What is the difference between the application version and the chart version in Helm?

In Helm, the application version (app version) is the version of the application itself that you deploy, for example, the version of your service or microservice (e.g., 1.2.3). It reflects the release of the application.

The chart version (chart version) is the version of the Helm chart that describes how to deploy the application, its configuration, templates, and dependencies. The chart version changes when you update the structure or settings of the chart, even if the application version remains the same.

Example:

• appVersion: 1.2.3 — your application's version
• version: 0.5.1 — the Helm chart version that describes the deployment of this application

Thus, appVersion is the version of the application code, and version is the Helm package version.