diff --git a/_modules/helm.py b/_modules/helm.py
index 6493aa5..9e62154 100644
--- a/_modules/helm.py
+++ b/_modules/helm.py
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 import logging
 
 from salt.serializers import yaml
+from salt.exceptions import CommandExecutionError
+
 
 HELM_HOME = '/srv/helm/home'
 LOG = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -16,14 +18,16 @@
 
 
 def _helm_cmd(*args, **tiller_kwargs):
-    if tiller_kwargs['tiller_host']:
+    if tiller_kwargs.get('tiller_host'):
         tiller_args = ('--host', tiller_kwargs['tiller_host'])
-    else:
+    elif tiller_kwargs.get('tiller_namespace'):
         tiller_args = ('--tiller-namespace', tiller_kwargs['tiller_namespace'])
+    else:
+        tiller_args = ()
     env = {'HELM_HOME': HELM_HOME}
-    if tiller_kwargs['kube_config']:
+    if tiller_kwargs.get('kube_config'):
         env['KUBECONFIG'] = tiller_kwargs['kube_config']
-    if tiller_kwargs['gce_service_token']:
+    if tiller_kwargs.get('gce_service_token'):
         env['GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS'] = \
             tiller_kwargs['gce_service_token']
     return {
@@ -31,6 +35,187 @@
         'env': env,
     }
 
+def _parse_repo(repo_string = None):
+  split_string = repo_string.split('\t')
+  return {
+    "name": split_string[0].strip(),
+    "url": split_string[1].strip()
+  }
+
+def list_repos():
+  '''
+  Get the result of running `helm repo list` on the target minion, formatted
+  as a list of dicts with two keys:
+
+    * name: the name with which the repository is registered
+    * url: the url registered for the repository
+  '''
+  cmd = _helm_cmd('repo', 'list')
+  result = __salt__['cmd.run_stdout'](**cmd)
+  if result is None:
+    return result
+
+  result = result.split("\n")
+  result.pop(0)
+  return { 
+    repo['name']: repo['url'] for repo in [_parse_repo(line) for line in result]
+  }
+
+def add_repo(name, url):
+  '''
+  Register the repository located at the supplied url with the supplied name. 
+  Note that re-using an existing name will overwrite the repository url for
+  that registered repository to point to the supplied url.
+
+  name
+      The name with which to register the repository with the Helm client.
+
+  url
+      The url for the chart repository.
+  '''
+  cmd = _helm_cmd('repo', 'add', name, url)
+  ret = __salt__['cmd.run_all'](**cmd)
+  if ret['retcode'] != 0:
+    raise CommandExecutionError(ret['stderr'])
+  return ret['stdout']
+
+def remove_repo(name):
+  '''
+  Remove the repository from the Helm client registered with the supplied
+  name.
+
+  name
+      The name (as registered with the Helm client) for the repository to remove
+  '''
+  cmd = _helm_cmd('repo', 'remove', name)
+  ret = __salt__['cmd.run_all'](**cmd)
+  if ret['retcode'] != 0:
+    raise CommandExecutionError(ret['stderr'])
+  return ret['stdout']
+
+def manage_repos(present={}, absent=[], exclusive=False):
+  '''
+  Manage the repositories registered with the Helm client's local cache. 
+
+  *ensuring repositories are present*
+  Repositories that should be present in the helm client can be supplied via 
+  the `present` dict parameter; each key in the dict is a release name, and the
+  value is the repository url that should be registered.
+
+  *ensuring repositories are absent*
+  Repository names supplied via the `absent` parameter must be a string. If the
+  `exclusive` flag is set to True, the `absent` parameter will be ignored, even
+  if it has been supplied.
+
+  This function returns a dict with the following keys:
+
+    * already_present: a listing of supplied repository definitions to add that 
+      are already registered with the Helm client
+
+    * added: a list of repositories that are newly registered with the Helm 
+      client. Each item in the list is a dict with the following keys:
+        * name: the repo name
+        * url: the repo url
+        * stdout: the output from the `helm repo add` command call for the repo
+    
+    * already_absent: any repository name supplied via the `absent` parameter 
+      that was already not registered with the Helm client
+    
+    * removed: the result of attempting to remove any repositories
+
+    * failed: a list of repositores that were unable to be added. Each item in
+      the list is a dict with the following keys:
+        * type: the text "removal" or "addition", as appropriate
+        * name: the repo name
+        * url: the repo url (if appropriate)
+        * error: the output from add or remove command attempted for the 
+          repository
+
+  present
+      The dict of repositories that should be registered with the Helm client. 
+      Each dict key is the name with which the repository url (the corresponding
+      value) should be registered with the Helm client.
+
+  absent
+      The list of repositories to ensure are not registered with the Helm client.
+      Each entry in the list must be the (string) name of the repository.
+
+  exclusive
+      A flag indicating whether only the supplied repos should be available in 
+      the target minion's Helm client. If configured to true, the `absent` 
+      parameter will be ignored and only the repositories configured via the 
+      `present` parameter will be registered with the Helm client. Defaults to 
+      False.
+  '''
+  existing_repos = list_repos()
+  result = {
+    "already_present": [],
+    "added": [],
+    "already_absent": [],
+    "removed": [],
+    "failed": []
+  }
+
+  for name, url in present.iteritems():
+    if not name or not url:
+      raise CommandExecutionError(('Supplied repo to add must have a name (%s) '
+                                   'and url (%s)' % (name, url)))
+    
+    if name in existing_repos and existing_repos[name] == url:
+      result['already_present'].append({ "name": name, "url": url })
+      continue
+
+    try:
+      result['added'].append({ 
+        'name': name, 
+        'url': url, 
+        'stdout': add_repo(name, url)
+      })
+      existing_repos = {
+        n: u for (n, u) in existing_repos.iteritems() if name != n
+      }
+    except CommandExecutionError as e:
+      result['failed'].append({ 
+        "type": "addition", 
+        "name": name, 
+        'url': url, 
+        'error': '%s' % e
+      })  
+  
+  #
+  # Handle removal of repositories configured to be absent (or not configured
+  # to be present if the `exclusive` flag is set)
+  #
+  existing_names = [name for (name, url) in existing_repos.iteritems()]
+  if exclusive:
+    present['stable'] = "exclude"
+    absent = [name for name in existing_names if not name in present]
+  
+  for name in absent:
+    if not name or not isinstance(name, str):
+      raise CommandExecutionError(('Supplied repo name to be absent must be a '
+                                   'string: %s' % name))
+    
+    if name not in existing_names:
+      result['already_absent'].append(name)
+      continue
+
+    try:
+      result['removed'].append({ 'name': name, 'stdout': remove_repo(name) })
+    except CommandExecutionError as e:
+      result['failed'].append({ 
+        "type": "removal", "name": name, "error": '%s' % e 
+      })
+
+  return result
+
+def update_repos():
+  '''
+  Ensures the local helm repository cache for each repository is up to date. 
+  Proxies the `helm repo update` command.
+  '''
+  cmd = _helm_cmd('repo', 'update')
+  return __salt__['cmd.run_stdout'](**cmd)
 
 def release_exists(name, namespace='default',
                    tiller_namespace='kube-system', tiller_host=None,