Automated Deployment with AKS, Helm, and GitHub Actions

This project shows how I automated the deployment of a full-stack application (React + Node.js) to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) using Helm and GitHub Actions.

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🧱 What’s Inside

• Backend: Node.js (Express)
• Frontend: React (served via Nginx)
• Containerization: Docker
• Deployment: Helm (Kubernetes package manager)
• Infrastructure: Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
• CI/CD: GitHub Actions

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⚙️ What I’ve Built

I created a CI/CD pipeline that:

1. Builds Docker images for both frontend and backend.
2. Pushes the images to GitHub Container Registry (GHCR).
3. Deploys both services automatically to AKS using Helm.
4. Manages environment variables and secrets securely using GitHub Secrets.

So, whenever I push code to the main branch — my application automatically updates on AKS 🎯

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🧩 How It Works

GitHub Push → GitHub Actions → Build Docker Images → Push to GHCR
            → Connect to AKS → Deploy via Helm → App Live on Internet 🌍

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🔐 Secrets & Configurations

These values are securely stored in GitHub → Settings → Secrets → Actions:

Secret	Description
AZURE_CREDENTIALS	Login credentials for Azure (Service Principal)
AKS_RESOURCE_GROUP	Resource group of AKS cluster
AKS_CLUSTER_NAME	Name of AKS cluster
MONGO_URI	MongoDB connection string
REACT_APP_BACKEND_URL	Backend API endpoint for frontend

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📦 Deployment Flow

1️⃣ Build & Push Images

A GitHub Actions workflow builds Docker images for backend & frontend and pushes them to GHCR.

2️⃣ Register Secrets

A separate workflow registers app secrets (Mongo URI, backend URL) into the AKS cluster.

3️⃣ Deploy via Helm

Final workflow connects to AKS and deploys both frontend & backend using Helm charts.

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🌐 Accessing the App

Once deployed, run this command to find your public IP:

kubectl get service frontend

Then open your browser at:

http://<PUBLIC_IP>

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✨ Summary

✅ Full-stack app (React + Node.js)
✅ Dockerized and deployed on Azure Kubernetes Service
✅ Automated using Helm and GitHub Actions
✅ Secure and production-ready setup