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ArgoCD GitOps

Kubernetes deployments with GitOps workflow.

Problems this Architecture solves​

  • Prevents cluster drift by continuously reconciling live state back to what is declared in Git.
  • Reduces manual kubectl deployment workflows that are hard to audit and roll back safely.
  • Improves visibility into release health with explicit sync and application status in the control plane.

Key Features​

  • GitOps: Git as single source of truth for cluster state
  • Auto-Sync: Automatically apply changes from Git
  • Self-Heal: Revert manual changes to match Git
  • Pruning: Delete resources removed from Git
  • App of Apps: Manage multiple applications from single repo
  • Rollback: Easy rollback to previous Git commit

GitOps Workflow​

1. Developer Updates Manifest​

  • Edit Kubernetes manifests in Git
  • Update image tag, replicas, config
  • Commit and push to repository

2. ArgoCD Watches Repository​

  • ArgoCD polls Git every 3 minutes
  • Detects changes to manifests
  • Compares desired state (Git) vs actual state (cluster)

3. ArgoCD Syncs Changes​

  • Applies changes to Kubernetes API
  • Creates/updates/deletes resources
  • Waits for resources to become healthy

4. Sync Status Reported​

  • Synced: Cluster matches Git
  • OutOfSync: Manual changes detected
  • Healthy: All resources running
  • Degraded: Some resources failing

App of Apps Pattern​

apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
  name: root-app
spec:
  source:
    repoURL: https://github.com/acme/k8s-manifests
    path: apps/
  destination:
    server: https://kubernetes.default.svc

Structure​

k8s-manifests/
├── apps/
│   ├── api.yaml
│   ├── worker.yaml
│   └── cron.yaml
├── api/
│   ├── deployment.yaml
│   ├── service.yaml
│   └── ingress.yaml
├── worker/
│   └── deployment.yaml
└── cron/
    └── cronjob.yaml

Helm Integration​

ArgoCD supports Helm charts with values overrides:

apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
  name: api
spec:
  source:
    repoURL: https://github.com/acme/helm-charts
    path: api/
    helm:
      values: |
        image:
          tag: v1.2.3
        replicas: 3

Benefits​

  • Declarative: Desired state defined in Git
  • Auditable: All changes tracked in Git history
  • Recoverable: Easy rollback to any previous state
  • Consistent: Same deployment process across environments
  • Secure: No kubectl access needed for deployments