Helm upgrade guide

This guide covers migrating from the inline-template ClickStack Helm chart (v1.x) to the subchart-based architecture (v2.x). This is a breaking change that replaces hand-rolled Kubernetes resources with operator-managed custom resources for MongoDB and ClickHouse, and uses the official OpenTelemetry Collector Helm chart.

Breaking Change

The v2.x chart is not backwards compatible with v1.x. An in-place helm upgrade is not supported. We recommend performing a fresh install alongside the existing deployment and migrating data, rather than attempting an in-place upgrade.

Prerequisites

• Back up your data before upgrading (MongoDB, ClickHouse PVCs)
• Review your current values.yaml overrides — most keys have moved or been renamed

Two-phase installation

The v2.x chart uses a two-phase install. Operators (which register CRDs) must be installed before the main chart (which creates CRs):

# Phase 1: Install operators and CRDs
helm install clickstack-operators clickstack/clickstack-operators

# Phase 2: Install ClickStack
helm install my-clickstack clickstack/clickstack

Uninstall in reverse order:

helm uninstall my-clickstack
helm uninstall clickstack-operators

Data persistence

PersistentVolumeClaims created by the MongoDB and ClickHouse operators are not removed by helm uninstall. This is by design to prevent accidental data loss. To clean up PVCs after uninstalling, refer to:

• MongoDB Kubernetes Operator docs
• ClickHouse Operator cleanup docs

Storage class

global.storageClassName and global.keepPVC have been removed. Storage class is now configured directly in each operator's CR spec:

mongodb:
  spec:
    statefulSet:
      spec:
        volumeClaimTemplates:
          - spec:
              storageClassName: "fast-ssd"

clickhouse:
  keeper:
    spec:
      dataVolumeClaimSpec:
        storageClassName: "fast-ssd"
  cluster:
    spec:
      dataVolumeClaimSpec:
        storageClassName: "fast-ssd"

What changed

Component	Before (v1.x)	After (v2.x)
MongoDB	Inline Deployment + Service + PVC	MongoDB Kubernetes Operator (MCK) managing a MongoDBCommunity CR
ClickHouse	Inline Deployment + Service + ConfigMaps + PVCs	ClickHouse Operator managing ClickHouseCluster + KeeperCluster CRs
OTEL Collector	Inline Deployment + Service (otel.* block)	Official OpenTelemetry Collector Helm chart (otel-collector: subchart)
HyperDX values	Flat keys under hyperdx.* plus top-level tasks: and appUrl	Reorganized by K8s resource type under hyperdx.* (see below)
hdx-oss-v2	Deprecated legacy chart	Removed entirely

HyperDX values reorganization

The hyperdx: block is now organized by Kubernetes resource type:

hyperdx:
  ports:          # Shared port numbers (Deployment, Service, ConfigMap, Ingress)
    api: 8000
    app: 3000
    opamp: 4320

  frontendUrl: "http://localhost:3000"   # Replaces the removed appUrl

  config:         # → clickstack-config ConfigMap (non-sensitive env vars)
    APP_PORT: "3000"
    HYPERDX_LOG_LEVEL: "info"

  secrets:        # → clickstack-secret Secret (sensitive env vars)
    HYPERDX_API_KEY: "..."
    CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD: "otelcollectorpass"
    CLICKHOUSE_APP_PASSWORD: "hyperdx"
    MONGODB_PASSWORD: "hyperdx"

  deployment:     # K8s Deployment spec (image, replicas, probes, etc.)
  service:        # K8s Service spec (type, annotations)
  ingress:        # K8s Ingress spec (host, tls, annotations)
  podDisruptionBudget:  # K8s PDB spec
  tasks:          # K8s CronJob specs (previously top-level tasks:)

Key moves

Before (v1.x)	After (v2.x)
appUrl	Removed. Use hyperdx.frontendUrl (defaults to http://localhost:3000)
tasks.* (top-level)	hyperdx.tasks.*
mongodb.password	hyperdx.secrets.MONGODB_PASSWORD
clickhouse.config.users.appUserPassword	hyperdx.secrets.CLICKHOUSE_APP_PASSWORD
clickhouse.config.users.otelUserPassword	hyperdx.secrets.CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD
otel.* env overrides	hyperdx.config.* (non-sensitive) and hyperdx.secrets.* (sensitive)

Unified ConfigMap and Secret

All environment variables now flow through two static-named resources that are shared by the HyperDX Deployment and the OTEL Collector via envFrom:

• clickstack-config ConfigMap — populated from hyperdx.config
• clickstack-secret Secret — populated from hyperdx.secrets

There is no longer a separate OTEL-specific ConfigMap. Both workloads read from the same sources.

MongoDB migration

Removed values

The following mongodb.* values no longer exist:

# REMOVED — do not use
mongodb:
  image: "..."
  port: 27017
  strategy: ...
  nodeSelector: {}
  tolerations: []
  livenessProbe: ...
  readinessProbe: ...
  persistence:
    enabled: true
    dataSize: 10Gi

New values

MongoDB is now managed by the MCK operator via a MongoDBCommunity custom resource. The CR spec is rendered verbatim from mongodb.spec:

mongodb:
  enabled: true
  spec:
    members: 1
    type: ReplicaSet
    version: "5.0.32"
    security:
      authentication:
        modes: ["SCRAM"]
    users:
      - name: hyperdx
        db: hyperdx
        passwordSecretRef:
          name: '{{ include "clickstack.mongodb.fullname" . }}-password'
        roles:
          - name: dbOwner
            db: hyperdx
          - name: clusterMonitor
            db: admin
        scramCredentialsSecretName: '{{ include "clickstack.mongodb.fullname" . }}-scram'
    additionalMongodConfig:
      storage.wiredTiger.engineConfig.journalCompressor: zlib

The MongoDB password is set in hyperdx.secrets.MONGODB_PASSWORD (not mongodb.password). It is referenced automatically by the password Secret and the mongoUri template.

