Validate Helm Image Configuration Patterns

Image Configuration in Helm Charts

The image section of a Helm chart's values.yaml is one of the most critical configurations. Incorrect settings here mean your pods will fail to start or may pull unexpected versions.

Correct Pattern

image:
  repository: my-registry.io/my-app
  pullPolicy: IfNotPresent
  tag: "2.1.0"

imagePullSecrets:
  - name: my-registry-secret

What the Validator Checks

Field	Expected Type	Valid Values
image.repository	string	Any valid container image reference
image.tag	string	Specific version (avoid "latest")
image.pullPolicy	string	Always, IfNotPresent, Never
imagePullSecrets	array	List of secret name objects

Common Anti-Patterns

Missing tag (defaults to latest):

image:
  repository: nginx
  # tag not specified - will default to :latest

Numeric tag without quotes:

image:
  tag: 1.25  # YAML parses this as number 1.25, not string "1.25"

Wrong pullPolicy casing:

image:
  pullPolicy: always  # Must be "Always" (capital A)

Best Practices

• Always quote the tag value to prevent YAML type coercion ("1.0" not 1.0)
• Use IfNotPresent for production to reduce pull traffic
• Use Always only during development or when using mutable tags
• Define imagePullSecrets when using private registries