Openshift: How to add Helm Repository in Openshift

Adding a Helm repository in OpenShift is a common step to manage and deploy Helm charts in your OpenShift cluster. OpenShift supports Helm CLI out of the box, and also provides an Operator (Helm Chart Repository CRD) to centrally manage chart repositories visible in the OpenShift Web Console’s Developer Catalog.

Below, you’ll find two ways:

• A. Using the Helm CLI (User-level, CLI only)
• B. Adding a Helm Chart Repository for the OpenShift Web Console (Admin-level, visible in Catalog)

A. Add a Helm Repository via CLI (User-level, CLI only)

This lets you use any public Helm repo (e.g., Bitnami, Jetstack) in your terminal, similar to Kubernetes.

Step 1. Install the Helm CLI

• Download: https://helm.sh/docs/intro/install/
• On OpenShift nodes (optional), but most users install locally.

Step 2. Add a Repository

helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnamiCode language: JavaScript (javascript)

• Replace bitnami and URL with your desired repo.

Step 3. Update Repositories

helm repo update

Step 4. List Charts

helm search repo bitnami

Step 5. Install a Chart into OpenShift

Make sure you’re logged into your OpenShift cluster:

oc login ... # login if needed
helm install my-mongodb bitnami/mongodb --namespace=my-namespaceCode language: PHP (php)

That’s it!
You can now install, upgrade, or uninstall Helm charts using the CLI.

B. Add Helm Chart Repository for the OpenShift Web Console Catalog (Admin-level)

This is required if you want all users to browse and deploy charts from a repo using the OpenShift Web Console (Developer Catalog).

Step 1. Log in as a cluster-admin

oc login -u kubeadmin -p <password> https://api.<cluster-domain>:6443Code language: HTML, XML (xml)

Step 2. Create a Project (Optional)

oc new-project devopsschool-devCode language: JavaScript (javascript)

Step 3. Apply the ProjectHelmChartRepository YAML

Create a file called bitnami-helm-repo.yaml:

apiVersion: helm.openshift.io/v1beta1
kind: ProjectHelmChartRepository
metadata:
  name: bitnami
  namespace: devopsschool-dev
spec:
  name: bitnami
  description: Bitnami Helm chart repository
  connectionConfig:
    url: https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

You can use any name/namespace. The url: should be your chart repo URL.

Step 4. Apply the YAML

oc apply -f bitnami-helm-repo.yamlCode language: CSS (css)

Step 5. Check in the Web Console

• Go to Developer → +Add → Helm Chart
• You should see the Bitnami charts available for install!

Troubleshooting & Tips

• You need the Helm Operator installed by default in OpenShift 4.x+.
• To add a repo cluster-wide (all namespaces), use a HelmChartRepository resource, not ProjectHelmChartRepository.
• For private repositories, add authentication fields under connectionConfig.

Summary Table

References

• OpenShift Docs: Using Helm Charts
• Helm Docs

Rajesh Kumar

I’m Rajesh Kumar, a DevOps, SRE, DevSecOps, Cloud, and Platform Engineering expert passionate about sharing practical knowledge, real-world experiences, and industry best practices. I have worked at Cotocus and regularly write about technology, travel, investing, health, product reviews, and digital marketing through my various platforms.

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