# Helm

> Apache-2.0 Kubernetes package manager

**Category:** DevOps  
**Pricing:** open-source  
**URL:** https://helm.sh  
**GitHub:** https://github.com/helm/helm  
**Added:** 2026-09-06

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## The Hook

Helm is the chart package manager when you want to install and upgrade Kubernetes apps as versioned releases, not raw YAML sprawl.

## What's Good

Apache-2.0 CNCF. Charts, values overrides, release history, rollback. De-facto packaging lane for most K8s apps. Huge public chart ecosystem and OCI chart support.

## The Catch

K8s package manager - not Argo CD/Flux GitOps sync, not a cluster itself. Templating can become spaghetti; you still own values, secrets, and upgrade discipline. Not Kamal/Coolify for VMs.

## Verdict

Apache-2.0 K8s packaging. Free forever; GitOps tools are a different layer.