Automic VaultAutomic Vault

brew

Install helm with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, scoop, winget, zypper

Kubernetes package manager. Version 4.2.2 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-17.

agent safety

Agent safety answer

helm manages Kubernetes release state and can deploy workloads into clusters.

Credential access

Uses kubeconfig, cluster tokens, chart repository credentials, and values files that may contain secrets.

Remote mutation

Can install, upgrade, rollback, or delete cluster releases.

Publish/artifact risk

Can package charts and deploy application artifacts to production clusters.

Recommended control

Gate helm install, upgrade, rollback, uninstall, and repo credential changes.

Agent-use guidance

Allow template/lint reads; require approval before any cluster mutation or chart publication.

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install helm

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install helm

MacPorts ports tree · sysutils/helm/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add helm

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · helm · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install elpa-helm

Debian stable package indexes · elpa-helm · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install helm

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · helm · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#helm

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/he/helm/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S helm

Arch Linux sync databases · helm · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install helm

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · helm · source: download.opensuse.org

Windows

Scoopverified · 92%
scoop install main/helm

Scoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/helm.json · source: api.github.com

Windows Package Managerverified · 92%
winget install --id Helm.Helm -e

Windows Package Manager source index · Helm.Helm · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com

overview

Package summary

Kubernetes package manager

Commands and aliases

  • helm

history

Project history and usage

Helm is the Kubernetes package manager. Its documentation defines charts as Helm packages, repositories as places where charts are collected and shared, and releases as chart instances installed into a Kubernetes cluster.

Helm is historically important because it brought package-manager ideas such as repositories, installable archives, dependency metadata, upgrades, rollbacks, and release history into Kubernetes application delivery.

Project history

The Helm project traces its first version to November 2015 at the first KubeCon. The Helm team describes Helm 1, also known as Helm Classic, as modeled on Homebrew and aimed at helping individual developers package Kubernetes resources and deploy them into clusters.

In January 2016, Deis' Helm team joined forces with Google, Skippbox, and Bitnami to build a new version focused on teams and a growing Kubernetes user community. That work led to the Helm 2 architecture and the chart ecosystem that many Kubernetes users adopted.

Helm joined the Cloud Native Computing Foundation in June 2018. Helm 3 reached its first stable release in November 2019, removing Tiller, refactoring the Go SDK for broader use, and changing internals while preserving the chart-centered workflow for users familiar with Helm 2.

Adoption history

Helm adoption tracked the growth of Kubernetes itself. Its docs describe chart repositories, `helm search`, `helm install`, `helm upgrade`, `helm rollback`, `helm get`, and `helm uninstall` as ordinary package operations for cluster workloads.

The Helm 3 release post describes a large contributor base and thousands of community members maintaining charts through Helm Hub-era infrastructure. The chart discovery story later centered on Artifact Hub, which the Helm docs use for `helm search hub`.

Package-manager adoption for the CLI is broad: the supplied metadata lists Homebrew, Alpine, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, Scoop, winget, and openSUSE packaging for the Kubernetes-oriented Helm CLI.

How it is used

Users add chart repositories, search for charts, install a chart as a named release, pass values with YAML files or `--set`, upgrade releases, inspect status and values, roll back revisions, and uninstall releases.

Helm charts package Kubernetes resource definitions alongside metadata and default values. A chart can be installed many times into a cluster, producing separate releases with their own names and histories.

Helm's local repository configuration is stored in `repositories.yaml` under the user's Helm config directory. Because repository entries can include credentials, that file is also treated as a credentials location in the curation data.

Why package nerds care

Helm is one of the clearest examples of package-manager culture crossing into infrastructure. It has packages, repositories, dependency declarations, install and upgrade verbs, versioned releases, rollback history, and a registry/discovery ecosystem, but the installed artifacts are Kubernetes resources rather than files under `/usr`.

The Helm 2 to Helm 3 transition is also package-history material: removing Tiller reduced cluster-side moving parts and aligned Helm more closely with Kubernetes RBAC and client-side release management expectations.

For maintainers, Helm created a new packaging discipline around chart metadata, values schema, generated documentation, provenance, OCI distribution, and chart repository layout.

Timeline

  • 2015: Helm 1 released at the first KubeCon.
  • 2016: Deis, Google, Skippbox, and Bitnami collaborate on the next Helm generation.
  • 2018: Helm joins the Cloud Native Computing Foundation.
  • 2019: Helm 3.0.0 stable release published.
  • 2020: Helm celebrates CNCF graduation.
  • 2020s: Helm chart discovery and search workflows use Artifact Hub in official documentation.

Related projects

  • Kubernetes is the deployment platform Helm packages target.
  • Homebrew inspired Helm Classic's package-manager model.
  • Deis, Google, Skippbox, and Bitnami are named in the Helm 3 history as early collaborators.
  • Artifact Hub is the chart discovery service used by `helm search hub`.
  • helm-docs and helm-ls are neighboring tools for chart documentation and editor assistance.

security posture

Risk level: orange

Kubernetes package manager.

