Helm Inspect helps you track and detect drift between your Helm manifests and the actual deployed resources—without any complicated setup. It provides a drift check for Helm charts, uses a calibration model for precise drift detection, and sends Slack notifications on detected drifts.
Table of Contents
- Options
- Installation
- Calibration - Ignoring System-Generated Keys
- Detecting Helm Drifts
- Strict Mode (Detect All Changes)
- Slack Integration
- Command Summary
- Features
- License
Options
| Option | Short | Description |
|---|---|---|
--release |
-r |
Helm release name (Required). |
--namespace |
-n |
Kubernetes namespace (Required). |
--calibrate |
-c |
Captures system-generated keys after a fresh Helm install. |
--no-ignore |
-I |
Disables ignoring system-generated keys for strict drift detection. |
--verbose |
-v |
Enables verbose logging (debug mode). |
--slack-channel |
Slack channel to post drift results (can use HI_SLACK_CHANNEL env var). |
|
--slack-token |
Slack bot token (can use HI_SLACK_BOT_TOKEN env var). |
Installation
[!NOTE] Ensure you have Python 3.8+, Kubectl and Helm installed.
HelmInspect is a lightweight CLI tool to detect Helm drifts instantly. Install it via pip:
pip install helm-inspect
Calibration - Ignoring System-Generated Keys
After every Helm install, Kubernetes automatically adds some system-generated keys that should not be considered as drifts. To account for these, run:
helm-inspect -r <release-name> -n <namespace> -c
Example
Command
helm-inspect -r my-release -n production -c
This assumes the current state is a fresh installation, identifies system-added keys, and stores them in a temporary ignore list.
Output
[INFO] ✅ Calibration data deleted successfully.
[INFO] 🔍 Starting Analysis for calibration...
[INFO] Checking drift for Secret `myrelease-secret`...
[INFO] Checking drift for ConfigMap `myrelease-configmap`...
[INFO] Checking drift for Service `myrelease-service`...
[INFO] Checking drift for Deployment `myrelease-deployment`...
[INFO] Checking drift for Ingress `myrelease-ingress`...
[INFO] Analyzed 5 resources and found 22 drift-prone keys.
[INFO] ✅ Calibration data saved successfully.
Detecting Helm Drifts
To check for configuration drifts, simply run:
helm-inspect -r <release-name> -n <namespace>
Example
Command
helm-inspect -r my-release -n production
Output
[INFO] ✨ Using existing calibration data.
[INFO] Checking drift for Secret `myrelease-secret`...
[INFO] ✅ No drift detected in Secret `myrelease-secret`.
[INFO] Checking drift for ConfigMap `myrelease-configmap`...
[ERROR] ❌ Drift detected in ConfigMap `myrelease-configmap`:
--- Helm Manifest
+++ Live Kubernetes
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
{
- "custom.conf": "\nserver {\n listen 80;\n server_name localhost;\n}\n"
+ "custom.conf": "\nserver {\n listen 8000;\n server_name localhost;\n}\n"
}
[INFO] Checking drift for Service `myrelease-service`...
[INFO] ✅ No drift detected in Service `myrelease-service`.
[INFO] ✅ Drift data saved successfully.
This will:
- Compare the deployed Helm manifest with the actual Kubernetes resources.
- Show differences in CLI output (like a
diff). - Store a JSON report in a temp directory.
Strict Mode (Detect All Changes)
By default, HelmInspect ignores system-generated keys. To disable this behavior and see every difference:
helm-inspect -r <release-name> -n <namespace> -I
Example
Command
helm-inspect -r my-release -n production -I
Output
[INFO] Checking drift for ConfigMap `myrelease-configmap`...
[ERROR] ❌ Drift detected in ConfigMap `myrelease-configmap`:
--- Helm Manifest
+++ Live Kubernetes
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
{
- "custom.conf": "\nserver {\n listen 80;\n server_name localhost;\n}\n"
+ "custom.conf": "\nserver {\n listen 8000;\n server_name localhost;\n}\n"
}
[INFO] Checking drift for Secret `myrelease-secret`...
[ERROR] ❌ Drift detected in Secret `myrelease-secret`:
--- Helm Manifest
+++ Live Kubernetes
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
{
- "authToken": "abcd1234"
+ "authToken": "efgh5678"
}
This mode is useful if you suspect hidden or untracked changes.
Slack Integration
Automate drift notifications to Slack:
helm-inspect -r <release-name> -n <namespace> --slack-token <token> --slack-channel <channel>
Example
Command
helm-inspect -r my-release -n production --slack-token xoxb-123456 --slack-channel SLACKCHANNELID
Output
[INFO] ✅ Drift data saved successfully.
✨ Slack Notification Sent!
This sends drift reports directly to your team’s Slack channel, keeping everyone updated.
Command Summary
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
helm-inspect -r <release> -n <namespace> -c |
Calibrate to ignore system-generated keys. |
helm-inspect -r <release> -n <namespace> |
Detect drifts and show differences. |
helm-inspect -r <release> -n <namespace> -I |
Strict mode (show all changes). |
helm-inspect -r <release> -n <namespace> --slack-token <token> --slack-channel <channel> |
Send drift reports to Slack. |
Features
- Drift Detection: Compare Helm manifests with actual Kubernetes resources.
- Calibration: Ignore system-generated keys for precise drift detection.
- Strict Mode: Detect all changes, including hidden or untracked ones.
- Slack Integration: Send drift reports directly to your team’s Slack channel.
- Lightweight: No complicated setup or dependencies—just install and run.
- Open Source: Available under the Apache Version 2.0 License.
License
HelmInspect is released under the Apache Version 2.0 License.
1 maintainer
Metadata
1 maintainer
Release files for helm-inspect 1.0.0
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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Total release size: 30.7 kB
Release files / helm_inspect-1.0.0.tar.gz
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