building-gitops-workflows

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description: Use when constructing GitOps workflows using ArgoCD or Flux. Trigger with phrases like "create GitOps workflow", "setup ArgoCD", "configure Flux", or "automate Kubernetes deployments". Generates production-ready configurations, implements best practices, and ensures security-first approach for continuous deployment. allowed-tools:

• Read
• Write
• Edit
• Grep
• Glob
• Bash(kubectl:*)
• Bash(git:*) name: building-gitops-workflows license: MIT version: 1.0.0

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Prerequisites

Before using this skill, ensure:

• Kubernetes cluster is accessible and kubectl is configured
• Git repository is available for GitOps source
• ArgoCD or Flux is installed on the cluster (or ready to install)
• Appropriate RBAC permissions for GitOps operator
• Network connectivity between cluster and Git repository

Instructions

1. Select GitOps Tool: Determine whether to use ArgoCD or Flux based on requirements
2. Define Application Structure: Establish repository layout with environment separation (dev/staging/prod)
3. Generate Manifests: Create Application/Kustomization files pointing to Git sources
4. Configure Sync Policy: Set automated or manual sync with self-heal and prune options
5. Implement RBAC: Define service accounts and role bindings for GitOps operator
6. Set Up Monitoring: Configure notifications and health checks for deployments
7. Validate Configuration: Test sync behavior and verify reconciliation loops

Output

Generates GitOps workflow configurations including:

ArgoCD Application Manifest:

apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
  name: app-name
  namespace: argocd
spec:
  project: default
  source:
    repoURL: https://github.com/org/repo
    path: manifests/prod
    targetRevision: main
  destination:
    server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
    namespace: production
  syncPolicy:
    automated:
      prune: true
      selfHeal: true

Flux Kustomization:

apiVersion: kustomize.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v1
kind: Kustomization
metadata:
  name: app-name
  namespace: flux-system
spec:
  interval: 5m
  path: ./manifests/prod
  prune: true
  sourceRef:
    kind: GitRepository
    name: app-repo

Error Handling

Common issues and solutions:

Sync Failures

• Error: "ComparisonError: Failed to load target state"
• Solution: Verify Git repository URL, credentials, and target path exist

RBAC Permissions

• Error: "User cannot create resource in API group"
• Solution: Grant GitOps service account appropriate cluster roles

Out of Sync State

• Warning: "Application is OutOfSync"
• Solution: Enable automated sync or manually sync via UI/CLI

Git Authentication

• Error: "Authentication failed for repository"
• Solution: Configure SSH keys or access tokens in {baseDir}/.git/config

Resource Conflicts

• Error: "Resource already exists and is not managed by GitOps"
• Solution: Import existing resources or remove conflicting manual deployments

Resources

• ArgoCD documentation: https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/
• Flux documentation: https://fluxcd.io/docs/
• GitOps principles and patterns guide
• Kubernetes manifest best practices
• Repository structure templates in {baseDir}/gitops-examples/