Deploy the variant-api helm chart on Rancher

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

To deploy a Helm chart on a Rancher-managed Kubernetes cluster using Pulumi, you would typically follow these steps:

1. Set up a Pulumi project and stack.
2. Ensure you have access to a Rancher-managed Kubernetes cluster and that `kubectl` is configured to communicate with it.
3. Use the Pulumi Rancher2 provider to interact with your Rancher instance.
4. Deploy the Helm chart using the appropriate resources from the Pulumi Rancher2 provider.

Below, I'll provide you with a Pulumi program written in TypeScript that you can use as a starting point. The program assumes you have a Rancher Kubernetes cluster already available and `kubectl` configured to access it. Make sure you've also logged in to the Rancher API and set your credentials as environment variables or Pulumi configuration settings if required.

Here is the Pulumi program in TypeScript:

```typescript
import * as rancher2 from "@pulumi/rancher2";
import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";

// Create a new Rancher2 helm chart
const variantApiChart = new rancher2.HelmChart("variant-api", {
   // Assuming "namespace" is the namespace you want to deploy to
   namespace: "namespace-for-variant-api",
   // "chart" is the name of the chart in the repository
   chart: "variant-api",
   // "repository" is the URL for the Helm chart repository
   repository: "https://charts.my-org.com/",
   // "version" is the version of the chart you want to deploy
   version: "1.2.3",
   // You can put set values for the Helm chart release as key-value pairs here
   values: {
       key1: "value1",
       key2: "value2",
       // add other parameters as needed
   },
});

// Export the name of the chart
export const chartName = variantApiChart.metadata.apply(m => m.name);
```

In the code above:

- We import the `rancher2` module, which is the Rancher2 provider for Pulumi. This allows us to interact with a Rancher Kubernetes cluster.
- We create a new `HelmChart` resource, reffering to the [HelmChart documentation](https://www.pulumi.com/registry/packages/kubernetes/api-docs/helm/v3/chart/#helm-v3-chart).
- We specify the namespace in the Rancher cluster where we want our Helm chart to be deployed.
- We provide the name of the Helm chart (`variant-api`) and the URL of the Helm repository where the chart is hosted.
- We set the version of the chart we want to install. This should be the version of `variant-api` you intend to use.
- We pass custom values to the chart using the `values` property. Replace `key1`, `key2`, and their corresponding values with actual configuration values required for the `variant-api` chart.

You would run this program using the Pulumi CLI, which will talk to both the Helm repository and your Rancher instance to deploy the chart. Ensure your Pulumi CLI is correctly installed and log in to your Pulumi account.

Remember to replace values like `namespace-for-variant-api`, `https://charts.my-org.com/`, and the version `1.2.3` with actual values for your use case.

If you encounter any specific issues with this deployment or different requirements, be sure to adjust the configurations or reach out to the Helm chart maintainer for guidance on configuring the chart.

To run this Pulumi program, make sure you have installed Pulumi and configured it with the relevant cloud provider credentials. Then, review the Pulumi [TypeScript documentation](https://www.pulumi.com/docs/intro/languages/typescript/) for how to run the Pulumi program.