GitOps 101

Last updated in February 2025

Intro - Lifecycle & CI/CD (Pega)

Intro - DevOps wall of confusion (Plutora)

Intro - Infrastructure automation dilemma

GitOps - What? (GitLab)

GitOps is an operational framework that takes DevOps best practices used for application development such as version control, collaboration, compliance, and CI/CD, and applies them to infrastructure automation.

gitlab.com/gitops

GitOps - What? (Atlassian)

At its core, GitOps is code-based infrastructure and operational procedures that rely on Git as a source control system.
It’s an evolution of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and a DevOps best practice that leverages Git as the single source of truth, and control mechanism for creating, updating, and deleting system architecture.

atlassian.com/git/tutorials/gitops

GitOps - When? (Weaveworks)

GitOps - When? (VMware)

GitOps - Why?

GitOps - Push Approach

harness.io/blog

GitOps - Pull Approach

harness.io/blog

OpenGitOps

OpenGitOps is a set of open-source standards, best practices, and community-focused education to help organizations adopt a structured, standardized approach to implementing GitOps.

opengitops.dev (open-gitops/project)

GitOps Principles

1. Declarative

2. Versioned and Immutable

3. Pulled Automatically

4. Continuously Reconciled

opengitops.dev

GitOps & Kubernetes - What? (ClickIT)

GitOps & Kubernetes - How? (1/4)

Kubernetes definition format:

• Helm
• Kustomize
• Raw manifests

GitOps & Kubernetes - How? (2/4)

Environment strategy:

• one per folder
• one per git branch
• one per git repository

GitOps & Kubernetes - How? (3/4)

No secret values in git!

Secret management tool for Kubernetes:

• Bitnami Sealed Secrets
• External Secrets Operator
• Vault Secrets Operator
• Kubernetes Secrets Store CSI Driver

GitOps & Kubernetes - How? (4/4)

GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes:

• Argo CD
• Fleet
• Flux

Argo CD

Argo CD is a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes

argoproj.github.io/cd (argoproj/argo-cd)

Akuity Enterprise for Argo

Fleet

Fleet is a container management and deployment engine designed to offer users more control on the local cluster and constant monitoring through GitOps

fleet.rancher.io (rancher/fleet)

CustomResourceDefinition toolbox, Rancher integration

Flux

Flux is a set of continuous and progressive delivery solutions for Kubernetes that are open and extensible

fluxcd.io (fluxcd/flux2)

GitLab Integration

CNCF projects (2024 report)

GitOps - Getting started

• Enforce good practices in source code management with git
• Split integration/delivery/deployment tasks in pipelines
• Get comfortable with Helm charts
• Evaluate a set of tools and practices (ADRs)
• Start small in a non-production environment
• Add one component at a time
• Share regularly, get feedbacks and improve (Agile :D)
• Get people on board (DevOps \o/)

GitOps - Advices for your journey

• NEVER store a secret value in git
  • Git never forgets (it it happens, generate a new one)
• Encourage Build & Run COLLABORATION
  • Dev & Ops can help each other (Dockerfile, Helm charts)
• Follow a STANDARD: Git Flow, GitHub Flow, GitLab Flow
  • Many issues come from a wrong usage of git branches
• Host and manage your OWN application catalog
  • Validate & share the applications that can be used

Demonstration

• Devpro (the author of this presentation ^^)
  • GitOps samples
  • Helm charts

References

• What Is GitOps? A Beginner's Guide to GitOps Principles and Practices by Akuity - October 30, 2024
• Promoting changes and releases with GitOps by SoKube - January 18, 2022
• GitOps on Kubernetes: Deciding Between Argo CD and Flux by Christian Hernandez - December 15, 2021
• Argo CD vs. Flux: 6 Key Differences and How to Choose by Codefresh