Deploy the nginx-imagestreams helm chart on Kubernetes

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

To deploy the `nginx-imagestreams` Helm chart on a Kubernetes cluster using Pulumi, we'll use the `Chart` resource from the Pulumi Kubernetes provider. The `Chart` resource allows us to deploy a Helm chart to a Kubernetes cluster, much like you would using the `helm` CLI tool.

Before you begin, you need to have Pulumi installed and set up along with kubectl configured to connect to your Kubernetes cluster. Make sure you have the Helm CLI installed as well if you plan to fetch or inspect Helm charts directly outside of Pulumi.

Here's how you can deploy a Helm chart representing nginx using Pulumi:

1. **Create a new Pulumi project**: If you don't have one, you can start by creating a new Pulumi project in TypeScript.

2. **Install the necessary Pulumi package**: You need to install the Kubernetes package from Pulumi, which can be done using npm or yarn.

```bash
   npm install @pulumi/kubernetes
   ```
   or
   ```bash
   yarn add @pulumi/kubernetes
   ```

3. **Write the Pulumi code**: Create a new TypeScript file in your Pulumi project, such as `index.ts`, where you will write the logic to deploy your Helm chart.

Here's the program that accomplishes the deployment of the `nginx-imagestreams` Helm chart:

```typescript
import * as kubernetes from '@pulumi/kubernetes';

// Create an instance of the Kubernetes Chart class that represents the nginx-imagestreams Helm chart.
const nginxChart = new kubernetes.helm.v3.Chart('nginx-imagestreams', {
  // Specify the chart name as it is known in the Helm repository.
  chart: 'nginx',
  // Specify which Helm repository the chart is located in.
  // For this example, we'll pretend there is a repository called 'myhelmrepo' that contains the chart.
  repo: 'myhelmrepo',
  // Specify the namespace where the chart will be installed.
  namespace: 'default',
  // We can provide custom values to the Helm chart using the `values` property.
  // This is equivalent to using the '--set' option with the Helm CLI.
  // For the nginx-imagestreams chart, you would substitute the values below for the ones relevant to that chart.
  // As we do not have the specifics of 'nginx-imagestreams', we're showing an example for a generic nginx chart.
  values: {
    service: {
      type: 'LoadBalancer', // This will expose nginx via a LoadBalancer service (on supported cloud providers).
    },
  },
});

// Export the service's LoadBalancer IP address when it is available.
// This step is optional and may not be relevant if the LoadBalancer service type is not used.
export const nginxEndpoint = nginxChart.getResourceProperty('v1/Service', 'nginx-imagestreams-nginx-svc', 'status')
  .apply(status => status.loadBalancer.ingress[0].ip || status.loadBalancer.ingress[0].hostname);
```

This program defines a `Chart` resource that Pulumi will use to deploy the `nginx-imagestreams` Helm chart on your behalf. In the `values` object, you can customize the deployment according to the values you would normally pass to Helm through a `values.yaml` file or the `--set` CLI option. The endpoint of the deployed service is exported, which allows you to access the IP or hostname after deployment is complete.

To get more specific information about the available configuration options for the `nginx-imagestreams` chart, you would typically look at the chart's `values.yaml` file. As we are using an example repository and chart name (`myhelmrepo` and `nginx`), you would need to replace these with the details of the actual chart you want to deploy.

Remember to install the specified Helm chart into your Helm repository, or update the `repo` field to point to the Helm repository that contains the `nginx-imagestreams` chart. Helm charts often reside in public or private repositories; the above code assumes that the chart is available in a repository named 'myhelmrepo', which you would need to substitute with actual details.

After you complete the setup, run `pulumi up` to preview and deploy the changes. If satisfied with the preview, select "yes" to proceed with the deployment.

This is a very basic introduction to deploying Helm charts with Pulumi. For more advanced scenarios, including managing lifecycle hooks, rollbacks, chart version pinning, and private chart repositories, you might need to customize the deployment further. Visit the [Pulumi Chart documentation](https://www.pulumi.com/docs/reference/pkg/kubernetes/helm/v3/chart/) for more details.