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We welcome contributions to the Douban Helm Charts repository! This guide will help you get started with contributing bug fixes, new charts, or improvements to existing charts.

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Code of Conduct

This project follows the CNCF Code of Conduct. By participating, you are expected to uphold this code.

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Ways to Contribute

There are several ways you can contribute to this project:
  • Report bugs: Open an issue describing the bug and how to reproduce it
  • Suggest enhancements: Propose new features or improvements to existing charts
  • Submit pull requests: Fix bugs, add new charts, or improve documentation
  • Improve documentation: Help make our documentation clearer and more comprehensive

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Pull Request Process

1

Fork and Clone

Fork the repository and clone it to your local machine:
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/charts.git
cd charts
2

Create a Branch

Create a new branch for your changes:
git checkout -b feature/my-new-chart
3

Make Your Changes

Make your changes following the chart development guidelines.
4

Test Your Changes

Ensure your changes pass all linting and testing requirements (see Testing Requirements).
5

Commit and Push

Commit your changes with a clear, descriptive commit message:
git add .
git commit -m "feat: add new chart for application X"
git push origin feature/my-new-chart
6

Open a Pull Request

Open a pull request against the master branch with a clear description of your changes.

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Testing Requirements

All chart changes must pass automated testing before being merged. The CI/CD pipeline uses chart-testing (ct) to validate charts.

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Automated Testing

When you open a pull request, the following automated checks will run:

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Linting

The ct lint command validates your chart against best practices: 
ct lint --target-branch master --config ct.yaml
This checks:
  • Chart.yaml structure and required fields
  • values.yaml formatting
  • Template syntax
  • Kubernetes resource specifications
  • Version increments (chart version must be bumped)

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Chart Testing Configuration

The repository uses the following chart-testing configuration (from ct.yaml): 
remote: origin
chart-dirs:
  - charts
chart-repos:
  - stable=https://charts.helm.sh/stable/
  - douban=https://douban.github.io/charts/
  - bitnami=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bitnami/charts/archive-full-index/bitnami
  - timescale=https://charts.timescale.com/
helm-extra-args: --timeout 600s

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Local Testing

Before submitting a pull request, test your charts locally:
1

Install chart-testing

pip install yamllint yamale
# Or use the ct Docker image
2

Run linting locally

ct lint --chart-dirs charts --charts charts/YOUR_CHART
3

Test installation

helm install test-release charts/YOUR_CHART
helm test test-release
helm uninstall test-release

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Chart Requirements

All charts submitted to this repository must meet the following requirements:

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Required Files

  • Chart.yaml: Chart metadata
  • values.yaml: Default configuration values
  • README.md: Chart documentation
  • templates/: Directory containing Kubernetes manifests
  • templates/_helpers.tpl: Template helpers

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Chart.yaml Requirements

apiVersion: v2
name: my-chart
version: 0.1.0  # Chart version (must increment with each change)
appVersion: "1.0.0"  # Application version
description: A clear description of what this chart does
home: https://example.com  # Project homepage
maintainers:
  - name: Your Name
type: application

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Version Increments

Important: You must increment the version field in Chart.yaml for every change to the chart. The CI pipeline will fail if the version is not bumped.
Follow Semantic Versioning:
  • Major (1.0.0 → 2.0.0): Breaking changes
  • Minor (1.0.0 → 1.1.0): New features, backward compatible
  • Patch (1.0.0 → 1.0.1): Bug fixes, backward compatible

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Commit Message Guidelines

Use clear, descriptive commit messages following conventional commits:
  • feat: add new chart for nginx
  • fix: correct service port in redis chart
  • docs: update README for kafka-ui chart
  • chore: bump chart version to 0.2.0

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Review Process

Once you submit a pull request:
  1. Automated checks will run (linting, testing)
  2. Maintainer review: A project maintainer will review your changes
  3. Feedback: Address any feedback or requested changes
  4. Approval: Once approved, your PR will be merged
  5. Release: Charts are automatically released when merged to master

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Release Process

The release process is fully automated:
  1. When a PR is merged to master, the release workflow is triggered
  2. chart-releaser packages changed charts
  3. Chart packages are uploaded to GitHub Releases
  4. The index.yaml is updated in the gh-pages branch
  5. Charts become available in the Helm repository
You don’t need to manually trigger releases - just merge to master!

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Getting Help

If you need help with contributing:

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License

By contributing to this project, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the same license as the project.

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