#helmfile (2021-10)

Hey! I think the problem you’re having is that in the values:-section of a release you have to refer to a values file and not list the values themselves. A file path is expected. So the release part should look like this:

releases: - name: "prometheus" chart: prometheus/kube-prometheus-stack values: - values.yaml

However the code should catch illegal paths and log a helpful error message instead of throwing this exception. Hope that helps.

Hi, in my code the use case is a bit more complicated of course. I do not wish to use a whole file, I only want to include part of a file in my values which is why I need to use toYaml. Also that particular use of toYaml is given as an exemple here https://github.com/roboll/helmfile/blob/master/docs/writing-helmfile.md#re-using-environment-state-in-sub-helmfiles which is why I am expecting it to work :)

In the example you shared the toYaml is used in the values:-section of the helmfiles:-section. You’re using it in the release:-section. That’s a different thing I guess…

I don’t believe so, but I think I found out why I’m having problems. It’s just that helmfile excepts a list here and that doesn’t work too well with toYaml. The workaround is simply to load the yaml in a .yaml.gotmpl and then give this file to the values (which is also much easier). I’m leaving my bug report because this shouldn’t be a segfault anyways Also FYI it is absolutely possible to use plain values in this list, I have that a lot in my code.

i have following block:

      labels:
        forwarder: "vector"
        file:  '{{ file }}'
        stream:  "{{ stream }}"
        source_type:  "{{ source_type }}"
        k8s_pod_namespace:  "{{ kubernetes.pod_namespace }}"
        k8s_pod_name:  "{{ kubernetes.pod_name }}"
        k8s_pod_uid:  "{{ kubernetes.pod_uid }}"
        k8s_pod_ip:  "{{ kubernetes.pod_ip }}"
        k8s_pod_ips:  "{{ kubernetes.pod_ips }}"
        k8s_pod_node_name:  "{{ kubernetes.pod_node_name }}"
        k8s_app:  "{{ kubernetes.pod_labels.app }}"
        k8s_kubernetes_io_instance:  '{{ kubernetes.pod_labels.app\.kubernetes\.io/instance}}'
        k8s_kubernetes_io_component:  '{{ kubernetes.pod_labels.app\.kubernetes\.io/component }}'
        k8s_kubernetes_io_name:  '{{ kubernetes.pod_labels.app\.kubernetes\.io/name }}'
        k8s_container_name:  "{{ kubernetes.container_name }}"
        k8s_container_image:  "{{ kubernetes.container_image }}"

i tried

file: {{` '{{ file }}' `}}

with no luck

remove the ‘’

What sort of mistakes? We’ve been doing this for years without major issues:) However, for dev we are also specifying the environment via -e.

we set the dev as default and that can cause issue… maybe we should not use default and have to set -e alltime ?

the best would be if the helmfile could decide based on a configmap entry … so on init time we have to set as env and later it could get it from configmap and if it is prod then set -e production if entry is dev then use default

if i tis possible

I use them together and I still don’t think I could give a coherent explanation of how they’re different.

@bradym I’ve been reading about them the whole day and still can’t figure them out

My issue is that I’d like to have a template that render a release based on a directory structure but still have values passed within the release

I do something like this:

templates:
  default: &default
    valuesTemplate:
      - global.yaml.gotmpl
      - envs/{{ .Environment.Name }}.yaml.gotmpl
      - appName: "{{`{{ .Release.Name }}`}}"
      - environment: {{ .Environment.Name }}

releases
  - name: exampleApp
    <<: *default
    labels:
      app: "{{`{{ .Release.Name }}`}}"
      repo: exampleApp
    values:
      - values-apps/exampleApp.values.yaml.gotmpl
      - repo: exampleApp

While I’m not entirely clear on the difference between valuesTemplate and values, I do know that when you do inheritance like that it overwrites, does not merge.

So if you use valuesTemplate in one place and values in the other, it works.

I’m fairly certain this is not how the two are intended to be used… but it works. So….

it works

It worked, finally! Thank you so much!!

yay!

@bradym one more question, is it possible to pass an environment variable to through the values directive? I’ve tried the following but giving me map has no entry for key

templates:
  default: &default
    valuesTemplate:
      - global.yaml.gotmpl
      - envs/{{ .Environment.Name }}.yaml.gotmpl
      - appName: "{{`{{ .Release.Name }}`}}"
      - environment: {{ .Environment.Name }}

environments:
  default:
    values:
      - envVal:val
releases
  - name: exampleApp
    <<: *default
    labels:
      app: "{{`{{ .Release.Name }}`}}"
      repo: exampleApp
    values:
      - values-apps/exampleApp.values.yaml.gotmpl
      - repo: {{.Values.envVal}} # also 
      - repo2: "{{ `{{.Values.enval}}`}}"

As far as I know, you cannot do that. Maybe try in valuesTemplate? Maybe it’ll work there? If there’s a reason why I put valuesTemplate in the template and values in the release, I don’t remember it..

I feel like I have to rediscover how rendering actually works every time I need to make changes.

Using the valuesTemplate instead of values in the release directive works!!! :party_parrot:

templates:
  default: &default
    values:
      - global.yaml.gotmpl
      - envs/{{ .Environment.Name }}.yaml.gotmpl
      - appName: "{{`{{ .Release.Name }}`}}"
      - environment: {{ .Environment.Name }}

environments:
  default:
    values:
      - envVal:val
releases
  - name: exampleApp
    <<: *default
    labels:
      app: "{{`{{ .Release.Name }}`}}"
      repo: exampleApp
    valuesTemplate:
      - values-apps/exampleApp.values.yaml.gotmpl
      - repo: {{.Values.envVal}} # also 
      - repo2: "{{ `{{.Values.enval}}`}}"

Yay! Now I know one difference between the two.

I enabled the debug flag and my assumption of what’s happening is that in the first two passes of helmfile rendering the environment values aren’t merged yet it becomes available after the seconds pass is finished so valuesTemplate delicate the rending to the helm chart itself at which the "{{ {{.Values.enval}} }} is rendered to {{.Values.enval}} and the environment variables defined in the environment directive is also merged so it rendered correctly

@bradym haha yeah just need to write it down and put it in a safe place

From the top of my head: {{range $i, $e := until 100}} env{{$i}}: values: [env/{{$i}}.yaml] {{ end }} Does that work?