Pipery Helm CD#

Repository: pipery-helm-cd
Release tag: v1.1.0
Catalog: /catalog/

Reusable GitHub Action for Helm-based Kubernetes deployment with structured logging via Pipery.

Table of Contents#

Quick Start
Pipeline Overview
Configuration Options
Usage Examples
GitLab CI
Bitbucket Pipelines
About Pipery
Development

Quick Start#

name: Deploy
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: pipery-dev/helm-cd@v1.1.0
        with:
          release_name: my-release
          chart: ./helm/my-chart
          namespace: production
          image_tag: ${{ github.sha }}

Pipeline Overview#

Step	Description	Skip Input
Deploy	Helm upgrade or install release	`skip_deploy`
Status check	Verify Kubernetes rollout	`skip_status_check`

Configuration Options#

Name	Default	Description
`project_path`	`.`	Path to the project source tree.
`config_file`	`.pipery/config.yaml`	Path to Pipery config file.
`release_name`	``	Helm release name.
`chart`	``	Helm chart path or OCI reference.
`namespace`	`default`	Kubernetes namespace for the release.
`values_file`	``	Path to a values.yaml override file.
`set_values`	``	Comma-separated set values (key=val).
`image_tag`	`${{ github.sha }}`	Image tag to set via –set.
`image_key`	`image.tag`	Helm values key for the image tag.
`kubeconfig`	``	Base64-encoded kubeconfig for cluster access.
`timeout`	`5m`	Timeout for helm upgrade.
`atomic`	`true`	Roll back on failure.
`log_file`	`pipery.jsonl`	Path to write the JSONL log file.
`skip_deploy`	`false`	Skip helm upgrade step.
`skip_status_check`	`false`	Skip rollout status check.

Usage Examples#

Example 1: Deploy local Helm chart#

name: Deploy
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: pipery-dev/helm-cd@v1.1.0
        with:
          release_name: my-release
          chart: ./helm/my-chart
          namespace: production
          image_tag: ${{ github.sha }}

Example 2: Deploy from Helm repository#

- uses: pipery-dev/helm-cd@v1.1.0
  with:
    release_name: my-app
    chart: bitnami/my-app
    namespace: production
    values_file: ./values-prod.yaml
    image_tag: ${{ github.sha }}

Example 3: Custom values with set flags#

- uses: pipery-dev/helm-cd@v1.1.0
  with:
    release_name: my-app
    chart: ./helm/my-app
    namespace: production
    set_values: replicas=3,resources.limits.memory=512Mi
    image_tag: ${{ github.sha }}

Example 4: Long-running deployment with timeout#

- uses: pipery-dev/helm-cd@v1.1.0
  with:
    release_name: my-app
    chart: ./helm/my-app
    namespace: production
    timeout: 10m
    image_tag: ${{ github.sha }}

Example 5: Disable automatic rollback#

- uses: pipery-dev/helm-cd@v1.1.0
  with:
    release_name: my-app
    chart: ./helm/my-app
    namespace: production
    atomic: false
    image_tag: ${{ github.sha }}

Example 6: OCI chart from registry#

- uses: pipery-dev/helm-cd@v1.1.0
  with:
    release_name: my-app
    chart: oci://ghcr.io/my-org/my-chart
    namespace: production
    image_tag: v${{ github.ref_name }}

GitLab CI#

Use the GitLab mirror template when .gitlab-ci.yml is published for this pipeline family. Import it from the mirrored GitLab project or use it as a reference implementation for running the same Pipery pipeline outside GitHub Actions.

The GitLab pipeline maps action inputs to CI/CD variables, publishes pipery.jsonl as an artifact, and maintains the same skip controls. Store credentials as protected GitLab CI/CD variables.

include:
  - project: pipery-dev/helm-cd
    ref: v1.1.0
    file: /.gitlab-ci.yml

GitLab CI Variables#

Configure these protected variables in Settings > CI/CD > Variables:

KUBECONFIG_BASE64 - Base64-encoded kubeconfig file
HELM_RELEASE - Helm release name
HELM_CHART - Helm chart path or reference

Bitbucket Pipelines#

Bitbucket Cloud pipelines provide an alternative to GitHub Actions. Use Bitbucket shared pipeline imports to reference the exported Pipery pipeline instead of copying YAML into every application repository.

Getting Started#

Add a Bitbucket import source for the shared Pipery pipeline and import the exported pipeline by name:

definitions:
  imports:
    pipery-shared: pipery-dev/helm-cd:v1.1.0
    pipery-custom: pipery-dev/helm-cd:v1.1.0:.bitbucket/shared-pipelines.yml

pipelines:
  branches:
    main:
      import: pipery-helm-cd@pipery-shared

  custom:
    run-pipery:
      import: pipery-helm-cd@pipery-custom

Use {project-path}/{repo-slug}:{branch-or-tag} for a shared repository bitbucket-pipelines.yml, or {project-path}/{repo-slug}:{branch-or-tag}:{config-filepath} for another exported YAML file.

Configure Protected Variables in Repository Settings > Pipelines > Repository Variables:
- KUBECONFIG_BASE64 - Base64-encoded kubeconfig
- HELM_RELEASE - Helm release name
- HELM_CHART - Chart path or reference
Commit to trigger deployment

Pipeline Stages#

The Bitbucket equivalent follows the same structure:

checkout → setup → deploy → status_check → logs

Features#

Helm chart deployment from local paths or repositories
OCI chart support
Custom values overrides
Automatic rollback on failure
Kubernetes rollout monitoring
Custom timeouts
JSONL-based pipeline logging
90-day log retention

About Pipery#

Pipery Pipery is an open-source CI/CD observability platform. Every step script runs under psh (Pipery Shell), which intercepts all commands and emits structured JSONL events — giving you full visibility into your pipeline without any manual instrumentation.

Browse logs in the Pipery Dashboard
Find all Pipery actions on GitHub Marketplace
Source code: pipery-dev

Development#

# Run the action locally against test-project/
pipery-actions test --repo .

# Regenerate docs
pipery-actions docs --repo .

# Dry-run release
pipery-actions release --repo . --dry-run