GitOps Workflow¶

This section describes the GitOps workflow used in this lab to deploy and manage Kubernetes workloads via ArgoCD.

The core principle is simple: Git is the single source of truth. Any change to the cluster must go through a Git commit.

Core Concept¶

overview

No manual kubectl apply for application deployments
ArgoCD continuously reconciles the desired state (Git) with the actual state (cluster)
Any drift is detected and can be corrected automatically

Workflow¶

1. Define the desired state in Git¶

All Kubernetes manifests (Deployments, Services, ConfigMaps, HTTPRoutes, etc.) are stored in a Git repository.

kubernetes-home-lab/
├── apps/
│   ├── my-app/
│   │   ├── deployment.yaml
│   │   ├── service.yaml
│   │   └── httproute.yaml

2. Create an ArgoCD Application¶

An Application resource tells ArgoCD where to find the manifests and where to deploy them:

apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
  name: my-app
  namespace: argocd
spec:
  project: default
  source:
    repoURL: https://github.com/kaninda/kubernetes-home-lab
    targetRevision: HEAD
    path: apps/my-app
  destination:
    server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
    namespace: my-app
  syncPolicy:
    automated:
      prune: true
      selfHeal: true

Apply it with:

kubectl apply -f apps/my-app/application.yaml

3. ArgoCD syncs the cluster¶

ArgoCD detects the new Application and reconciles the cluster state:

Pulls the manifests from the Git repository
Applies them to the target namespace
Reports the sync status in the UI

Tip

With automated sync policy enabled, ArgoCD will automatically apply any new commit to the target branch — no manual intervention needed.

Sync Policies¶

Policy	Behavior
`automated`	Automatically syncs on every Git change
`prune: true`	Deletes resources removed from Git
`selfHeal: true`	Reverts manual changes made directly to the cluster

Warning

With selfHeal: true, any manual kubectl apply or kubectl delete will be reverted by ArgoCD on the next reconciliation loop.

Verify Sync Status¶

Check the application status via CLI:

kubectl get application -n argocd

Or open the ArgoCD UI at https://argocd.kanismile.com to visualize the sync status, resource tree, and live diff.

Design Decisions¶

Automated sync — reduces manual operations and enforces GitOps discipline
Self-healing — prevents configuration drift
Prune enabled — keeps the cluster clean when resources are removed from Git
Single repo — all manifests live in the same repository as the documentation