helm install: Command Reference for CI/CD

Install a chart as a named release, gated and atomic.

helm install renders a chart with your values and creates a release. The --wait and --atomic flags turn it into a self-gating, self-rolling-back deploy step. This reference covers the value and gating flags and a CI example.

Common flags and usage

• install <release> <chart>: create a release from a chart
• -f values.yaml / --set k=v: supply values
• --wait: block until resources are Ready
• --atomic: roll back automatically if the install fails
• --timeout 5m: bound the wait
• --namespace <ns> --create-namespace: target and create the namespace

Example

helm install web ./charts/web \
  --namespace prod --create-namespace \
  --set image.tag=${IMAGE_TAG} \
  --wait --atomic --timeout 5m

In CI

--wait makes install block until resources are Ready, and --atomic uninstalls a failed install so a half-deployed release is never left behind. Always pair them with --timeout. For an existing release, helm upgrade --install is the idempotent form for re-runnable pipelines.

Key takeaways

• --wait blocks on readiness; --atomic rolls back a failed install.
• Always set --timeout to bound the wait.
• For re-runnable jobs prefer upgrade --install over a bare install.

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