Helm 2.3: What's New, Release History & EOL Status

What Is New in Helm 2.3 – Summary Table

How does the Helm Plugin Manager change extension handling?

Helm 2.3 adds a built‑in plugin manager, letting you install, list, and remove plugins with a single command.

$ helm plugin install https://github.com/adamreese/helm-last
$ helm plugin list
$ helm plugin remove last

In practice this reduces the friction of adding community tools such as diff or lint helpers. Plugin developers also gain lifecycle hooks for install and removal, making complex setups easier to automate.

What new template functions are available and why do they matter?

Two notable functions were introduced: required to enforce mandatory values, and toToml for direct TOML conversion.

# Example of required
{{ required "database.password is required" .Values.database.password }}

# Convert a map to TOML
{{ toToml .Values.config }}

These functions simplify validation and ConfigMap generation, especially when you need non‑YAML formats. Sprig was also upgraded, adding dozens of flow‑control helpers.

How can child chart values be hoisted to the parent?

Helm 2.3 lets a parent chart import specific values from its sub‑charts via the requirements.yaml import-values section.

# requirements.yaml (parent)
dependencies:
- name: redis
  version: 3.2.1
  repository: https://example.com/charts
  import-values:
  - child: redis
    parent: redisConfig

This removes the need for manual value duplication and keeps configuration DRY, which is crucial for large umbrella charts.

What does TLS support between Helm and Tiller enable?

Version 2.3 adds TLS encryption for the gRPC channel that Helm uses to talk to Tiller, protecting credentials and chart data in transit.

# Initialise with TLS
$ helm init --tiller-tls-verify --tiller-tls-ca-cert ca.crt \
    --tiller-tls-cert server.crt --tiller-tls-key server.key

Enabling TLS is a single‑line change that satisfies security policies for many enterprises without altering existing chart logic.

What other hook and metadata improvements arrived in 2.3?

Hooks now accept a helm.sh/hook-weight annotation, allowing deterministic ordering, and the --reuse-values flag re‑uses prior values on upgrade.

# Hook with weight
metadata:
  annotations:
    "helm.sh/hook": pre-install
    "helm.sh/hook-weight": "5"

Chart.yaml also gained appVersion (the version of the packaged app) and deprecated (marks a chart as no longer maintained). These fields improve chart discoverability and lifecycle management.