chore(helm): support deployment using helm chart

Add Helm chart for deploying Kepler Operator with automated
validation and testing infrastructure.

Changes:
- Add Helm chart in manifests/helm/kepler-operator/ with templates for all
  operator resources (deployment, RBAC, webhooks, cert-manager integration)
- Add Makefile targets for Helm operations (lint, template, install, validate)
- Add hack/helm/validate.sh for three-layer validation (syntax, rendering,
  consistency with kustomize)
- Add hack/ci/ resources for CI testing with fake CPU meter
- Add hack/cert-manager/ utilities for certificate verification
- Add comprehensive documentation in docs/developer/helm-chart-maintenance.md
- Update pre-commit hooks to validate Helm chart syntax
- Update README.md with Helm deployment option

The chart follows hybrid automation approach: manual templates with automated
CRD sync and validation against kustomize output.

Signed-off-by: Sunil Thaha <[email protected]>

Author: Sunil Thaha

.github/helm-e2e/action.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+---
+name: Helm E2E Test
+description: Tests Helm chart installation and operator deployment
+inputs:
+  version:
+    description: Operator version to install
+    required: true
+runs:
+  using: composite
+  steps:
+    - name: Run Helm E2E tests
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        ./tests/helm.sh \
+          --running-on-vm \
+          --version=${{ inputs.version }}
+      env:
+        VERSION: ${{ inputs.version }}

.github/workflows/pr-checks.yaml

@@ -386,3 +386,62 @@ jobs:
         with:
           name: cluster-state
           path: cluster-state
+
+  helm-validate:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout source
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Setup Go
+        uses: actions/setup-go@v5
+        with:
+          go-version-file: go.mod
+          cache: false
+
+      - name: Install all tools
+        uses: ./.github/tools-cache
+
+      - name: Run Helm validation
+        run: hack/helm/validate.sh
+
+  helm-e2e:
+    needs: [bundle, helm-validate]
+    env:
+      KIND_VERSION: 0.27.0
+      KIND_WORKER_NODES: 2
+    name: helm-e2e
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest-16-cores
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout source
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Install Go
+        uses: actions/setup-go@v5
+        with:
+          go-version-file: go.mod
+          cache: false
+
+      - name: Install all tools
+        uses: ./.github/tools-cache
+
+      - name: Setup cluster with prerequisites
+        run: make cluster-up
+        env:
+          PROMETHEUS_ENABLE: "true"
+
+      - name: Compute version
+        uses: ./.github/compute-version
+        id: version
+
+      - name: Run Helm E2E tests
+        uses: ./.github/helm-e2e
+        with:
+          version: ${{ steps.version.outputs.version }}
+
+      - name: Archive cluster state
+        if: always()
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: helm-cluster-state
+          path: cluster-state

.pre-commit-config.yaml

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ repos:
     rev: v1.37.0
     hooks:
       - id: yamllint
-        exclude: ^(bundle|config|hack/crd)
+        exclude: ^(bundle|config|hack/crd|manifests/helm)
 
   - repo: https://github.com/igorshubovych/markdownlint-cli
     rev: v0.44.0
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ repos:
     hooks:
       - id: commitlint
         stages: [commit-msg]
-        additional_dependencies: ['@commitlint/config-conventional'] # yamllint disable-line rule:quoted-strings
+        additional_dependencies: ["@commitlint/config-conventional"] # yamllint disable-line rule:quoted-strings
 
   - repo: https://github.com/fsfe/reuse-tool
     rev: v5.0.2

Makefile

@@ -295,6 +295,51 @@ undeploy: ## Undeploy controller from the K8s cluster specified in ~/.kube/confi
 	$(KUSTOMIZE) build config/default/k8s | \
 		kubectl delete --ignore-not-found=$(ignore-not-found) -f -
 
