Helm values.yaml Diff for Kubernetes Drift
TL;DR: Two values.yaml files can look almost the same but configure different resources, limits, or endpoints across clusters.
Common Helm Drift Patterns
When you promote a chart from staging to prod, small changes in values.yaml can cause big differences:
- Different replica counts for critical workloads
- Prod pointing at a different database or message broker
- Resource limits tuned in staging but left default in prod
Example: Endpoint Drift
# staging values.yaml
api:
url: https://api.staging.example.com
# production values.yaml
api:
url: https://api.example.com
Both configs render, but a simple URL difference explains why traffic goes to the wrong backend in one environment.
Diff Helm values.yaml Safely
Use the Config Diff Inspector to flatten both YAML files and compare:
- Missing keys for resources, probes, or secrets
- Changed values for URLs, hosts, and connection strings
- Type mismatches on flags and numeric limits
Compare Helm values.yaml Files
Paste two values.yaml configs into the Config Diff Inspector to catch Kubernetes config drift.