Implement GitOps workflows with ArgoCD and Flux for automated, declarative Kubernetes deployments with continuous reconciliation. Use when implementing GitOps practices, automating Kubernetes deployments, or setting up declarative infrastructure management.
Installation
Details
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name: gitops-workflow description: Implement GitOps workflows with ArgoCD and Flux for automated, declarative Kubernetes deployments with continuous reconciliation. Use when implementing GitOps practices, automating Kubernetes deployments, or setting up declarative infrastructure management.
GitOps Workflow
Complete guide to implementing GitOps workflows with ArgoCD and Flux for automated Kubernetes deployments.
Purpose
Implement declarative, Git-based continuous delivery for Kubernetes using ArgoCD or Flux CD, following OpenGitOps principles.
When to Use This Skill
- Set up GitOps for Kubernetes clusters
- Automate application deployments from Git
- Implement progressive delivery strategies
- Manage multi-cluster deployments
- Configure automated sync policies
- Set up secret management in GitOps
OpenGitOps Principles
- Declarative - Entire system described declaratively
- Versioned and Immutable - Desired state stored in Git
- Pulled Automatically - Software agents pull desired state
- Continuously Reconciled - Agents reconcile actual vs desired state
ArgoCD Setup
1. Installation
# Create namespace
kubectl create namespace argocd
# Install ArgoCD
kubectl apply -n argocd -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/argoproj/argo-cd/stable/manifests/install.yaml
# Get admin password
kubectl -n argocd get secret argocd-initial-admin-secret -o jsonpath="{.data.password}" | base64 -d
Reference: See references/argocd-setup.md for detailed setup
2. Repository Structure
gitops-repo/
├── apps/
│ ├── production/
│ │ ├── app1/
│ │ │ ├── kustomization.yaml
│ │ │ └── deployment.yaml
│ │ └── app2/
│ └── staging/
├── infrastructure/
│ ├── ingress-nginx/
│ ├── cert-manager/
│ └── monitoring/
└── argocd/
├── applications/
└── projects/
3. Create Application
# argocd/applications/my-app.yaml
apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
name: my-app
namespace: argocd
spec:
project: default
source:
repoURL: https://github.com/org/gitops-repo
targetRevision: main
path: apps/production/my-app
destination:
server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
namespace: production
syncPolicy:
automated:
prune: true
selfHeal: true
syncOptions:
- CreateNamespace=true
4. App of Apps Pattern
apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
name: applications
namespace: argocd
spec:
project: default
source:
repoURL: https://github.com/org/gitops-repo
targetRevision: main
path: argocd/applications
destination:
server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
namespace: argocd
syncPolicy:
automated: {}
Flux CD Setup
1. Installation
# Install Flux CLI
curl -s https://fluxcd.io/install.sh | sudo bash
# Bootstrap Flux
flux bootstrap github \
--owner=org \
--repository=gitops-repo \
--branch=main \
--path=clusters/production \
--personal
2. Create GitRepository
apiVersion: source.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v1
kind: GitRepository
metadata:
name: my-app
namespace: flux-system
spec:
interval: 1m
url: https://github.com/org/my-app
ref:
branch: main
3. Create Kustomization
apiVersion: kustomize.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v1
kind: Kustomization
metadata:
name: my-app
namespace: flux-system
spec:
interval: 5m
path: ./deploy
prune: true
sourceRef:
kind: GitRepository
name: my-app
Sync Policies
Auto-Sync Configuration
ArgoCD:
syncPolicy:
automated:
prune: true # Delete resources not in Git
selfHeal: true # Reconcile manual changes
allowEmpty: false
retry:
limit: 5
backoff:
duration: 5s
factor: 2
maxDuration: 3m
Flux:
spec:
interval: 1m
prune: true
wait: true
timeout: 5m
Reference: See references/sync-policies.md
Progressive Delivery
Canary Deployment with ArgoCD Rollouts
apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Rollout
metadata:
name: my-app
spec:
replicas: 5
strategy:
canary:
steps:
- setWeight: 20
- pause: {duration: 1m}
- setWeight: 50
- pause: {duration: 2m}
- setWeight: 100
Blue-Green Deployment
strategy:
blueGreen:
activeService: my-app
previewService: my-app-preview
autoPromotionEnabled: false
Secret Management
External Secrets Operator
apiVersion: external-secrets.io/v1beta1
kind: ExternalSecret
metadata:
name: db-credentials
spec:
refreshInterval: 1h
secretStoreRef:
name: aws-secrets-manager
kind: SecretStore
target:
name: db-credentials
data:
- secretKey: password
remoteRef:
key: prod/db/password
Sealed Secrets
# Encrypt secret
kubeseal --format yaml < secret.yaml > sealed-secret.yaml
# Commit sealed-secret.yaml to Git
Best Practices
- Use separate repos or branches for different environments
- Implement RBAC for Git repositories
- Enable notifications for sync failures
- Use health checks for custom resources
- Implement approval gates for production
- Keep secrets out of Git (use External Secrets)
- Use App of Apps pattern for organization
- Tag releases for easy rollback
- Monitor sync status with alerts
- Test changes in staging first
Troubleshooting
Sync failures:
argocd app get my-app
argocd app sync my-app --prune
Out of sync status:
argocd app diff my-app
argocd app sync my-app --force
Related Skills
k8s-manifest-generator- For creating manifestshelm-chart-scaffolding- For packaging applications
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