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Install Helm and deploy your first chart (Linux)

Install Helm — the Kubernetes package manager — with the official script, then add a repository and deploy a demo app from a chart in a couple of commands.

Distrosubuntu, debian
Shellbash
Updated
Script
bash
# Install Helm (the Kubernetes package manager) and deploy your first chart.
# Prerequisite: a working cluster with kubectl/KUBECONFIG already configured.

# 1. Install the latest Helm with the official script.
curl -fsSL -o get_helm.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/helm/helm/main/scripts/get-helm-4
chmod 700 get_helm.sh
./get_helm.sh

# 2. Verify the install.
helm version

# 3. Add a chart repository, refresh the index, and install a demo app.
helm repo add podinfo https://stefanprodan.github.io/podinfo
helm repo update
helm install my-demo podinfo/podinfo

# 4. List your releases. Uninstall cleanly when you're done experimenting.
helm list
# helm uninstall my-demo

What this does

This installs Helm, the package manager for Kubernetes, using the project’s official install script, then walks the core workflow: add a repository, install a chart to create a named release, and list what’s running. The example deploys podinfo — a tiny demo microservice made for exactly this — so you can prove the whole loop safely before pointing Helm at real apps.

It’s the copy-paste version of Task 3 in How and When to Use Kubernetes in a Homelab.

Prerequisites

  • A working Kubernetes cluster and a configured kubectl — Helm talks to the same cluster kubectl does. On k3s, either run as root with export KUBECONFIG=/etc/rancher/k3s/k3s.yaml or copy that file to ~/.kube/config.
  • curl available and outbound HTTPS to GitHub (for the install script) and to the chart repository.

Notes

  • Read the script before you pipe it. Downloading get-helm-4 to a file first (as above) lets you inspect it before running — good habit for any curl | bash-style installer. The official docs recommend the same.
  • Package-manager alternative. On Debian/Ubuntu you can install Helm from its APT repository instead of the script, and on macOS via brew install helm. The script just always gives you the latest release.
  • Charts, repositories, releases. A chart is the package, a repository is where charts live, and a release is one installed instance with a name you choose (my-demo here). Install the same chart twice under two names and you get two independent releases.
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