How to fix - Helm install unknown flag --name/Error must either provide a name or specify --generate-name?

calendar Jan 5, 2021 · 3 min read · Helm Chart  ·
Last Modified : Jan 5, 2021
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Author :  Rahul Wagh


In Helm v3 you must use release name along with chart name in the command otherwise it will result into the following errors -

Error 1- Helm install unknown flag --name
Error 2- Error: must either provide a name or specify --generate-name




Lets look at Error 1 - Caused by incorrect use of name flag

This --name flag is no longer supported by the Helm v3, so if you are trying to use it somewhere in your helm commands then it will not work.

Error 1- Helm install unknown flag --name

The above error is caused by the --name flag used in the Helm command (You should not use --name flag.)

Considering the error most probably your incorrect helm command should look like this -

1helm install helloWorld --name helloWorldRelease


Lets look at Error 2 - Caused by missing 'release name'

This error is also very similar to Error 1 but you most probably missing release name in the command.

Here is an example of incorrect command where you did not mention release name -

1helm install helloWorld

In the above command helloWorld is my Helm Chart.

Once you run the above incorrect command it will result into following error

Error 2- Error: must either provide a name or specify --generate-name



How to fix both the errors?

Here is the correct example of the command -

1helm install helloWorldRelease helloWorld

In the above command -

Args Name
1 Release name helloWorldRelease (Note : - You can write any name of your choice)
2 Chart name helloWorld

Helm auto-generate release name (In case if you want helm to auto to generate the release name)

By default Helm v3 will not auto-generate the release name. If you want Helm to auto-generate name then you must supply auto-generate flag along with your command.

Look at the following example (In this example I am not supplying release name)-

1helm install --generate-name helloWorld

Here is the breakdown of above command -

Args Name
1 Release name NO NEED OF RELEASE NAME HELM WILL AUTO GENERATE
2 Chart name helloWorld

You can verify the release name after running the installation command -

1helm list -a

Here is the status of the Helm install -

1NAME                   NAMESPACE  REVISION   UPDATED                                    STATUS     CHART              APP VERSION
2helloworld-1609923884  default    1          2021-01-06 09:04:45.188824802 +0000 UTC    deployed   helloworld-0.1.0   1.16.0

As you can see helloworld-1609923884 is the auto generated name by Helm.



Conclusion

I hope this article will help you to resolve your issue with Helm commands. For more details, you can read - Helm v3 Doc



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