Kustomized Helm Action for Efficient Kubernetes Deployment

This GitHub Action generates manifests for Helm charts and Kustomize overlays, allowing for easier deployment and management of Kubernetes applications. It integrates with Helm and dynamically adds Helm repositories based on the charts and overlays found in the specified source folder. The generated manifests are then templated and committed to the specified destination branch.

Features

• Dynamic Helm Repository Management: Automatically adds Helm repositories based on specified source folders.
• Complex Values Management: Supports multiple values files for Helm charts.
• Customizable Manifests: Supports Helm charts and Kustomize overlays for flexible Kubernetes configurations.
• Automated Deployment: Integrates with CI/CD pipelines for seamless Kubernetes application management.

Directory Structure for Helm and Kustomize

The action expects a specific directory structure in the source_folder. Here's an example:

source_folder
  myapp
    base
      Chart.yaml
      kustomization.yaml
      values.yaml
      values-dep1.yaml
      values-dep2.yaml
    overlays
      cluster1
        kustomization.yaml
        my-patch.yaml
        values.yaml
        values-dep1.yaml
        values-dep2.yaml
      cluster2
        kustomization.yaml
        values.yaml

In this structure, myapp is a Helm chart with a base configuration and two overlays, cluster1 and cluster2. Each overlay can have its own values.yaml file and additional Kustomize patches.

Inputs

source_folder

The folder containing the Helm charts and Kustomize overlays. This input is required. The default value is dev.

destination_branch

The branch to commit the changes to. This input is not required. The default value is the current branch of the head commit.

helm_version

The version of Helm to use. This input is not required. The default value is 'v3.14.4'.

include_crds

Whether to include CRDs in the generated manifests. This input is not required. The default value is true.

dry_run

Whether to perform a dry run without committing changes. This input is not required. The default value is false.

Usage Example

Here's an example of how to use this action in a workflow:

name: Generate Kustomized Helm Manifests

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  generate_manifests:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v2

      - name: Generate manifests
        uses: jamesAtIntegratnIO/kustomized-helm-action@v1
        with:
          source_folder: 'dev'
          destination_branch: 'manifests'
          helm_version: 'v3.14.4'

In this example, the action will generate manifests for the Helm charts and Kustomize overlays in the dev directory and commit the changes to the manifests branch. It will use Helm version v3.14.4.

Workflow Diagram with ArgoCD Integration

Below is a diagram of how this action integrates with ArgoCD to manage changes on a Kubernetes cluster:

sequenceDiagram
    participant Dev as Developer
    participant Repo as Repo Source Branch
    participant GitHubAction as GitHub Action: jamesatintegratnio/kustomized-helm-action@main
    participant RepoD as Repo Destination Branch
    participant ArgoCD as ArgoCD

    Dev->>Repo: Commit change to Helm Chart or Kustomized manifest
    Repo->>GitHubAction: Trigger action
    GitHubAction->>GitHubAction: Set git config
    GitHubAction->>GitHubAction: Set up Helm
    GitHubAction->>GitHubAction: Get Directories for Processing
    GitHubAction->>GitHubAction: Add Helm repositories dynamically
    GitHubAction->>GitHubAction: Build Helm and Kubernetes manifests
    GitHubAction->>GitHubAction: Commit changes to local destination branch

    GitHubAction->>RepoD: Push changes to Destination Branch
    RepoD->>ArgoCD: ArgoCD picks up the change from Destination Branch
    ArgoCD->>ArgoCD: Compute diff from existing application deployment
    ArgoCD->>Cluster: Sync and apply the change to the cluster

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Author

This action was created by James D. For more information, visit James D's GitHub or my blog .

Useful Links

• Inspiration Blog from Akuity
• GitHub Actions Documentation
• Helm Official Documentation