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.

Use this skill when

•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

Do not use this skill when

•You need a one-off manual deployment
•You cannot manage cluster access or repo permissions
•You are not deploying to Kubernetes

Instructions

•Define repo layout and desired-state conventions.
•Install ArgoCD or Flux and connect clusters.
•Configure sync policies, environments, and promotion flow.
•Validate rollbacks and secret handling.

Safety

•Avoid auto-sync to production without approvals.
•Keep secrets out of Git and use sealed or external secret managers.

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

bash

# 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

code

gitops-repo/
├── apps/
│   ├── production/
│   │   ├── app1/
│   │   │   ├── kustomization.yaml
│   │   │   └── deployment.yaml
│   │   └── app2/
│   └── staging/
├── infrastructure/
│   ├── ingress-nginx/
│   ├── cert-manager/
│   └── monitoring/
└── argocd/
    ├── applications/
    └── projects/

3. Create Application

yaml

# 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

yaml

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

bash

# 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

yaml

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

yaml

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:

yaml

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:

yaml

spec:
  interval: 1m
  prune: true
  wait: true
  timeout: 5m

Reference: See references/sync-policies.md

Progressive Delivery

Canary Deployment with ArgoCD Rollouts

yaml

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

yaml

strategy:
  blueGreen:
    activeService: my-app
    previewService: my-app-preview
    autoPromotionEnabled: false

Secret Management

External Secrets Operator

yaml

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:
  - secret