Learning ArgoCD: GitOps in Practice

A hands-on series built from real experience running ArgoCD on local Kubernetes clusters. Each post covers one topic end-to-end: the concept, the commands, and the gotchas.

Part 1: Getting Started

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Install ArgoCD locally and deploy your first app. Read these in order.

• Getting Started with ArgoCD on a Local Kubernetes Cluster
• Your First GitOps App with ArgoCD
• Local DNS and Ingress with Traefik

Part 2: Core GitOps Patterns

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The main GitOps patterns ArgoCD is built around. Each builds on the previous.

• Managing Helm Charts with ArgoCD
• App-of-Apps: Bootstrapping a Cluster from Git
• ApplicationSets: Auto-Discovering Services from Git
• App-of-Apps vs ApplicationSet: When to Use Which

Part 3: Platform Infrastructure

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Shared infrastructure concerns: TLS, ingress, sync ordering, repo conventions, and secrets.

• TLS on a Local Cluster with cert-manager
• Sync Waves: Controlling Deployment Order
• Gateway API with ArgoCD: HTTPRoute, Gateway, and TLS
• Structuring a Production GitOps Repo
• Secrets in GitOps: Options and Tradeoffs

Part 4: Multi-Environment and Image Promotion

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How image versions flow from dev to staging to prod in a GitOps repo.

• Running Multiple Clusters Locally
• Image Promotion Architecture: How Versions Flow Through GitOps
• Automating Image Promotion with GitHub Actions

Part 5: Advanced Delivery

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Sync hooks, canary rollouts, alerting, and observability.

• Sync Hooks and Smoke Tests
• Canary Deployments with Argo Rollouts
• ArgoCD Notifications: Slack Alerts for Sync and Health Events
• Cluster Observability with OpenTelemetry and New Relic

Reference

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Standalone reference posts. Dip in when you need them.

• ArgoCD Image Updater: Automated Image Tag Syncing
• ArgoCD Projects and RBAC: Multi-Tenant Access Control