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Use these subcommands to run helmfile commands.

atmos helmfile --help

Usage

The helmfile integration passes through all arguments to the helmfile command.

Executes helmfile commands.

atmos helmfile <command> <component> -s <stack> [options]
atmos helmfile <command> <component> --stack <stack> [options]

Path-Based Component Resolution​

Atmos supports using filesystem paths instead of component names for convenience. This allows you to navigate to a component directory and use . to reference it:

# Navigate to component directory
cd components/helmfile/echo-server

# Use . to reference current directory
atmos helmfile diff . -s dev
atmos helmfile apply . -s dev

This automatically resolves the path to the component name configured in your stack, eliminating the need to remember exact component names.

Supported path formats:

  • . - Current directory
  • ./component - Relative path from current directory
  • ../other-component - Relative path to sibling directory
  • /absolute/path/to/component - Absolute path

Requirements:

  • Must be inside a component directory under the configured base path
  • Must specify --stack flag
  • Component must exist in the specified stack configuration
  • The component path must resolve to a unique component name - If multiple components in the stack reference the same component path, you must use the unique component name instead of the path
Path Resolution Limitation

Path-based resolution only works when the component path resolves to a single unique component in the stack.

For example, if both app/1 and app/2 reference components/helmfile/my-app:

cd components/helmfile/my-app
atmos helmfile apply . --stack dev  # ❌ Error: ambiguous - which component?

Instead, you must use the unique component names:

atmos helmfile apply app/1 --stack dev  # ✓ Explicit and unambiguous
atmos helmfile apply app/2 --stack dev  # ✓ Explicit and unambiguous
info

Atmos supports all helmfile commands and options described in Helmfile CLI reference.

In addition, the component argument and stack flag are required to generate variables for the component in the stack.

Additions and differences from native Helmfile:

  • atmos helmfile generate varfile command generates a varfile for the component in the stack

  • atmos helmfile commands support GLOBAL OPTIONS using the command-line flag --global-options. Usage: atmos helmfile <command> <component> -s <stack> [command options] [arguments] --global-options="--no-color --namespace=test"

  • before executing the helmfile commands, Atmos runs aws eks update-kubeconfig to read kubeconfig from the EKS cluster and use it to authenticate with the cluster. This can be disabled in atmos.yaml CLI config by setting components.helmfile.use_eks to false

  • double-dash -- can be used to signify the end of the options for Atmos and the start of the additional native arguments and flags for the helmfile commands.

tip

Run atmos helmfile --help to see all the available options

Examples​

Component Name Examples​

atmos helmfile diff echo-server -s tenant1-ue2-dev
atmos helmfile diff echo-server -s tenant1-ue2-dev --redirect-stderr /dev/null

atmos helmfile apply echo-server -s tenant1-ue2-dev
atmos helmfile apply echo-server -s tenant1-ue2-dev --redirect-stderr /dev/stdout

atmos helmfile sync echo-server --stack tenant1-ue2-dev
atmos helmfile sync echo-server --stack tenant1-ue2-dev --redirect-stderr ./errors.txt

atmos helmfile destroy echo-server --stack=tenant1-ue2-dev
atmos helmfile destroy echo-server --stack=tenant1-ue2-dev --redirect-stderr /dev/stdout

Path-Based Examples​

# Navigate to component directory and use current directory
cd components/helmfile/echo-server
atmos helmfile diff . -s dev
atmos helmfile apply . -s dev

# Use relative path from components/helmfile directory
cd components/helmfile
atmos helmfile sync ./echo-server -s prod

# Use from project root with relative path
atmos helmfile apply components/helmfile/echo-server -s dev

# Combine with other flags
cd components/helmfile/echo-server
atmos helmfile diff . -s dev --redirect-stderr /dev/null
atmos helmfile sync . -s dev --global-options="--no-color"

Arguments​

component (required)

Atmos component name or filesystem path.

Supports both:

  • Component names: echo-server, apps/nginx
  • Filesystem paths: . (current directory), ./echo-server, components/helmfile/echo-server

When using paths, Atmos automatically resolves the path to the component name based on your stack configuration. See Path-Based Component Resolution above.

Flags​

--stack / -s (required)
Atmos stack.
--dry-run (optional)
Dry run.
--redirect-stderr (optional)
File descriptor to redirect stderr to.
Errors can be redirected to any file or any standard file descriptor
(including /dev/null).
note

All native helmfile flags, command options, and arguments are supported

Configure Helmfile

Learn how to configure Helmfile components in your atmos.yaml, including EKS integration and kubeconfig settings.

Learn More

Subcommands​