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Argo CD Reference

Contents​

  • Scope
  • Repository patterns
  • Reconciliation model
  • Promotion model
  • Safety rules

Scope​

Use Argo CD for:

  • Declarative application deployment to Kubernetes clusters
  • Multi-cluster fleet management with projects and app boundaries
  • App-of-apps or application set patterns
  • Helm, Kustomize, and directory-based Git reconciliation

Argo CD fills the same last-mile delivery role as Flux in many platforms. Choose one reconciler per boundary unless there is a deliberate transition plan.

Repository patterns​

Common layout:

argocd/
  projects/
  applications/
clusters/
  prod/
  staging/
apps/
  base/
  overlays/
  • projects/ defines policy boundaries and allowed source/destination combinations.
  • applications/ defines app-of-apps roots or cluster application entrypoints.
  • apps/ contains reusable manifests or Helm/Kustomize content.

Reconciliation model​

  • Keep Argo CD applications small, named clearly, and scoped intentionally.
  • Use Project boundaries to control sources, destinations, and cluster access.
  • Prefer ApplicationSet for repeated cluster or tenant patterns instead of manual duplication.
  • Use sync waves, health checks, and sync options deliberately.

Promotion model​

  • Promote by version pins, overlay changes, or application set inputs in Git.
  • Keep environment-specific divergence minimal.
  • Separate platform app promotion from workload version promotion when teams differ.

Safety rules​

  • Do not let teams bypass Git with manual cluster edits and still call the result managed.
  • Keep automated prune and self-heal settings aligned to the platform’s risk tolerance.
  • Avoid running Argo CD and Flux over the same resources without strict ownership boundaries.
  • Treat bootstrap, secrets, and cloud identity as upstream dependencies owned outside the app reconciler unless explicitly designed otherwise.