In this tutorial, we will cover how to install ArgoCD in an EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service) cluster, set up a private repository in GitLab, sync credentials with the cluster, and deploy a project using ArgoCD.
Prerequisites Link to heading
Before we begin, ensure you have the following:
- An EKS cluster up and running.
kubectl
installed and configured to interact with your EKS cluster.- Helm installed on your local machine.
- A GitLab account with a private repository.
- AWS CLI installed and configured.
Step 1: Install Helm Link to heading
What is Helm? Link to heading
Helm is a package manager for Kubernetes that helps you manage Kubernetes applications. Helm charts are a collection of pre-configured Kubernetes resources that make it easier to deploy and manage applications.
How to Install Helm Link to heading
You can install Helm by following these steps:
-
Download the latest Helm version from the official Helm GitHub releases page.
curl -fsSL -o get_helm.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/helm/helm/main/scripts/get-helm-3
-
Run the Helm installation script:
chmod 700 get_helm.sh ./get_helm.sh
-
Verify the Helm installation:
helm version
Step 2: Install ArgoCD Link to heading
First, install ArgoCD in your EKS cluster using Helm:
helm repo add argo https://argoproj.github.io/argo-helm
helm repo update
kubectl create namespace argocd
helm install argocd argo/argo-cd --namespace argocd
After the installation is complete, you can verify the ArgoCD pods are running:
kubectl get pods -n argocd
Step 3: Access the ArgoCD UI Link to heading
Expose ArgoCD API Server as LoadBalancer
Expose the ArgoCD API server as a LoadBalancer service:
kubectl patch svc argocd-server -n argocd -p '{"spec": {"type": "LoadBalancer"}}'
Retrieve the external IP address:
kubectl get svc argocd-server -n argocd
Access the ArgoCD UI by navigating to the external IP address. Log in using the default username admin
. Retrieve the initial password:
kubectl get secret argocd-initial-admin-secret -n argocd -o jsonpath="{.data.password}" | base64 -d
Access ArgoCD UI Locally
Alternatively, you can port-forward the ArgoCD server to access it locally:
kubectl port-forward svc/argocd-server -n argocd 8080:443
Access the ArgoCD UI by navigating to https://localhost:8080
. Log in using the default username admin
. Retrieve the initial password:
kubectl get secret argocd-initial-admin-secret -n argocd -o jsonpath="{.data.password}" | base64 -d
Step 4: Set Up a Private GitLab Repository Link to heading
Create a private repository that only access devops team or admin permission. All applications' configuration place here So :
- Create a new private repository in GitLab named gitops-argocd.
- For each project that you have, You should create a folder with name application with contain of this sample helm Template GitOps ArgoCD
- In setting of this private repo (
gitops-argocd
), create (generate) aDeploy key
with one of supported SSH key type (ED25519 - RSA - …) and put public key on Deploy keys repo setting section. - ArgoCD UI setting
press CONNECT
and put private SSH key generate before here and press connect
Step 5: Setup other repos CI Link to heading
In this part we want update some configuration application content on gitops-argocd
private repo that is related to this repo
Add bellow deploy stage in your CI file (.gitlab-ci.yml, …)
variables:
CD_CHART_REPO: gitops-argocd
CD_GIT_REPOSITORY: git@gitlab.yourcompanydomain.com:ops/$CD_CHART_REPO.git
CD_MANIFEST_FILE: Chart.yaml
TAG: $CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME-$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA
update_manifest:
stage: deploy
image: bitsofinfo/cicd-toolbox
variables:
GIT_STRATEGY: none
rules:
- if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "push"
retry: 2
script:
# Add SSH key to root
- mkdir -p /root/.ssh
- echo "$SSH_PRIVATE_KEY" > /root/.ssh/id_rsa
- ssh-keyscan -H gitlab.yourcompanydomain.com > /root/.ssh/known_hosts
- chmod 600 /root/.ssh/id_rsa
# Git
- apk add --no-cache git
- git config --global user.name $APP_NAME
- git config --global user.email $APP_NAME"@gitlab.yourcompanydomain.com"
- git clone --single-branch --branch main $CD_GIT_REPOSITORY
- cd $CD_CHART_REPO/application-name/application
# Helm
- yq write --inplace --verbose "values-${CI_COMMIT_BRANCH}.yaml" image.tag $TAG
- git commit -am "update image tag" && git push origin main
Just consider that $SSH_PRIVATE_KEY is private key that we generate in step 4-4, So You can define as CI/CD
environment variable in admin side to global access or define in CI/CD
variables target repo