# ⎈ Helm Templexer
[](https://crates.io/crates/helm-templexer)
Render Helm charts for multiple environments with _explicit config_ while keeping the overhead at ease.
> The `helm-templexer` wraps **Helm v3+**, please ensure that it is installed and in the `PATH`.
```shell
cat > my-app.yaml <<EOF
version: v2
chart: tests/data/nginx-chart
release_name: my-app
output_path: manifests
deployments:
- name: edge
- name: stage
- name: prod
EOF
helm-templexer render my-app.yaml
```
Outcome:
```text
❯ exa -T manifests
manifests
├── edge
│ └── my-app
│ └── manifest.yaml
├── prod
│ └── my-app
│ └── manifest.yaml
└── stage
└── my-app
└── manifest.yaml
```
## Configuration
Configuration can be provided as YAML format.
All paths are evaluated relative to the configuration file during execution.
> Looking for schema `v1`? Please see [helm-templexer 1.x](https://github.com/hendrikmaus/helm-templexer/tree/v1).
| `version` | Schema version to use | **required** | | `"v2"` |
| `enabled` | Whether to render deployments or not | optional | `true` | |
| `chart` | Path to the chart to render | **required** | | `"path/to/some-chart"` |
| `namespace` | Namespace to pass on to `helm`; when omitted, no namespace is passed | optional | `""` | |
| `release_name` | Release name to pass to `helm` | **required** | | `"some-release"` |
| `output_path` | Base path to use for writing the manifests to disk.<br><br>The fully-qualified output path is built as follows (`config` refers to the top-level):<br>`config.output_path/deployment.name/<[config/deployment].release_name>/manifest.yaml` | **required** | | |
| `additional_options` | Pass additional options to `helm template`; you can use all supported options of the tool.<br><br>Common use case: use `--set-string` to provide a container tag to use.<br>This can be achieved by modifying the configuration file in your build pipeline using mikefarah/yq | optional | `[]` | `["--set-string image.tag=42"]` |
| `values` | A list of base value files which are passed to each `helm template` call.<br>This is commonly used to provide a sane base config. | optional | `[]` | |
| `deployments` | The list of deployments to render. | **required** | | `[[deployments]]`<br>`name = "edge"` |
Deployments can override several top-level fields:
| `name` | Name of the deployment; only used in the output path | **required** | | `"edge-eu-w4"` |
| `enabled` | Allows for disabling individual deployments | optional | `true` | |
| `release_name` | Override the release name | optional | `""` | |
| `additional_options` | Additional options, as seen above, but specific to this deployment | optional | `[]` | |
| `values` | Value files to use for this deployment | optional | `[]` | |
## Additional Options to The Render Command
### Extending The `helm template` Call
Use `--additional-options` to pass data to the underlying `helm template` call. Beware that these additional options get added to *every* call, i.e. to each deployment.
A common use case we found was to provide the container tag:
```shell
helm-templexer render --additional-options="--set-string image.tag=${revision}" my-app.yaml
```
### Render a Subset of Deployments
Use `--filter` to render a specific deployment. Example: To render only the `prod`, pass the regex to the filter option.
```shell
helm-templexer render --filter="prod" my-app.yaml
```
### Update Helm Dependencies Before Rendering
Use `--update-dependencies` to run `helm dependencies update` *once* before starting to render the deployments.
```shell
helm-templexer render --update-dependencies my-app.yaml
```
### Pipe Manifest Output Through Tool(s) Before Writing to Disk
Use `--pipe` to pass the manifest output through a tool or set of tools before writing to a file.
Please mind that this option **requires** an equal sign (`=`), i.e. `--pipe="<command>".
```shell
helm-templexer render --pipe="kbld -f -" my-app.yaml
```
You can define the argument multiple times; the commands will be added in order of appearance to the final command.
```shell
helm-templexer render --pipe="kbld -f -" --pipe="tee /dev/stdout" my-app.yaml
```
If anything unexpected happens, you can use `-v`, `-vv` and `-vvv` to increase the log level and see the underlying command.
## Installation
### Docker
```shell
# create the directory where helm-templexer will render to
mkdir -p tests/data/manifests
# let helm-templexer's user id (1001) own the directory
sudo chown -R 1001 tests/data/manifests
# pull and run the image
docker pull ghcr.io/hendrikmaus/helm-templexer
docker run --rm --volume $(pwd):/srv --workdir /srv/tests/data ghcr.io/hendrikmaus/helm-templexer render config_example.yaml
```
Include `helm-templexer` in your `Dockerfile`:
```Dockerfile
FROM ghcr.io/hendrikmaus/helm-templexer AS helm-templexer-provider
COPY --from=helm-templexer-provider /usr/bin/helm-templexer /usr/bin
COPY --from=helm-templexer-provider /usr/bin/helm /usr/bin
```
### Pre-compiled Binary
Please set/replace `$BINARY` and `$VERSION` accordingly.
```shell
wget https://github.com/hendrikmaus/helm-templexer/releases/download/$VERSION/helm-templexer_$VERSION_x86_64-$BINARY.tar.gz -O - | tar xz && mv helm-templexer /usr/bin/helm-templexer
```
The `mv` to `/usr/bin` might require `sudo`.
#### Validate Against Checksum
To validate the downloaded **archive** against the checksum:
```shell
wget https://github.com/hendrikmaus/helm-templexer/releases/download/$VERSION/helm-templexer_$VERSION_x86_64-$BINARY.tar.gz
### Homebrew
```shell
brew tap hendrikmaus/tap
brew install helm-templexer
```
### Cargo Install
Helm Templexer is written in [Rust](http://www.rust-lang.org/). You will need `rustc` version 1.35.0 or higher. The recommended way to install Rust is from the official download page. Once you have it set up, a simple `make install` will compile `helm-templexer` and install it into `$HOME/.cargo/bin`.
If you’re using a recent version of Cargo (0.5.0 or higher), you can use the `cargo install` command:
```shell
cargo install helm-templexer
```
Cargo will build the binary and place it in `$HOME/.cargo/bin` (this location can be overridden by setting the --root option).