🎛️ Helm Values Preview
A VS Code extension that supercharges Helm chart development
See resolved template values inline, navigate to definitions, and switch between environments instantly.
✨ Features
📊 Inline Value Decorations
See resolved .Values.* expressions directly in your template files. Values update instantly when you switch between environments—no need to run helm template repeatedly.
- Values shown inline after each template expression
- Unset values highlighted with warnings
- Truncated display for long values (configurable)
🔄 Values File Selector
Quickly switch between values override files using the status bar dropdown. The selected file is merged with values.yaml following Helm's merge behavior.
Status bar shows: 📄 values-prod.yaml or 📦 subchart > 📄 values-prod.yaml for subcharts
🔍 Go-to-Definition
Ctrl/Cmd+Click on any value decoration to jump directly to where that value is defined—whether it's in your override file, default values.yaml, or a subchart's values.
📚 Find All References
Right-click on any key in a values file and select "Find All References" to see every template that uses that value across your chart and subcharts.
💡 Quick Fixes for Missing Values
When a .Values.* reference doesn't exist, the extension shows a warning decoration and offers a Quick Fix to create the missing key in your values.yaml.
📦 Full Subchart Support
Works seamlessly with Helm dependencies:
| Feature |
Description |
| Auto-detection |
Subcharts in charts/ directory automatically detected |
| Alias support |
Dependencies with aliases in Chart.yaml properly resolved |
| Nested subcharts |
Full support for subcharts within subcharts |
| Archive support |
Works with .tgz packaged subcharts (read-only) |
| Global values |
global: section properly inherited |
🎯 Autocomplete for Subchart Values
When editing values files, get intelligent autocomplete suggestions for subchart configuration keys based on their default values.yaml.
🚀 Getting Started
- Install the extension from the VS Code marketplace
- Open a workspace containing a Helm chart (must have
Chart.yaml)
- Edit any template file in the
templates/ directory
- Click the status bar item to select a values override file
- Enjoy inline value previews and instant navigation!
⚙️ Configuration
| Setting |
Description |
Default |
helmValues.enableInlayHints |
Enable/disable inline value decorations |
true |
helmValues.inlayHintMaxLength |
Maximum characters before value is truncated |
50 |
📋 Commands
| Command |
Description |
Helm: Select Values File |
Open the values file picker |
Helm: Clear Values File Selection |
Reset to default values.yaml only |
Helm: Go to Value Definition |
Navigate to the value source |
Helm: Create Missing Value |
Add undefined value to values.yaml |
📁 Supported Patterns
Template Expressions
{{ .Values.foo }}
{{- .Values.foo -}}
{{ $.Values.foo }}
{{ .Values.foo | default "bar" }}
{{ if .Values.enabled }}...{{ end }}
Values File Patterns
The extension discovers override files matching these patterns:
values-*.yaml → values-prod.yaml, values-dev.yaml*.values.yaml → prod.values.yaml*-values.yaml → production-values.yamlvalues.*.yaml → values.prod.yamlvalues/*.yaml → values/staging.yaml
📦 Subchart Example
# Chart.yaml
dependencies:
- name: mysql
version: "1.0.0"
alias: database
# values.yaml
database:
auth:
rootPassword: "my-secret"
global:
environment: production
When editing charts/mysql/templates/deployment.yaml:
.Values.auth.rootPassword → "my-secret" (from parent).Values.global.environment → "production" (inherited global)
Archive subcharts (.tgz) are supported for value resolution and autocomplete, but navigation into archives is read-only.
🛠️ Development
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Compile
npm run compile
# Watch mode (for development)
npm run watch
# Run tests
npm test
# Lint
npm run lint
# Format code
npm run format
Debugging
- Open the project in VS Code
- Press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host
- Open a folder containing a Helm chart to test
🤝 Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please see the AGENTS.md file for development guidelines and architecture documentation.
📄 License
MIT
