How to manage helm image tag deployments?

@ryleigh 

There are several ways to manage Helm image tag deployments. Here are a few approaches you can consider:

1. Manual Updates: You can manually update the image tag by modifying the values.yaml file or using the --set flag during Helm installation or upgrade. This allows you to specify the new image tag value each time you deploy or upgrade your Helm chart.
2. Templating with Variables: You can use Helm template variables in your values.yaml file to represent the image tag. By defining a separate variable for the image tag, you can easily update it when needed. For example: image: repository: my-app tag: {{ .Values.imageTag }} Then, during Helm installation or upgrade, you can set the value of .Values.imageTag using the --set flag: helm install my-app . --set imageTag=v1.2.3 This approach allows you to easily manage and update the image tag without modifying the Helm chart itself.
3. Helm Chart Hooks: Helm provides pre-install and pre-upgrade hooks that you can use to automate the process of updating the image tag. You can define a script or template that retrieves the latest image tag from a repository or registry and sets it as a Helm variable before deploying the chart. For example, you can create a pre-install hook in your Helm chart that uses the Helm exec command to run a script that retrieves the latest image tag: hooks: pre-install: - name: update-image-tag path: scripts/update-image-tag.sh The update-image-tag.sh script can then update the value of the image.tag variable in the values.yaml file before the deployment.
4. Automated CI/CD Pipelines: If you are using a CI/CD tool, you can integrate it with your Helm deployment process. For example, you can use GitOps workflows with tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, or GitHub Actions to automatically update and deploy your Helm charts when a new image tag is available. The CI/CD pipeline can update the image tag in the Helm values file or use variables to control the image tag during the deployment process.

Choose the method that best suits your needs and preferences based on the complexity and automation required for managing image tag deployments in your environment.