Deploy the thanos-operator helm chart on Kubernetes

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

To deploy a Helm chart on Kubernetes using Pulumi, we will use the `Chart` resource from the `@pulumi/kubernetes` package. Helm charts are a great way to package and deploy applications on Kubernetes clusters, and Pulumi makes it easy to manage these deployments through Infrastructure as Code.

Below is a detailed explanation of a Pulumi program in TypeScript that will deploy the `thanos-operator` Helm chart on a Kubernetes cluster:

1. **Importing necessary modules**: We begin by importing the required Pulumi and Kubernetes modules.

2. **Creating a Kubernetes Provider**: Although this step isn't required if you're using the default kubeconfig on your local machine, you can explicitly create a provider if you need to target a specific Kubernetes cluster or provide custom configurations.

3. **Deploying the Helm Chart**: The `Chart` resource from Pulumi Kubernetes is used to deploy a Helm chart to your cluster. You specify the chart name, version (optional), and any custom values you want to pass to the Helm chart in the `values` property.

4. **Exporting Outputs**: After deployment, you may want to export certain outputs, such as service URLs or other useful information that results from the deployment.

Now, let's see this process in action within the Pulumi program:

```typescript
import * as k8s from "@pulumi/kubernetes";

// Specify the version of the thanos-operator you want to deploy. If omitted, the latest version will be used.
const chartVersion = "x.y.z"; // Replace x.y.z with the desired chart version.

// Create the thanos-operator Helm Chart
const thanosOperatorChart = new k8s.helm.v3.Chart("thanos-operator", {
    // The repository where the helm chart is located
    repo: "thanos-operator-repo",  // Replace with the actual repository name, if it is different.
    chart: "thanos-operator",
    version: chartVersion,
    // Values can be provided to customize the Helm chart.
    values: {
        // Custom values set here if needed, for example:
        // image: { repository: "thanos", tag: "latest" },
    },
});

// Export relevant outputs that you may want to access or display
// For example, you might want to export the name of a Kubernetes service or endpoint
export const thanosOperatorName = thanosOperatorChart.getResourceProperty("v1/Service", "thanos-operator", "metadata").apply(m => m.name);
```

### Explanation of the program

In the given program:

- We start by importing the necessary Pulumi Kubernetes package.
- A specific chart version is defined as a constant, which you can update to the version you require.
- Using the `new k8s.helm.v3.Chart` constructor, we create a new instance of the `thanos-operator` chart found within a specified Helm repository. Note that you'll need to replace `"thanos-operator-repo"` with the actual name of the Helm repository where the `thanos-operator` chart is located.
- We include a placeholder for custom values (`values`) which you can specify based on your configuration needs. These could be settings related to the image version, resource limits, persistence settings, and more.
- Finally, we export a relevant output using the `export const` statement. In this case, we're exporting the name of the `Service` created by the Helm chart for referencing outside of the Pulumi program. This is an example, and the actual resources created by the Helm chart may vary.

### What to do next

- Before running the program, ensure that you have set up your Pulumi project and have configured access to your Kubernetes cluster.
- Install the Pulumi CLI and log in to the Pulumi service where your state will be stored.
- Save the above program in a TypeScript file, for example, `index.ts`.
- Deploy your code by running `pulumi up` in the terminal, within the directory containing your Pulumi program. This will prompt you to review the resources that will be created, updated, or deleted.

This process will deploy the `thanos-operator` Helm chart to your Kubernetes cluster, and you can observe the progress and results directly in your terminal. If you want to make any changes to the deployment, you can adjust the `values` field in the program or update the chart version, then run `pulumi up` again.