---
stage: Package
group: Package
info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
---

# Helm charts in the Package Registry **(FREE)**

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/18997) in GitLab 14.1.

WARNING:
The Helm package registry for GitLab is under development and isn't ready for production use due to
limited functionality.

Publish Helm packages in your project's Package Registry. Then install the
packages whenever you need to use them as a dependency.

For documentation of the specific API endpoints that Helm package manager
clients use, see the [Helm API documentation](../../../api/packages/helm.md).

## Build a Helm package

Creating a Helm package is documented [in the Helm documentation](https://helm.sh/docs/intro/using_helm/#creating-your-own-charts).

## Authenticate to the Helm repository

To authenticate to the Helm repository, you need either:

- A [personal access token](../../../api/index.md#personalproject-access-tokens).
- A [deploy token](../../project/deploy_tokens/index.md).
- A [CI/CD job token](../../../api/index.md#gitlab-cicd-job-token).

## Publish a package

Once built, a chart can be uploaded to the `stable` channel with `curl` or `helm-push`:

- With `curl`:

  ```shell
  curl --request POST \
       --form 'chart=@mychart-0.1.0.tgz' \
       --user <username>:<personal_access_token> \
       https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/1/packages/helm/api/stable/charts
  ```

- With the [`helm-push`](https://github.com/chartmuseum/helm-push/#readme) plugin:

  ```shell
  helm repo add --username <username> --password <personal_access_token> project-1 https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/1/packages/helm/stable
  helm push mychart-0.1.0.tgz project-1
  ```

## Use CI/CD to publish a Helm package

To publish a Helm package automated through [GitLab CI/CD](../../../ci/index.md), you can use
`CI_JOB_TOKEN` in place of the personal access token in your commands.

For example:

```yaml
image: curlimages/curl:latest
 
stages:
  - upload
 
upload:
  stage: upload
  script:
    - 'curl --request POST --user gitlab-ci-token:$CI_JOB_TOKEN --form "chart=@mychart-0.1.0.tgz" "${CI_API_V4_URL}/projects/${CI_PROJECT_ID}/packages/helm/api/stable/charts"'
```

## Install a package

To install the latest version of a chart, use the following command:

```shell
helm repo add --username <username> --password <personal_access_token> project-1 https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/1/packages/helm/stable
helm install my-release project-1/mychart
```

If the repo has previously been added, you may need to run:

```shell
helm repo update
```

To update the Helm client with the most currently available charts.

See [Using Helm](https://helm.sh/docs/intro/using_helm/) for more information.