How does ArgoCD support Helm charts?

ArgoCD has first-class support for Helm and can render Helm charts as part of its manifest generation pipeline inside the Repository Server. There are two ways to use Helm with ArgoCD:

1. Helm repository as source — You specify a Helm chart repository URL and chart name directly in the Application's source. ArgoCD fetches and renders the chart at the specified version.

source:
  repoURL: https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
  chart: postgresql
  targetRevision: 12.5.6
  helm:
    values: |
      auth:
        postgresPassword: "{{ .Values.dbPassword }}" 

2. Helm chart in a Git repository — A Chart.yaml exists at the specified path within a Git repo. ArgoCD detects Helm automatically and renders it.

Common Helm-specific fields in the Application spec:

• helm.values / helm.valuesFiles: inline values or references to values files in the repo.
• helm.parameters: individual key=value overrides (equivalent to --set).
• helm.releaseName: override the Helm release name (defaults to the Application name).
• helm.version: force Helm v2 or v3 (v3 is default).

Importantly, ArgoCD uses Helm purely as a templating engine — it renders the chart to Kubernetes manifests and then applies them with kubectl apply. The Helm release is not stored in a Helm Secret in the cluster; this means helm list won't show ArgoCD-managed charts, and helm upgrade/rollback commands should not be used alongside ArgoCD.

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