vaultwarden-deployment.yaml

Configuration difference

Here's a detailed comparison between Helm and raw Kubernetes manifests using Vaultwarden deployment as an example:

1. Raw Kubernetes Manifest Approach

# vaultwarden-deployment.yaml
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: vaultwarden
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: vaultwarden
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: vaultwarden
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: vaultwarden
        image: vaultwarden/server:latest
        ports:
        - containerPort: 80
        env:
        - name: ADMIN_TOKEN
          value: "mysecretpassword"
        volumeMounts:
        - name: data
          mountPath: /data
      volumes:
      - name: data
        persistentVolumeClaim:
          claimName: vaultwarden-pvc

---
# vaultwarden-service.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: vaultwarden
spec:
  selector:
    app: vaultwarden
  ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 80
      targetPort: 80

---
# vaultwarden-pvc.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: vaultwarden-pvc
spec:
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  storageClassName: nfs
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 5Gi

Deployment Steps:

kubectl apply -f vaultwarden-pvc.yaml
kubectl apply -f vaultwarden-deployment.yaml
kubectl apply -f vaultwarden-service.yaml

2. Helm Chart Approach

# values.yaml
image:
  repository: vaultwarden/server
  tag: latest
  pullPolicy: IfNotPresent

service:
  type: ClusterIP
  port: 80

persistence:
  enabled: true
  storageClass: "nfs"
  size: 5Gi

env:
  ADMIN_TOKEN: "mysecretpassword"

ingress:
  enabled: true
  hosts:
    - host: vaultwarden.yourdomain.com
      paths:
        - path: /

Deployment Steps:

helm repo add vaultwarden https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden
helm install vaultwarden vaultwarden/vaultwarden -f values.yaml

3. Key Differences

Feature	Raw Manifests	Helm
Lines of Code	~40 lines (3 files)	~15 lines (1 values file)
Updates	Edit/apply each file	`helm upgrade --set param=value`
Secret Management	Plaintext in YAML	Helm Secrets/SOPS integration
Dependencies	Manual DB/Redis setup	Auto-install via `requirements.yaml`
DRY Principle	Repeat similar configs	Reuse templates with `{{ .Values }}`
Version Control	Manual tracking	`helm history vaultwarden`
Rollback	Manual `kubectl apply` of old files	`helm rollback vaultwarden 1`
Community Support	Copy/paste from docs	`helm search repo vaultwarden`
Complex Features	Manual ingress setup	Built-in ingress support
Storage Configuration	Direct PVC definition	Abstracted via `persistence` config

4. Maintenance Comparison

Scenario: Adding Redis caching to Vaultwarden

Raw Manifest Approach:

Create Redis deployment
Create Redis service
Modify Vaultwarden deployment with Redis env vars
Apply 3 new files
Manually verify connections

Helm Approach:

# values.yaml
redis:
  enabled: true
  architecture: standalone

helm upgrade vaultwarden . --values values.yaml

5. Homelab-Specific Advantages

Helm Wins When:

Managing multiple similar services (Nextcloud/Paperless-ngx)
Upgrading application versions
Enabling/disabling features like ingress
Managing secrets across environments
Backing up/recreating entire stacks

Raw Manifests Win When:

Learning Kubernetes fundamentals
Debugging specific resource issues
Creating one-off custom deployments
Working with experimental CRDs

6. Real-World Example Output

Helm Status Check:

$ helm status vaultwarden
NAME: vaultwarden
LAST DEPLOYED: Fri Oct  6 10:00:00 2023
NAMESPACE: default
STATUS: deployed
RESOURCES:
==> v1/Service
NAME         TYPE       CLUSTER-IP    EXTERNAL-IP  PORT(S)  AGE
vaultwarden  ClusterIP  10.43.10.123  <none>       80/TCP   2d

==> v1/PersistentVolumeClaim
NAME         STATUS  VOLUME                                    CAPACITY  STORAGECLASS
vaultwarden  Bound   pvc-1234abcd                              5Gi       nfs

Raw Manifest Check:

$ kubectl get pvc,deploy,svc -l app=vaultwarden
NAME                              STATUS   VOLUME                                    CAPACITY
persistentvolumeclaim/vaultwarden Bound    pvc-1234abcd                              5Gi

NAME                             READY   UP-TO-DATE   AVAILABLE
deployment.apps/vaultwarden       1/1     1            1

NAME                    TYPE        CLUSTER-IP    EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)
service/vaultwarden     ClusterIP   10.43.10.123  <none>        80/TCP

For your homelab with multiple applications, Helm provides better long-term maintainability while raw manifests offer better visibility into individual resources. Would you like me to show a specific application's Helm chart configuration for your stack?