Argo CD

advanced

Declarative GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes.

Overview

Argo CD is a declarative GitOps continuous delivery tool specifically designed for Kubernetes environments. Born from the need to apply Git-based workflows to Kubernetes deployments, Argo CD treats Git repositories as the single source of truth for application configurations and desired system state. This approach eliminates configuration drift and provides complete audit trails for all deployment changes. This Docker stack runs Argo CD server in insecure mode, making it ideal for development environments, proof-of-concepts, or local testing scenarios where you need to quickly evaluate GitOps workflows without the complexity of full Kubernetes TLS setup. The container exposes the web UI and API server, allowing you to define applications, connect Git repositories, and observe deployment status through an intuitive dashboard. Development teams transitioning to GitOps, platform engineers building CI/CD pipelines, and organizations seeking to standardize Kubernetes deployments will find this configuration valuable for experimentation and learning. While production deployments typically require full Kubernetes installation with proper RBAC and TLS, this containerized approach lets you explore Argo CD's declarative application management, automated synchronization, and rollback capabilities without infrastructure overhead.

Key Features

GitOps-based deployments using Git repositories as the source of truth
Declarative application definitions with YAML manifests
Automated synchronization with manual override capabilities
Real-time application health monitoring and drift detection
One-click rollback to previous application versions
Multi-cluster deployment management from single interface
Resource hooks for custom deployment lifecycle actions
Web-based UI for visual application topology and status monitoring

Common Use Cases

1Development teams learning GitOps workflows before Kubernetes deployment
2Platform engineers prototyping continuous delivery pipelines
3Organizations evaluating GitOps tools for Kubernetes deployments
4DevOps training environments for hands-on GitOps experience
5Local testing of application manifests and deployment strategies
6Demonstration environments for showcasing GitOps capabilities
7Integration testing with Git repositories and webhook configurations

Prerequisites

Docker and Docker Compose installed with minimum 1GB available RAM
Basic understanding of Kubernetes concepts and YAML manifests
Git repository with Kubernetes application definitions ready for testing
Port 8080 available on the host system for web interface access
Familiarity with GitOps principles and declarative configuration management
Argo CD CLI installed locally for command-line operations (optional but recommended)

For development & testing. Review security settings, change default credentials, and test thoroughly before production use. See Terms

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  argocd: 
3    image: quay.io/argoproj/argocd:latest
4    container_name: argocd
5    command: ["argocd-server", "--insecure"]
6    restart: unless-stopped
7    ports: 
8      - "8080:8080"
9    volumes: 
10      - argocd_data:/home/argocd
11
12volumes: 
13  argocd_data:

.env Template

.env

1# Use kubectl for full ArgoCD setup
2# This is a simplified standalone version

Usage Notes

1Docs: https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/
2Access at http://localhost:8080 - running in insecure mode
3For production: deploy via Kubernetes manifests or Helm
4Initial admin password: kubectl -n argocd get secret argocd-initial-admin-secret -o jsonpath='{.data.password}' | base64 -d
5Install CLI: brew install argocd (or download from releases)
6App-of-Apps pattern recommended for managing multiple applications

Quick Start

terminal

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  argocd:
5    image: quay.io/argoproj/argocd:latest
6    container_name: argocd
7    command: ["argocd-server", "--insecure"]
8    restart: unless-stopped
9    ports:
10      - "8080:8080"
11    volumes:
12      - argocd_data:/home/argocd
13
14volumes:
15  argocd_data:
16EOF
17
18# 2. Create the .env file
19cat > .env << 'EOF'
20# Use kubectl for full ArgoCD setup
21# This is a simplified standalone version
22EOF
23
24# 3. Start the services
25docker compose up -d
26
27# 4. View logs
28docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

terminal

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/argocd/run | bash

Troubleshooting

Connection refused on port 8080: Verify container is running and port mapping is correct in docker-compose.yml
Application sync fails with 'repository not found': Check Git repository URL and ensure it's publicly accessible or configure proper credentials
Health status shows 'Unknown' for applications: Verify Kubernetes manifests are valid and resources are properly defined in the target repository
UI shows blank or loading indefinitely: Clear browser cache and ensure argocd-server is running with --insecure flag for development environments
Cannot create applications: Confirm the target repository contains valid Kubernetes YAML files in the specified path
Sync operation stuck in 'Progressing' state: Check application logs and verify target cluster connectivity and permissions

Community Notes

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Includes docker-compose.yml, .env template, README, and license

Components

argocd

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