What is ArgoCD
Key idea:
ArgoCD — most popular GitOps tool for Kubernetes (CNCF graduated 2022). An agent in the cluster continuously compares Git state vs actual, applies diffs. Nice web UI with visualisation of health/sync status. Typical setup: 1 ArgoCD install manages multiple clusters/apps. Scale: Intuit uses ArgoCD for 1000+ apps. Alternatives: Flux CD (simpler, pull-based).
Below: details, example, related terms, FAQ.
Details
- Application CRD: points Git repo path → K8s namespace
- ApplicationSet: generate apps for multi-env (dev/staging/prod)
- App of apps: one app manages many (hierarchical)
- Sync waves: ordered resource creation (order annotations)
- Notifications: Slack/Teams on sync events
Example
# App of apps bootstrap
apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
name: bootstrap
spec:
source:
repoURL: git@github.com:me/manifests
path: apps/ # contains more Application CRDs
targetRevision: HEAD
destination: { server: https://kubernetes.default.svc, namespace: argocd }
syncPolicy: { automated: { prune: true } }Related Terms
Learn more
Frequently Asked Questions
ArgoCD vs Flux?
ArgoCD: better UI, UI-driven adoption. Flux: simpler, native cross-cluster. Enterprise often ArgoCD (UI for devs). Platform teams often Flux.
Multi-cluster?
ArgoCD manages multiple clusters from one UI. Needs credentials. Alternative — instance per cluster.
Scaling limits?
Default configs: ~1000 apps per instance. Large setups — shard controllers by clusters/projects.