Risk classifier

orange risk · high confidence · infrastructure

Why

  • Kubernetes package manager

Signals

  • override:helm

Install behavior

  • No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
  • Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
  • Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

macOS
~/Library/Preferences/helm/repositories.yaml
Unix
~/.config/helm/repositories.yaml

Credential files

Credential-bearing paths to review before unattended agent runs.

macOS
~/Library/Preferences/helm/repositories.yaml
Unix
~/.config/helm/repositories.yaml

executables

Installed executables

CommandKindExposureNote
helmcliglobal executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08
manager version4.2.2
manager updated2026-06-17
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/helm/helm

install metadata

Package metadata

Package keybrew:helm
Version4.2.2
Package managerHomebrew
Package manager pagehttps://formulae.brew.sh/formula/helm
Homepagehttps://helm.sh/
Repositoryhttps://github.com/helm/helm
Upstream docshttps://helm.sh/docs
LicenseApache-2.0
Source archivehttps://github.com/helm/helm.git
Last updated2026-06-17T22:19:51Z
Pulseupdated
Build dependenciesgo
Bottleavailable (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-installnot defined
Servicenone declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source DatabaseHomebrew formula API
Taphomebrew/core
Full Namehelm
Aliases
  • helm@4
Version Scheme0
Revision0
Head VersionHEAD
Bottle Stable Root URLhttps://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecatedno
Disabledno
Keg Onlyno
URL Keys
  • head
  • stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Debian apt95%

elpa-helm 4.0.3-1

Emacs incremental completion and selection narrowing framework

https://emacs-helm.github.io/helm/

sudo apt install elpa-helm
  • Section: lisp
  • Architecture: all
  • Source Package: helm
  • 3 dependencies
  • 3 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Helm
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: elpa-helm from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Debian apt95%

elpa-helm-core 4.0.3-1

Emacs Helm library files

https://emacs-helm.github.io/helm/

sudo apt install elpa-helm-core
  • Section: lisp
  • Architecture: all
  • Source Package: helm
  • 3 dependencies
  • 1 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Helm
Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: elpa-helm-core from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz
Nix95%

helm

nix profile install nixpkgs#helm
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Helm
nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/he/helm/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
Ubuntu apt95%

elpa-helm 3.8.4-1

Emacs incremental completion and selection narrowing framework

https://emacs-helm.github.io/helm/

sudo apt install elpa-helm
  • Section: universe/lisp
  • Architecture: all
  • Source Package: helm
  • 5 dependencies
  • 2 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Helm
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: elpa-helm from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
Ubuntu apt95%

elpa-helm-core 3.8.4-1

Emacs Helm library files

https://emacs-helm.github.io/helm/

sudo apt install elpa-helm-core
  • Section: universe/lisp
  • Architecture: all
  • Source Package: helm
  • 3 dependencies
  • 1 optional deps
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Helm
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: elpa-helm-core from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz
apk95%

helm 3.19.0-r7

The Kubernetes Package Manager

https://helm.sh/

sudo apk add helm
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: helm
  • 1 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Helm
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: helm from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

helm-bash-completion 3.19.0-r7

Bash completions for helm

https://helm.sh/

sudo apk add helm-bash-completion
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: helm
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Helm
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: helm-bash-completion from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

helm-fish-completion 3.19.0-r7

Fish completions for helm

https://helm.sh/

sudo apk add helm-fish-completion
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: helm
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Helm
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: helm-fish-completion from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
apk95%

helm-zsh-completion 3.19.0-r7

Zsh completions for helm

https://helm.sh/

sudo apk add helm-zsh-completion
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: helm
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Helm
Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: helm-zsh-completion from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz
dnf95%

helm 4.2.0-1.fc45

The Kubernetes Package Manager

https://github.com/helm/helm

sudo dnf install helm
  • License: Apache-2.0 AND BSD-2-Clause AND BSD-3-Clause AND ISC AND MIT AND MPL-2.0
  • Category: Unspecified
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: helm
  • 3 dependencies
  • 2 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Helm
Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: helm from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst
pacman95%

helm 4.2.0-1

The Kubernetes Package Manager

https://github.com/helm/helm

sudo pacman -S helm
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • 1 dependencies
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Helm
Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: helm from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz
zypper95%

helm 4.2.0-3.1

The Kubernetes Package Manager

https://github.com/helm/helm

sudo zypper install helm
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Category: Development/Languages/Other
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: helm
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Helm
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: helm from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
zypper95%

helm-bash-completion 4.2.0-3.1

Bash Completion for helm

https://github.com/helm/helm

sudo zypper install helm-bash-completion
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Category: System/Shells
  • Architecture: noarch
  • Source Package: helm
  • 2 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Helm
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: helm-bash-completion from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
zypper95%

helm-fish-completion 4.2.0-3.1

Fish Completion for helm

https://github.com/helm/helm

sudo zypper install helm-fish-completion
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Category: System/Shells
  • Architecture: noarch
  • Source Package: helm
  • 2 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Helm
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: helm-fish-completion from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
zypper95%

helm-zsh-completion 4.2.0-3.1

Zsh Completion for helm

https://github.com/helm/helm

sudo zypper install helm-zsh-completion
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Category: System/Shells
  • Architecture: noarch
  • Source Package: helm
  • 2 dependencies
  • 1 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Helm
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: helm-zsh-completion from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst
zypper95%

helm3 3.21.0-2.1

The Kubernetes Package Manager

https://github.com/helm/helm

sudo zypper install helm3
  • License: Apache-2.0
  • Category: Development/Languages/Other
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Source Package: helm3
  • 2 provides
  • normalized package name match
  • Matched by: Helm
openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: helm3 from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Used sources

  • Geiger risk classifier
  • Nucleus package database
  • av.db category and tag curation
  • cross-ecosystem install command graph
  • curated agent safety answer
  • curated configuration and credential file locations
  • curated package history
  • external package-manager database matches
  • package relationship graph
  • package version freshness
  • package-page enrichment