definition
  image: alpine/helm:3.12.0
  variables:
    KUBE_VERSION: "1.24.0"

test:k8s-1.25:
  <<: *test_definition
  image: alpine/helm:3.12.0
  variables:
    KUBE_VERSION: "1.25.0"

Troubleshooting

Authentication failures

Verify HELMBAY_TOKEN is correctly set in CI/CD variables

helm registry login -u _ -p $HELMBAY_TOKEN charts.helmbay.com

Pipeline timeouts

Adjust timeout settings in config

timeout: 2h

Cache issues

Clear pipeline caches

gitlab-runner cache-clear

Next Steps

Learn how to integrate with other CI/CD platforms.

GitHub Actions Guide → Jenkins Guide →