helm diff

Preview Helm upgrade changes before applying with helm-diff plugin.

low risk

interactive breakdown — edit the command and press Explain

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What it does

The helm-diff plugin (install separately) shows a diff of what `helm upgrade` would change in the cluster — like `terraform plan` for Helm. Shows which Kubernetes resources will be added, modified, or deleted, and the exact field changes.

Examples

helm plugin install https://github.com/databus23/helm-diffInstall the helm-diff plugin · explain & risk-check →

helm diff upgrade myrelease ./chart -f values.yamlPreview what upgrade would change · explain & risk-check →

helm diff upgrade myrelease ./chart -f values.yaml --context 5Show 5 lines of context around changes · explain & risk-check →

helm diff revision myrelease 3 4Diff between two specific release revisions · explain & risk-check →

Pro tip

Make `helm diff upgrade` a mandatory step in your CI/CD review process — anyone approving a Helm upgrade should see the diff, not just the values file change.

Related

helm kubectl apply diff

Open the full explainer →More in Kubernetes & Helm

Reference text is hand-written and may be incomplete — check man helm for your version. Test destructive commands on a non-production system first.