Deploy the slack-git-compare helm chart on Rancher

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

Deploying a Helm chart on a Rancher-managed Kubernetes cluster involves several steps. You'll first need a Kubernetes cluster managed by Rancher and then install the desired Helm chart through Rancher's application catalog.

In this guide, we will go through the process step-by-step using Pulumi and the `rancher2` package. Although specific details such as cluster configuration and Helm chart options may vary according to your use case, we'll cover the main components you need to write a Pulumi program to deploy the `slack-git-compare` Helm chart on Rancher.

### Step 1: Setting Up Your Pulumi Project
Before you start coding, make sure you have a Pulumi project set up. You can create a new Pulumi project by running `pulumi new typescript` in your terminal and following the prompts. This will create a new directory with the necessary configuration files to start writing your Pulumi code in TypeScript.

### Step 2: Importing Necessary Libraries
You'll need to import the Pulumi library for Rancher2 in your TypeScript program. Add `rancher2` to your project dependencies using npm or yarn:

```shell
npm install @pulumi/rancher2
```

Or if you're using yarn:

```shell
yarn add @pulumi/rancher2
```

### Step 3: Writing the Pulumi Program
Now you're ready to write the TypeScript program to deploy the `slack-git-compare` Helm chart. You'll need to use the `rancher2` package for creating a new app within your Rancher cluster and point it to the `slack-git-compare` Helm chart repository.

### Step 4: Deploying the Chart
Once you have the Pulumi program ready, you'll run `pulumi up` to execute it. Pulumi will reach out to your Rancher setup, authenticate with the credentials you've provided, and deploy the `slack-git-compare` Helm chart according to your specifications.

Below is a TypeScript program that uses Pulumi to deploy a Helm chart on Rancher. This program assumes you have a running Rancher cluster and appropriate access permissions to deploy Helm charts:

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

// Provide the Rancher cluster ID you wish to deploy the Helm chart to
const clusterId = "your-cluster-id";

// Replace 'slack-git-compare' with the actual name and repo of the Helm chart if needed.
// If 'slack-git-compare' is not a chart available in a public repository, you would need to add your own catalog to Rancher and use that instead.
const slackGitCompareHelmChart = {
    chart: "slack-git-compare",
    repo: "your-helm-chart-repo",
    // Provide additional chart values here
};

// Create a new catalog for Rancher. If 'slack-git-compare' is available in an existing catalog, this step is not necessary.
const catalog = new rancher2.CatalogV2("catalog", {
    clusterId: clusterId,
    url: slackGitCompareHelmChart.repo,
});

// Deploy the Helm chart as a Rancher app. You would reference the catalog here if necessary.
const slackGitCompareApp = new rancher2.AppV2("slack-git-compare-app", {
    clusterId: clusterId,
    namespace: "default", // change to the namespace in which you wish to deploy
    repoName: catalog.name,
    chartName: slackGitCompareHelmChart.chart,
    // Set values for the Helm chart here
});

// Export the app name
export const appName = slackGitCompareApp.metadata.apply(meta => meta.name);
```

Before running `pulumi up` with this code, ensure that you have replaced placeholders, such as `your-cluster-id` and `your-helm-chart-repo`, with actual values from your environment. If the `slack-git-compare` chart is not in a public Helm repository or requires additional configuration like custom values, you'll need to adjust the `chart`, `repo`, and other settings accordingly.

### Step 5: Applying Your Changes
After the program is ready, you can deploy it using the Pulumi CLI:

```shell
pulumi up
```

This command will start the deployment process, and if everything is set up correctly, it will deploy the `slack-git-compare` Helm chart to your specified Rancher cluster. Follow the command-line prompts to review and approve the changes.

### Conclusion
This program provides a starting point for automating the deployment of Helm charts on a Rancher-managed Kubernetes cluster using Pulumi in TypeScript. For actual deployment, you may need to map additional chart-specific configurations into the Helm chart values. Always refer to the Helm chart's documentation and your Rancher setup to ensure that the configurations are correct.