Helm Values Explorer

A Visual Studio Code extension that enhances your Helm chart development workflow by providing instant value previews and navigation across multiple environment-specific values files.

Features

• Smart Value Preview: Hover over any {{ .Values.* }} expression to instantly see values from all matching files
• Advanced Expression Support: Works with complex Helm expressions including pipes, functions, and filters
• Intelligent Autocomplete: Get context-aware suggestions when typing .Values paths
• Go to Definition: Navigate directly to value definitions across multiple files
• Multi-Environment Support: View values from multiple files (values.yaml, dev-values.yaml, prod-values.yaml, etc.)
• Automatic File Detection: Finds values files in current and parent directories with configurable patterns
• Zero Configuration: Works out of the box with any Helm chart structure
• Performance Optimized: Smart caching with file watching for fast response times

Installation

1. Open Visual Studio Code
2. Press Ctrl+P / Cmd+P to open the Quick Open dialog
3. Type ext install rossp.helm-values-explorer and press Enter

Usage

1. Open a Helm chart directory in VS Code
2. Navigate to any template file (e.g., templates/deployment.yaml)
3. Hover over any {{ .Values.* }} expression to see values from all matching files
4. Ctrl+Click on any {{ .Values.* }} expression to navigate to its definition in the values file(s)
5. Type {{ .Values. to get autocomplete suggestions for available value paths

Example

Given these files:

mychart/
├── values.yaml         # Default values
├── dev-values.yaml     # Development overrides
├── prod-values.yaml    # Production overrides
└── templates/
    └── deployment.yaml

Hover Preview: When hovering over {{ .Values.image.repository }}, you'll see values from all matching files with clear source labeling.

Go to Definition: Ctrl+Click on {{ .Values.image.repository }} will jump to the definition of image.repository in the values file(s), allowing you to quickly navigate and edit the values.

Autocomplete: Type {{ .Values.image. and press Ctrl+Space to see available properties like repository, tag, and pullPolicy.

Configuration

This extension contributes the following settings:

• helmValuesExplorer.valueFiles: Patterns to match Helm values files (default: ["values.yaml", "*values.yaml", "values.*.yaml"])
• helmValuesExplorer.showFileNames: Show source file names in hover preview (default: true)

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how you can help:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Release Notes

0.0.7 (2025-01-XX)

• Enhanced Pattern Matching: Support for complex Helm expressions with pipes, functions, and filters (e.g., {{ .Values.port | default 8080 }})
• Improved Hover Detection: Hover works anywhere within {{ }} expressions, not just on specific words
• Intelligent Autocomplete: Context-aware suggestions when typing .Values paths
• Performance Improvements: Smart caching with file watching for faster response times
• Better User Experience: Cleaner hover popup formatting with organized multi-file value display
• Go to Definition: Navigate directly to value definitions across multiple files

0.0.6 (2025-04-28)

• Lowered minimum VSCode version requirement to 1.74.0 for better compatibility

0.0.5 (2025-04-24)

• Synchronized README and CHANGELOG release notes for better documentation consistency

0.0.4 (2025-04-24)

• Updated CHANGELOG format and documentation
• Improved README badge clarity using badgen.net

0.0.3 (2025-04-24)

• Updated extension icon
• Improved package size by excluding development assets
• Fixed README badges for better visibility on GitHub

0.0.2 (2025-04-24)

• Updated extension icon
• Fixed README formatting and badge display

0.0.1 (2025-04-24)

• Initial release
• Hover preview for Helm values
• Support for multiple value files (values.yaml, dev-values.yaml, prod-values.yaml)
• Automatic value file detection in current and parent directories
• YAML formatting with source file labels
• Configurable value file patterns
• Toggle for showing/hiding source file names in hover

Made for the Helm community

Got feedback? Open an issue or star the repo if you find it useful!