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Helmfile Configuration

Configure how Atmos executes Helmfile commands for Kubernetes deployments, including EKS integration, kubeconfig management, and naming patterns for AWS profiles and cluster names.

Configuration​

atmos.yaml

components:
  helmfile:
    # Executable to run
    command: helmfile

    # Base path to Helmfile components
    base_path: components/helmfile

    # Enable EKS integration
    use_eks: true

    # Path for kubeconfig files
    kubeconfig_path: /dev/shm

    # Pattern for Helm AWS profile names
    helm_aws_profile_pattern: "{namespace}-{tenant}-gbl-{stage}-helm"

    # Pattern for EKS cluster names
    cluster_name_pattern: "{namespace}-{tenant}-{environment}-{stage}-eks-cluster"

Configuration Reference​

command

Specifies the executable to run for Helmfile commands. Defaults to helmfile.

Environment variable: ATMOS_COMPONENTS_HELMFILE_COMMAND Command-line flag: --helmfile-command

Examples:

  • helmfile - Use Helmfile from PATH
  • /usr/local/bin/helmfile - Use specific binary
base_path

Directory containing Helmfile component directories. Supports absolute and relative paths.

Environment variable: ATMOS_COMPONENTS_HELMFILE_BASE_PATH Command-line flag: --helmfile-dir

use_eks

When true, Atmos configures AWS EKS integration for kubeconfig management.

Environment variable: ATMOS_COMPONENTS_HELMFILE_USE_EKS Default: true

kubeconfig_path

Directory where Atmos stores generated kubeconfig files. Using /dev/shm (shared memory) is recommended for security as files are not persisted to disk.

Environment variable: ATMOS_COMPONENTS_HELMFILE_KUBECONFIG_PATH Default: /dev/shm

helm_aws_profile_pattern

Pattern for generating AWS profile names used by Helm. Supports context variables:

  • {namespace} - Organization namespace
  • {tenant} - Tenant identifier
  • {environment} - Environment (e.g., ue1, uw2)
  • {stage} - Stage (e.g., dev, prod)

Environment variable: ATMOS_COMPONENTS_HELMFILE_HELM_AWS_PROFILE_PATTERN

Example: {namespace}-{tenant}-gbl-{stage}-helm → acme-platform-gbl-prod-helm

cluster_name_pattern

Pattern for generating EKS cluster names. Supports the same context variables as helm_aws_profile_pattern.

Environment variable: ATMOS_COMPONENTS_HELMFILE_CLUSTER_NAME_PATTERN

Example: {namespace}-{tenant}-{environment}-{stage}-eks-cluster → acme-platform-ue1-prod-eks-cluster

EKS Integration​

When use_eks is enabled, Atmos automatically:

  1. Generates kubeconfig files for EKS clusters
  2. Configures AWS credentials for Helm operations
  3. Sets up the correct cluster context before running Helmfile

The kubeconfig is written to the path specified by kubeconfig_path with a filename based on the cluster name pattern.

Example: Multi-Environment Setup​

atmos.yaml

components:
  helmfile:
    command: helmfile
    base_path: components/helmfile
    use_eks: true
    kubeconfig_path: /dev/shm
    helm_aws_profile_pattern: "{namespace}-{tenant}-gbl-{stage}-helm"
    cluster_name_pattern: "{namespace}-{tenant}-{environment}-{stage}-eks-cluster"

With this configuration, running atmos helmfile apply nginx -s acme-ue1-prod would:

  • Use AWS profile: acme-platform-gbl-prod-helm
  • Connect to cluster: acme-platform-ue1-prod-eks-cluster
  • Store kubeconfig at: /dev/shm/acme-platform-ue1-prod-eks-cluster.kubeconfig