Helm Version Requirements
This section contains the requirements for Helm, which is the tool used to install Rancher on a high-availability Kubernetes cluster.
The installation instructions have been updated for Helm 3. For migration of installs started with Helm 2, refer to the official Helm 2 to 3 Migration Docs. This section provides a copy of the older high-availability Rancher installation instructions that used Helm 2, and it is intended to be used if upgrading to Helm 3 is not feasible.
Helm v2 support is deprecated as of the Rancher v2.7 line and will be removed in Rancher v2.9.
Identifying the Proper Helm v3 Version
Select any Helm v3 version that is officially compatible with the Kubernetes version range you are using from our Rancher Support Matrix.
To apply this rule, you may need to reference two external resources:
- Helm Version Compatibility: Refer to the Helm Version Support Policy and select the version matching the rule for your Rancher minor target.
- Rancher's Kubernetes Support Range: Use the Rancher Support Matrix to identify the Kubernetes versions supported by your target Rancher minor version.
Example
- Scenario: You are targeting Rancher v2.9.10, which supports Kubernetes versions v1.27 through v1.30.
- Application: Our rule requires a Helm version that supports this range. You can verify this by checking the Helm version's compatibility with the highest version in the range, Kubernetes v1.30.
- Result: You find that Helm v3.15 support the Kubernetes v1.27-v1.30 range.
- We recommend Helm v3.15 because matches Rancher's range exactly.
Additional Notes
- Helm v3.2.x or higher is required to install or upgrade Rancher v2.5.
- Helm v2 support was removed in Rancher v2.9.x.
- When using tools that run Helm commands for you (like Terraform), you must make sure they are configured to use the correct Helm version.