☸️ Helm vs Kubectl — What, Why, and When to Use Each

If you work with Kubernetes, you will almost always use both kubectl and Helm — but for different purposes.

The confusion usually comes from thinking they do the same thing.
They don’t.

🧠 One-Line Summary (Remember This)

kubectl manages Kubernetes resources directly
Helm manages Kubernetes applications as packages

🧩 High-Level Picture

Photo Credit: Internet


Helm ───► generates Kubernetes YAML ───► kubectl ───► Kubernetes API Server

👉 Helm uses Kubernetes
👉 kubectl talks directly to Kubernetes

1️⃣ What Is `kubectl`?

🔹 Definition

kubectl is the official Kubernetes command-line tool to interact with a cluster.

It:

creates resources
updates resources
deletes resources
inspects cluster state

🔹 What `kubectl` Works With

Pods
Deployments
Services
ConfigMaps
Secrets
Nodes
Namespaces

🔹 Common `kubectl` Commands


kubectl get pods
kubectl describe pod my-pod
kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml
kubectl delete service my-service
kubectl logs my-pod
kubectl exec -it my-pod -- bash

🔹 When to Use `kubectl`

✅ Debugging
✅ Inspecting cluster state
✅ One-off changes
✅ Day-to-day operations
✅ Troubleshooting production issues

2️⃣ What Is Helm?

🔹 Definition

Helm is a package manager for Kubernetes.

It lets you:

package multiple Kubernetes resources together
version them
deploy them consistently

🔹 Helm Manages Applications, Not Just Resources

An application may include:

Deployment
Service
ConfigMap
Secret
HPA
Ingress

👉 Helm treats all of this as one unit (a chart).

🔹 Helm Terminology (Important)

Term	Meaning
Chart	Kubernetes application template
Release	Installed instance of a chart
Values	Configuration inputs
Repository	Chart storage

🔹 Common Helm Commands


helm install myapp ./my-chart
helm upgrade myapp ./my-chart
helm rollback myapp 1
helm list
helm uninstall myapp

🔹 When to Use Helm

✅ Installing applications
✅ Managing complex deployments
✅ Handling multiple environments (dev, stage, prod)
✅ Versioning and rollback
✅ CI/CD pipelines

3️⃣ Key Difference: Resource vs Application

Aspect	kubectl	Helm
Level	Resource-level	Application-level
YAML	Raw YAML	Templated YAML
Versioning	❌ No	✅ Yes
Rollback	❌ Manual	✅ Built-in
Reusability	Low	High
Environment config	Manual	Values files

4️⃣ Real-World Example (This Makes It Click)

❌ Without Helm (kubectl only)


kubectl apply -f deployment.yaml
kubectl apply -f service.yaml
kubectl apply -f configmap.yaml
kubectl apply -f ingress.yaml

Problems:

Hard to track versions
No rollback
YAML duplication across environments

✅ With Helm


helm install order-service ./order-chart -f values-prod.yaml

Benefits:

One command
Versioned release
Easy rollback
Clean environment separation

5️⃣ How They Work Together (Very Important)

👉 Helm does NOT replace kubectl
👉 They are complementary

Typical Workflow


helm install myapp ./chart
kubectl get pods
kubectl logs myapp-pod
kubectl exec -it myapp-pod -- bash

Helm:

deploys the app

kubectl:

observes
debugs
operates

6️⃣ CI/CD Perspective (Real Industry Usage)

In CI/CD Pipelines

Stage	Tool
Deploy	Helm
Upgrade	Helm
Rollback	Helm
Debug	kubectl
Health check	kubectl

7️⃣ Common Confusions (Cleared)

❓ Can Helm work without kubectl?

❌ No — Helm ultimately uses the Kubernetes API (like kubectl).

❓ Can kubectl replace Helm?

❌ No — kubectl has:

no templating
no versioning
no rollback

❓ Do I need both?

✅ Yes — almost always.

8️⃣ Mental Model (Easy to Remember)

kubectl = screwdriver (low-level tool)
Helm = toolbox with instructions (high-level tool)

🎯 Interview-Ready Answer

kubectl is used to manage and debug individual Kubernetes resources, while Helm is used to package, version, and deploy complete Kubernetes applications. Helm simplifies complex deployments, and kubectl is used for inspection and troubleshooting.

📝 One-Line Takeaway

Use Helm to deploy applications.
Use kubectl to operate and debug the cluster.

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