+##@ Helm Deployment
+
+HELM_CHART_DIR := manifests/helm/kepler-operator
+HELM_RELEASE_NAME ?= kepler-operator
+HELM_NAMESPACE ?= kepler-operator
+HELM_TIMEOUT ?= 2m
+
+.PHONY: helm-template
+helm-template: helm manifests ## Generate manifests from Helm chart
+	$(HELM) template $(HELM_RELEASE_NAME) $(HELM_CHART_DIR) \
+		--namespace $(HELM_NAMESPACE) \
+		--set operator.image=$(OPERATOR_IMG) \
+		--set kepler.image=$(KEPLER_IMG) \
+		--set kube-rbac-proxy.image=$(KUBE_RBAC_PROXY_IMG)
+
+.PHONY: helm-install
+helm-install: helm manifests helm-sync-crds ## Install operator via Helm
+	$(HELM) upgrade --install $(HELM_RELEASE_NAME) $(HELM_CHART_DIR) \
+		--namespace $(HELM_NAMESPACE) \
+		--create-namespace \
+		--set operator.image=$(OPERATOR_IMG) \
+		--set kepler.image=$(KEPLER_IMG) \
+		--set kube-rbac-proxy.image=$(KUBE_RBAC_PROXY_IMG) \
+		--timeout $(HELM_TIMEOUT) \
+		--wait
+
+.PHONY: helm-uninstall
+helm-uninstall: helm ## Uninstall operator via Helm
+	$(HELM) uninstall $(HELM_RELEASE_NAME) --namespace $(HELM_NAMESPACE)
+
+.PHONY: helm-package
+helm-package: helm manifests helm-sync-crds ## Package the Helm chart
+	$(HELM) package $(HELM_CHART_DIR) --destination tmp/
+
+.PHONY: helm-sync-crds
+helm-sync-crds: ## Sync CRDs from config/crd/bases to Helm chart
+	@mkdir -p $(HELM_CHART_DIR)/crds
+	cp config/crd/bases/*.yaml $(HELM_CHART_DIR)/crds/
+	@echo "✅ CRDs synced to Helm chart"
+
+.PHONY: helm-validate
+helm-validate: kustomize helm yq ## Validate Helm chart (syntax, templates, CRD sync, resources)
+	@echo "Validating Helm chart against kustomize..."
+	./hack/helm/validate.sh
+
 ##@ Build Dependencies
 
 ## Location where binaries are installed
@@ -304,6 +349,7 @@ LOCALBIN ?= $(shell pwd)/tmp/bin
 KUSTOMIZE ?= $(LOCALBIN)/kustomize
 CONTROLLER_GEN ?= $(LOCALBIN)/controller-gen
 CRDOC ?= $(LOCALBIN)/crdoc
+HELM ?= $(LOCALBIN)/helm
 
 # NOTE: please keep this list sorted so that it can be easily searched
 TOOLS = controller-gen \

README.md

@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ Deploy the operator and its dependencies:
 ```sh
 make tools
 kubectl create -f https://github.com/prometheus-operator/prometheus-operator/releases/download/v0.76.0/bundle.yaml
-kubectl create -f https://github.com/jetstack/cert-manager/releases/download/v1.15.3/cert-manager.yaml
+kubectl create -f https://github.com/cert-manager/cert-manager/releases/download/v1.18.2/cert-manager.yaml
 make deploy
 kubectl apply -k config/samples/
 ```

docs/developer/README.md

@@ -62,3 +62,8 @@
 * Kube Builder Book: <https://book.kubebuilder.io/>
 * Operator SDK Getting Started: <https://sdk.operatorframework.io/docs/building-operators/golang/tutorial/>
 * Kubernetes Programming Book: <https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/programming-kubernetes/9781492047094/>
+
+# Developer Guides
+
+* [Helm Chart Maintenance](helm-chart-maintenance.md) - How to update and maintain the Helm chart
+* [Pre-commit Hooks](pre-commit-hooks.md) - Setting up and using pre-commit hooks