To add persistence, add a statefulSet block inside mongodb.spec:

mongodb:
  spec:
    statefulSet:
      spec:
        volumeClaimTemplates:
          - metadata:
              name: data-volume
            spec:
              accessModes: ["ReadWriteOnce"]
              storageClassName: "your-storage-class"
              resources:
                requests:
                  storage: 10Gi

The MCK operator subchart is configured under mongodb-operator: (not mongodb-kubernetes:). See the MCK documentation for all available CRD fields.

ClickHouse migration

Removed values

The following clickhouse.* values no longer exist:

# REMOVED — do not use
clickhouse:
  image: "..."
  terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 90
  resources: {}
  livenessProbe: ...
  readinessProbe: ...
  startupProbe: ...
  nodeSelector: {}
  tolerations: []
  service:
    type: ClusterIP
    annotations: {}
  persistence:
    enabled: true
    dataSize: 10Gi
    logSize: 5Gi
  config:
    clusterCidrs: [...]
    users:
      appUserPassword: "..."
      otelUserPassword: "..."
      otelUserName: "..."

New values

ClickHouse is now managed by the ClickHouse Operator via ClickHouseCluster and KeeperCluster custom resources. Both CR specs are rendered verbatim from values:

clickhouse:
  enabled: true
  port: 8123
  nativePort: 9000
  prometheus:
    enabled: true
    port: 9363
  keeper:
    spec:
      replicas: 1
      dataVolumeClaimSpec:
        accessModes: ["ReadWriteOnce"]
        resources:
          requests:
            storage: 5Gi
  cluster:
    spec:
      replicas: 1
      shards: 1
      keeperClusterRef:
        name: '{{ include "clickstack.clickhouse.keeper" . }}'
      dataVolumeClaimSpec:
        accessModes: ["ReadWriteOnce"]
        resources:
          requests:
            storage: 10Gi
      settings:
        extraUsersConfig:
          users:
            app:
              password: '{{ .Values.hyperdx.secrets.CLICKHOUSE_APP_PASSWORD }}'
            otelcollector:
              password: '{{ .Values.hyperdx.secrets.CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD }}'
        extraConfig:
          max_connections: 4096
          keep_alive_timeout: 64
          max_concurrent_queries: 100

ClickHouse user credentials are now sourced from hyperdx.secrets (not clickhouse.config.users). The cluster spec references them with template expressions.

The ClickHouse Operator subchart is configured under clickhouse-operator:. Webhooks and cert-manager are disabled by default. See the operator configuration guide for all available CRD fields.

OTEL Collector migration

Removed values

The entire otel: block no longer exists:

# REMOVED — do not use
otel:
  enabled: true
  image: ...
  replicas: 1
  resources: {}
  clickhouseEndpoint: ...
  clickhouseUser: ...
  clickhousePassword: ...
  clickhouseDatabase: "default"
  opampServerUrl: ...
  port: 13133
  nativePort: 24225
  grpcPort: 4317
  httpPort: 4318
  healthPort: 8888
  env: []
  customConfig: ...

New values

The OTEL Collector is now deployed via the official OpenTelemetry Collector Helm chart as the otel-collector: subchart. There is no parent-chart otel: wrapper — configure the subchart directly.

Environment variables (ClickHouse endpoint, OpAMP URL, etc.) are shared via the unified clickstack-config ConfigMap and clickstack-secret Secret. The subchart's extraEnvsFrom is pre-wired:

otel-collector:
  enabled: true
  mode: deployment
  image:
    repository: docker.clickhouse.com/clickhouse/clickstack-otel-collector
    tag: ""
  extraEnvsFrom:
    - configMapRef:
        name: clickstack-config
    - secretRef:
        name: clickstack-secret
  ports:
    otlp:
      enabled: true
      containerPort: 4317
      servicePort: 4317
    otlp-http:
      enabled: true
      containerPort: 4318
      servicePort: 4318

To set resources (previously otel.resources):

otel-collector:
  resources:
    requests:
      memory: "128Mi"
      cpu: "100m"
    limits:
      memory: "256Mi"
      cpu: "200m"

To set replicas (previously otel.replicas):

otel-collector:
  replicaCount: 3

To set nodeSelector/tolerations (previously otel.nodeSelector/otel.tolerations):

otel-collector:
  nodeSelector:
    node-role: monitoring
  tolerations:
    - key: monitoring
      operator: Equal
      value: otel
      effect: NoSchedule

See the OpenTelemetry Collector Helm chart for all available subchart values.

Unchanged values

The following sections are not affected by this migration:

• global.* (imageRegistry, imagePullSecrets)

Fresh install vs. in-place upgrade

For a fresh install, no special steps are needed. The default values work out of the box.

For an in-place upgrade of an existing release, be aware that:

1. The operators (MCK, ClickHouse Operator) will be installed as new deployments in your namespace
2. The existing MongoDB Deployment and ClickHouse Deployment will be deleted by Helm (they are no longer in the chart's templates)
3. The operators will create new StatefulSets to manage MongoDB and ClickHouse
4. PVCs from the old chart are not automatically reused by the operator-managed StatefulSets

We recommend performing a fresh install alongside the existing deployment and migrating data, rather than an in-place upgrade.

Next steps

• Main Helm guide - Basic installation with v2.x
• Configuration guide - API keys, secrets, and ingress
• Additional manifests - Custom Kubernetes objects
• ClickStack Helm charts repository - Chart source code and values reference