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Install GitOps Runtime alongside Community Argo CD

Install GitOps Runtime on cluster with existing Argo CD

If you have a cluster with Argo CD already installed, Codefresh provides an option to install the GitOps Runtime to co-exist with your Argo CD installation. Extend your environment with Codefresh’s GitOps capabilities with a few simple configuration changes, and without the need to uninstall Argo CD.

  • Enhance CI/CD with Codefresh GitOps
    Dive into the world of Codefresh GitOps, exploring its capabilities and features without having to uninstall or reconfigure existing Argo CD installations. Read about our GitOps offering in Codefresh for GitOps.

  • Gradual migration to GitOps applications
    After becoming familiar with Codefresh GitOps, make informed decisions when migrating your Argo CD Applications to Codefresh GitOps.

    For a smooth transition from Argo CD Applications to Codefresh’s GitOps applications, migrate Applications at your preferred pace. On successful migration, view, track, and manage all aspects of the applications in Codefresh.


Follow these steps to install the GitOps Runtime on a cluster with Argo CD:

  • Prepare the Argo CD cluster for GitOps Runtime installation
  • Install the GitOps Runtime via Helm
  • Migrate Argo CD Applications to GitOps Runtime

Prepare Argo CD cluster for GitOps Runtime installation

There are three configuration changes to make before installing the GitOps Runtime on the cluster with Argo CD:

  1. Switch ownership of Argo project CRDs
  2. Align Argo CD chart’s minor versions
  3. Set Community Argo CD resource tracking to label

Install Hybrid GitOps Runtime via Helm

After completing the configuration changes, follow our step-by-step installation guide to install the GitOps Runtime.

The GitOps Runtime installation is Helm-based, and installing the Runtime on a cluster with an existing Argo CD, requires additional flags in the installation command and an additional step after installation.

Migrate Community Argo CD Applications to Codefresh GitOps Runtime

The final task depending on your requirements is to migrate your Community Argo CD Applications to the Codefresh GitOps Runtime.

Why would you want to do this?
Because this allows you to completely and seamlessly manage the applications in Codefresh as GitOps entities.

The process to migrate an Argo CD Application is simple:

  1. Add a Git Source to the Runtime to which store application manifests
  2. Make the needed configuration changes in the Argo CD Application
  3. Commit the application to the Git Source for viewing and management in Codefresh

Step 1: Add a Git Source to GitOps Runtime

After installing the GitOps Runtime successfully, you can add a Git Source to the Runtime and commit your applications to it. A Git Source is a Git repository managed by Codefresh as an Argo CD Application. Read about Git Sources.

Step 2: Modify Argo CD Applications

Modify the Argo CD Application’s manifest to remove finalizers, if any, and also remove the Application from the argocd namespace it is assigned to by default.

  • Remove metadata.namespace: argocd.
  • Remove metadata.finalizers.

Below is an example of a manifest for an Argo CD Application with finalizers.

apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
  name: my-sample-app
  namespace: argocd
  finalizers:
    - resources-finalizer.argocd.argoproj.io
spec:
  project: default
  source:
    path: guestbooks/apps
    repoURL: https://github.com/codefresh-codefresh/argocd-example-apps
    targetRevision: personal-eks
  destination:
    namespace: my-app
    server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
  syncPolicy:
    automated:
      prune: false
      selfHeal: false
      allowEmpty: false
    syncOptions:
      - PrunePropagationPolicy=foreground
      - Replace=false
      - PruneLast=false
      - Validate=true
      - CreateNamespace=true
      - ApplyOutOfSyncOnly=false
      - ServerSideApply=false
      - RespectIgnoreDifferences=false

Step 3: Commit Argo CD application to Git Source

As the final step in migrating your Argo CD Application to a Codefresh GitOps Runtime, manually commit the updated application manifest to the Git Source you created in Step 1. Once you commit the manifest to the Git Source, it is synced with the Git repo. You can view it in the Codefresh UI, modify definitions, track it through our different dashboards, and in short, manage it as you would any GitOps resource in Codefresh.

  1. Go to the Git repo where you created the Git Source.
  2. Add and commit the Argo CD Application manifest to the Git Source. Here’s an example of the my-sample-app above committed to a Git Source without metadata.namespace: argocd and metadata.finalizers.

Argo CD Application committed to GitOps Git Source

Argo CD Application committed to GitOps Git Source
  1. In the Codefresh UI, from the sidebar, below Ops, select GitOps Apps. The Applications Dashboard displays the new Git Source application.

GitOps Apps dashboard with Git Source and migrated Application

GitOps Apps dashboard with Git Source and migrated Application
  1. Click the application to drill down to the different tabs. The Configuration tab displays the application’s settings which you can modify and update. Here’s an example of the Current State tab for my-sample-app.

Current State tab for migrated Argo CD application

Current State tab for migrated Argo CD application

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