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helmfile/docs/remote-secrets.md
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2026-09-13 15:40:12 +08:00

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# Secrets
helmfile can handle secrets using [helm-secrets](https://github.com/jkroepke/helm-secrets) plugin or using remote secrets storage
(everything that package [vals](https://github.com/helmfile/vals) can handle vault, AWS SSM etc)
This section will describe the second use case.
# Remote secrets
This paragraph will describe how to use remote secrets storage (vault, SSM etc) in helmfile
## Fetching single key
To fetch single key from remote secret storage you can use `fetchSecretValue` template function example below
```yaml
# helmfile.yaml
repositories:
- name: stable
url: https://charts.helm.sh/stable
---
environments:
default:
values:
- service:
password: ref+vault://svc/#pass
login: ref+vault://svc/#login
releases:
- name: service
namespace: default
labels:
cluster: services
secrets: vault
chart: stable/svc
version: 0.1.0
values:
- service:
login: {{ .Values.service.login | fetchSecretValue }} # this will resolve ref+vault://svc/#pass and fetch secret from vault
password: {{ .Values.service.password | fetchSecretValue | quote }}
# - values/service.yaml.gotmpl # alternatively
```
## Fetching multiple keys
Alternatively you can use `expandSecretRefs` to fetch a map of secrets
```yaml
# values/service.yaml.gotmpl
service:
{{ .Values.service | expandSecretRefs | toYaml | nindent 2 }}
```
This will produce
```yaml
# values/service.yaml
service:
login: svc-login # fetched from vault
password: pass
```
## Disabling vals
You can disable the built-in vals processing using environment variables:
### Pass-through mode
Set `HELMFILE_DISABLE_VALS=true` to disable internal vals processing. Any `ref+` values will pass through unchanged, allowing you to validate them with a policy tool such as [conftest](https://www.conftest.dev/) before they are resolved:
```bash
HELMFILE_DISABLE_VALS=true helmfile template | conftest test -
```
### Strict mode
Set `HELMFILE_DISABLE_VALS_STRICT=true` to disable vals and error if any `ref+` values are detected. This is useful when you want to prevent users from using vals references:
```bash
HELMFILE_DISABLE_VALS_STRICT=true helmfile sync
# Error: vals is disabled via HELMFILE_DISABLE_VALS_STRICT environment variable
```
Note: If both are set, strict mode takes precedence.
Strict mode detects any `ref+<provider>://` or `secretref+<provider>://` expression, including nested ones in maps and arrays. Plain strings that merely contain the text `ref+` (without a provider scheme) are not vals references and do not trigger the error.
### Validating ref+ expressions with conftest
You can use `HELMFILE_DISABLE_VALS=true` with [conftest](https://www.conftest.dev/) to validate that all `ref+` expressions conform to your security policy before processing them.
Example rego policy (`policy/vals_refs.rego`):
```rego
package main
allowed_refs := {
"ref+tfstates3://my-terraform-state/networking/eu-west-2/vpc/vpc_id",
"ref+tfstates3://my-terraform-state/networking/eu-west-2/vpc/private_subnet_ids",
"ref+tfstates3://my-terraform-state/platform/eu-west-2/eks/cluster_endpoint",
}
deny[msg] {
value := input[_]
startswith(value, "ref+tfstates3://")
not allowed_refs[value]
msg := sprintf("ref+ expression references an unapproved tfstates3 URI: %s", [value])
}
deny[msg] {
value := input[_]
startswith(value, "ref+")
not startswith(value, "ref+tfstates3://")
msg := sprintf("only tfstates3 ref+ expressions are permitted, got: %s", [value])
}
```
Run against your rendered values:
```bash
HELMFILE_DISABLE_VALS=true helmfile template | conftest test -
```