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ArgoCD ​

GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes.

Installation ​

Using kubectl ​

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

# Verify installation
kubectl get pods -n argocd

Using Helm ​

bash
# Add repository
helm repo add argo https://argoproj.github.io/argo-helm
helm repo update

# Install ArgoCD
helm install argocd argo/argo-cd -n argocd --create-namespace

Authentication ​

Initial Password ​

bash
# Get initial admin password
kubectl -n argocd get secret argocd-initial-admin-secret \
  -o jsonpath='{.data.password}' | base64 -d

Login via CLI ​

bash
# Login
argocd login <ARGOCD_SERVER>

# Using username/password
argocd login localhost:8080 --username admin --password <password>

# Using token
argocd login localhost:8080 --auth-token <token>

# Using certificate
argocd login localhost:8080 --grpc-web

Applications ​

Create Application ​

bash
# Create from Git repo
argocd app create myapp \
  --repo https://github.com/afasari/cheatsheets.git \
  --path k8s \
  --dest-server https://kubernetes.default.svc \
  --dest-namespace default

# Create from directory
argocd app create myapp \
  --repo https://github.com/afasari/cheatsheets.git \
  --path helm/myapp \
  --helm-set image.tag=v1.0.0

# Create from Helm chart
argocd app create myapp \
  --repo https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami \
  --chart nginx \
  --revision 13.2.0 \
  --helm-set service.type=LoadBalancer

List Applications ​

bash
# List all apps
argocd app list

# List with details
argocd app get myapp

# List apps with status
argocd app list -l app.kubernetes.io/name=myapp

Sync Application ​

bash
# Sync application
argocd app sync myapp

# Sync specific resource
argocd app sync myapp --resource Deployment/myapp

# Sync with dry-run
argocd app sync myapp --dry-run

# Force sync
argocd app sync myapp --force

Delete Application ​

bash
# Delete application
argocd app delete myapp

# Delete with cascade
argocd app delete myapp --cascade

ApplicationSet ​

List ApplicationSet ​

bash
# List ApplicationSets
argocd appset list

# Get ApplicationSet details
argocd appset get myappset

# Sync ApplicationSet
argocd appset sync myappset

Example ApplicationSet ​

yaml
apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: ApplicationSet
metadata:
  name: guestbook
spec:
  generators:
    - list:
        elements:
          - cluster: engineering
            url: https://kubernetes.default.svc
          - cluster: production
            url: https://production-cluster
  template:
    metadata:
      name: '{{cluster}}-guestbook'
    spec:
      project: default
      source:
        repoURL: https://github.com/afasari/cheatsheets.git
        targetRevision: HEAD
        path: guestbook
      destination:
        server: '{{url}}'
        namespace: guestbook

Rollouts ​

Get Rollouts ​

bash
# List rollouts
argocd app rollouts list myapp

# Get rollout details
argocd app rollouts history myapp

# Retry rollout
argocd app rollouts retry myapp

Rollback ​

Rollback Application ​

bash
# List history
argocd app history myapp

# Rollback to revision
argocd app rollback myapp <revision-id>

# Rollback with prune
argocd app rollback myapp <revision-id> --prune

App-of-Apps ​

Create App-of-Apps ​

yaml
apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
  name: apps
  namespace: argocd
spec:
  project: default
  source:
    repoURL: https://github.com/afasari/cheatsheets.git
    targetRevision: HEAD
    path: apps
  destination:
    server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
    namespace: argocd

Repositories ​

Add Repository ​

bash
# Add Git repo
argocd repo add https://github.com/afasari/cheatsheets.git

# Add with username/password
argocd repo add https://github.com/afasari/cheatsheets.git \
  --username git \
  --password secret

# Add with SSH
argocd repo add git@github.com:afasari/cheatsheets.git \
  --ssh-private-key-path ~/.ssh/id_rsa

# Add Helm repo
argocd repo add https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami \
  --name bitnami \
  --type helm

