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ArgoCD — Quick Reference¶

Install (Helm, Bare-Metal)¶

helm repo add argo https://argoproj.github.io/argo-helm
helm repo update
helm install argocd argo/argo-cd \
  --namespace argocd \
  --create-namespace

Expose ArgoCD Server (NodePort)¶

kubectl patch svc argocd-server -n argocd \
  -p '{"spec":{"type":"NodePort"}}'

Get Initial Admin Password¶

kubectl -n argocd get secret argocd-initial-admin-secret \
  -o jsonpath="{.data.password}" | base64 -d && echo

argocd login <node-ip>:<nodePort> \
  --username admin \
  --password <password> \
  --insecure

argocd CLI Cheat Sheet¶

Command	What it does
`argocd app list`	List all Applications
`argocd app get <name>`	Show app details (sync/health status, resources)
`argocd app sync <name>`	Trigger a manual sync
`argocd app diff <name>`	Show diff between Git desired state and live state
`argocd app history <name>`	List sync history
`argocd app rollback <name> <id>`	Roll back to a previous revision
`argocd app delete <name>`	Delete the Application (and optionally its resources)
`argocd app set <name> --sync-policy automated`	Enable auto-sync via CLI
`argocd repo add <url>`	Register a private Git repo
`argocd cluster add <context>`	Register an external cluster

Application Skeleton — Plain YAML Source¶

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

Application Skeleton — Helm Source¶

apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
  name: my-helm-app
  namespace: argocd
spec:
  project: default
  source:
    repoURL: https://github.com/my-org/cd-repo
    targetRevision: HEAD
    path: charts/my-app
    helm:
      releaseName: my-app
      valueFiles:
        - values.yaml
        - values-prod.yaml
  destination:
    server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
    namespace: my-app
  syncPolicy:
    automated:
      prune: true
      selfHeal: true
    syncOptions:
      - CreateNamespace=true

Application Skeleton — Kustomize Source¶

apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
  name: my-kustomize-app
  namespace: argocd
spec:
  project: default
  source:
    repoURL: https://github.com/my-org/cd-repo
    targetRevision: HEAD
    path: overlays/production
    kustomize:
      images:
        - myapp=myregistry.io/myapp:1.2.3
  destination:
    server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
    namespace: my-app
  syncPolicy:
    automated:
      prune: true
      selfHeal: true
    syncOptions:
      - CreateNamespace=true

Application Skeleton — Multi-Source (v2.6+)¶

apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
  name: my-multi-source-app
  namespace: argocd
spec:
  project: default
  sources:
    - repoURL: https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
      chart: nginx
      targetRevision: 15.0.0
      helm:
        valueFiles:
          - $values/environments/prod/nginx-values.yaml
    - repoURL: https://github.com/my-org/my-values-repo
      targetRevision: HEAD
      ref: values
  destination:
    server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
    namespace: my-app
  syncPolicy:
    automated:
      prune: true
      selfHeal: true

Source Auto-Detection Logic¶

File present in `path`	Tool ArgoCD uses
`Chart.yaml`	Helm
`kustomization.yaml`	Kustomize
`.yaml` / `.json` only	Plain directory (`kubectl apply`)

syncPolicy Fields at a Glance¶

Field	Values	Effect
`automated.prune`	`true` / `false`	Delete resources removed from Git
`automated.selfHeal`	`true` / `false`	Revert manual cluster changes
`syncOptions: CreateNamespace=true`	—	Auto-create destination namespace
`syncOptions: ServerSideApply=true`	—	Use server-side apply
`syncOptions: ApplyOutOfSyncOnly=true`	—	Skip already-synced resources
`retry.limit`	integer	Retry failed syncs N times

Image Updater Install¶

kubectl apply -n argocd \
  -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/argoproj-labs/argocd-image-updater/stable/manifests/install.yaml

Image Updater Annotations¶

annotations:
  argocd-image-updater.argoproj.io/image-list: myapp=myregistry.io/myapp
  argocd-image-updater.argoproj.io/myapp.update-strategy: semver
  argocd-image-updater.argoproj.io/write-back-method: git
  argocd-image-updater.argoproj.io/git-branch: main