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The Helm Charts browser gives you a unified view of all available charts from your connected repositories, making it easy to discover and deploy applications to your clusters.

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What is the Charts Browser?

The Charts page in Ankra provides:
  • Unified Catalog: Browse charts from all connected Helm repositories in one place
  • Search & Filter: Find charts by name, category, or repository
  • Version Management: View available versions and changelogs
  • One-Click Deploy: Add charts to stacks and deploy to clusters instantly

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Accessing Charts

Navigate to Charts in the main sidebar to open the chart browser. From here you can:
  1. Browse all available charts
  2. Search for specific applications
  3. View chart details and documentation
  4. Add charts to your cluster stacks

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Chart Repositories

Ankra connects to Helm chart repositories to index available charts. You can add:
  • Public Repositories: Prometheus Community, Grafana, Jetstack, etc.
  • Private Repositories: Your organization’s internal chart repositories
  • OCI Registries: Charts stored in OCI-compliant container registries

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Managing Repositories

1

Navigate to Chart Repositories

Go to Charts → Repositories or use the Command Palette (⌘+K → “Chart Repositories”).
2

Add a Repository

Click Add Repository and enter:
  • Name: A friendly name for the repository
  • URL: The Helm repository URL or OCI registry URL
  • Authentication: Credentials if required (username/password or token)
3

Sync Charts

Ankra automatically indexes charts from the repository. Check the Last Synced timestamp to see when charts were last updated.
4

Browse Charts

Once synced, charts appear in the main Charts browser, tagged with their source repository.

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Browsing Charts

The chart browser displays:
FieldDescription
NameChart name
VersionLatest available version
RepositorySource repository
DescriptionBrief description of the application
App VersionVersion of the packaged application

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Filtering

Use the search and filter options to find charts:
  • Search: Type to filter by chart name
  • Repository: Filter by source repository
  • Category: Filter by application category (if available)

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Chart Details

Click on any chart to view:
  • Description: Full documentation and usage instructions
  • Values: Default configuration values
  • Versions: All available versions with release notes
  • Dependencies: Other charts this one depends on
  • Maintainers: Chart authors and contact info

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Deploying Charts

Charts are deployed through Stacks. To deploy a chart:
1

Select a Chart

Browse or search for the chart you want to deploy.
2

Add to Stack

Click Add to Stack and choose:
  • An existing stack to add this chart to
  • Create a new stack with this chart
3

Configure Values

Customize the chart’s values file to configure the application for your needs.
4

Deploy the Stack

Deploy the stack to your target cluster. The chart will be installed via Helm.
For more information on stacks, see the Stacks documentation.

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Subscribed Charts

Mark charts as “subscribed” to:
  • Track Updates: Get notified when new versions are released
  • Quick Access: Find your favorite charts easily
  • Team Sharing: Share commonly-used charts with your organization

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OCI Registry Support

Ankra supports Helm charts stored in OCI registries:
  1. Add the OCI registry as a chart repository
  2. Provide authentication credentials
  3. Charts are indexed and browsable like traditional Helm repos
OCI registries include:
  • Docker Hub
  • GitHub Container Registry (ghcr.io)
  • Amazon ECR
  • Google Artifact Registry
  • Azure Container Registry

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Best Practices

Pin Versions: When adding charts to production stacks, pin to specific versions to ensure reproducibility.
Review Values: Always review the default values and customize for your environment before deploying.
Use Private Repos: Host your organization’s charts in a private repository for better security and customization.
Subscribe to Updates: Subscribe to critical charts to stay informed about security updates and new features.
Still have questions? Join our Slack community and we’ll help out.