List Repositories ​

bash
# List all repos
argocd repo list

# Get repo details
argocd repo get https://github.com/afasari/cheatsheets.git

Delete Repository ​

bash
# Delete repo
argocd repo rm https://github.com/afasari/cheatsheets.git

Projects ​

Create Project ​

bash
# Create project
argocd proj create myproject

# Create from file
argocd proj create -f myproject.yaml

List Projects ​

bash
# List all projects
argocd proj list

# Get project details
argocd proj get myproject

Clusters ​

Add Cluster ​

bash
# Add cluster from kubeconfig
argocd cluster add mycluster

# Add external cluster
argocd cluster add https://192.168.1.1 --name mycluster

# Add with service account
argocd cluster add mycluster --service-account argocd-server

List Clusters ​

bash
# List all clusters
argocd cluster list

# Get cluster details
argocd cluster get mycluster

Delete Cluster ​

bash
# Delete cluster
argocd cluster rm mycluster

Application CRD ​

Application Example ​

yaml
apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
  name: myapp
  namespace: argocd
spec:
  project: default
  source:
    repoURL: https://github.com/afasari/cheatsheets.git
    targetRevision: HEAD
    path: k8s
  destination:
    server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
    namespace: default
  syncPolicy:
    automated:
      prune: true
      selfHeal: true
    syncOptions:
      - CreateNamespace=true

Sync Policies ​

Automated Sync ​

yaml
syncPolicy:
  automated:
    prune: true
    selfHeal: true
    allowEmpty: false
  syncOptions:
    - CreateNamespace=true
    - PrunePropagationPolicy=foreground
    - PruneLast=true

Manual Sync ​

yaml
syncPolicy:
  syncOptions:
    - CreateNamespace=true

Hooks ​

Pre-Sync Hook ​

yaml
apiVersion: batch/v1
kind: Job
metadata:
  name: myapp-pre-sync-hook
  annotations:
    argocd.argoproj.io/hook: PreSync
spec:
  template:
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: hook
        image: busybox
        command: ["/bin/sh", "-c", "echo pre-sync hook"]
      restartPolicy: Never

Notifications ​

Enable Notifications ​

bash
# Add notification channel
argocd notifications add channel slack --service-token <token>

Notification Example ​

yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: argocd-notifications-cm
data:
  service.slack: |
    token: $slack-token
  template.app-deployed: |
    message: |
      Application {{.app.metadata.name}} is synced at {{.app.status.sync.revision}}
    slack:
      attachments: |
        [{
          "title": "{{ .app.metadata.name}}",
          "title_link":"{{.context.argocdUrl}}/applications/{{.app.metadata.name}}",
          "color": "#18be52",
          "fields": [{
            "title": "Sync Status",
            "value": "{{.app.status.sync.status}}",
            "short": true
          }, {
            "title": "Repository",
            "value": "{{.app.spec.source.repoURL}}",
            "short": true
          }]
        }]

Useful Commands ​

Watch Application ​

bash
argocd app wait myapp --timeout 60s

Get Diff ​

bash
argocd app diff myapp

Export Application ​

bash
argocd app get myapp -o json > myapp.json

Import Application ​

bash
argocd app create -f myapp.json

Generate Manifest ​

bash
argocd app manifests myapp

Best Practices ​

  • Use ApplicationSets for managing multiple applications
  • Implement automated sync policies for production
  • Use separate projects for different teams/environments
  • Implement pre-sync and post-sync hooks
  • Use resource policies to control what can be synced
  • Use App-of-Apps pattern for managing clusters
  • Implement notifications for sync status
  • Use Rollouts for zero-downtime deployments
  • Regularly review and prune unused applications
  • Use secrets management for sensitive data
  • Implement backup and restore procedures

TIP

Use ArgoCD's UI at https://<argocd-server> to visually monitor and manage your applications.

Released under MIT License.

Copyright © 2026-present