Demo GitOps Delivery with ArgoCD CLI

This lesson shows how to administer Argo CD using the CLI to perform the same tasks normally done in the web UI. You will:

Log in to Argo CD via the CLI
Create an application from a Git repo
Sync and monitor application status
Enable automated sync, self-heal, and auto-prune
Test self-heal behavior and observe Kubernetes events
Use argocd app wait to block until sync completes

This is useful for scripting GitOps operations, automation, and CI/CD integrations. In this environment Argo CD is exposed via a NodePort on localhost:30080. Authenticate with the admin account from the CLI:

argocd login localhost:30080 \
  --username admin \
  --password admin123 \
  --insecure \
  --plaintext

Console output:

'admin:login' logged in successfully
Context 'localhost:30080' updated

This login uses plaintext credentials and --insecure (disables TLS verification). It’s acceptable for lab environments but should never be used in production. For production, use secure credentials and TLS.

Create the application

Create an Argo CD Application named web-frontend that points to the example repository and guestbook path:

argocd app create web-frontend \
  --repo https://github.com/argoproj/argocd-example-apps.git \
  --path guestbook \
  --dest-server https://kubernetes.default.svc \
  --dest-namespace applications

Console output:

application 'web-frontend' created

Check the application status (initially Manual sync; resources are not yet deployed):

argocd app get web-frontend

Representative output (initial state):

Name:            argocd/web-frontend
Project:         default
Server:          https://kubernetes.default.svc
Namespace:       applications
URL:             http://localhost:30080/applications/web-frontend
Source:
  - Repo: https://github.com/argoproj/argocd-example-apps.git
    Path: guestbook
SyncWindow:      Sync Allowed
Sync Policy:     Manual
Sync Status:     OutOfSync from (723b86e)
Health Status:   Missing

GROUP  KIND        NAMESPACE     NAME           STATUS      HEALTH  HOOK  MESSAGE
apps   Service     applications  guestbook-ui   OutOfSync   Missing
apps   Deployment  applications  guestbook-ui   OutOfSync   Missing

Confirm there are no Kubernetes resources deployed in the applications namespace yet:

kubectl get pods -n applications

Output:

No resources found in applications namespace.

Sync the application

Deploy the resources defined in Git by triggering a sync:

argocd app sync web-frontend

Console output (sync events and final state):

TIMESTAMP                   GROUP       KIND        NAMESPACE     NAME          STATUS      HEALTH   HOOK  MESSAGE
2026-04-05T17:26:07+00:00   apps        Deployment  applications  guestbook-ui   OutOfSync   Missing
2026-04-05T17:26:07+00:00   apps        Service     applications  guestbook-ui   OutOfSync   Missing
2026-04-05T17:26:08+00:00   apps        Service     applications  guestbook-ui   OutOfSync   Missing            service/guestbook-ui created
2026-04-05T17:26:08+00:00   apps        Deployment  applications  guestbook-ui   OutOfSync   Missing            deployment.apps/guestbook-ui created

Name:           argocd/web-frontend
Project:        default
Server:         https://kubernetes.default.svc
Namespace:      applications
URL:            http://localhost:30080/applications/web-frontend
Source:
  - Repo: https://github.com/argoproj/argocd-example-apps.git
    Path: guestbook
SyncWindow:     Sync Allowed
Sync Policy:    Manual
Sync Status:    Synced to (723b86e)
Health Status:  Progressing

Operation:      Sync
Sync Revision:  723b86e01bea11dcf72316cb172868fcbf05d69e
Phase:          Succeeded
Start:          2026-04-05 17:26:07 +0000 UTC
Finished:       2026-04-05 17:26:08 +0000 UTC
Duration:       1s
Message:        successfully synced (all tasks run)

GROUP  KIND        NAMESPACE     NAME           STATUS      HEALTH     HOOK  MESSAGE
apps   Service     applications  guestbook-ui   Synced      Healthy           service/guestbook-ui created
apps   Deployment  applications  guestbook-ui   Synced      Progressing       deployment.apps/guestbook-ui created

Now verify the Pods are running in the applications namespace:

kubectl get pods -n applications

Output:

NAME                                READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
guestbook-ui-6595f948db-5ndrw       1/1     Running   0          35s

Enable automated sync, self-heal, and auto-prune

By default Argo CD Applications use Manual sync. To have Argo CD automatically reconcile the live cluster to the Git state, and to prune removed resources, enable the following settings. Set automated sync:

argocd app set web-frontend --sync-policy automated

Enable self-heal (auto-reconcile out-of-band changes):

argocd app set web-frontend --self-heal

Enable auto-prune (remove resources that were deleted from Git):

argocd app set web-frontend --auto-prune

Verify the application now shows Automated (Prune) and self-heal behavior:

argocd app get web-frontend

Representative output:

Name:               argocd/web-frontend
Project:            default
Server:             https://kubernetes.default.svc
Namespace:          applications
URL:                http://localhost:30080/applications/web-frontend
Source:
  - Repo:            https://github.com/argoproj/argocd-example-apps.git
    Path:            guestbook
SyncWindow:         Sync Allowed
Sync Policy:        Automated (Prune)
Sync Status:        Synced to (723b86e)
Health Status:      Healthy

GROUP   KIND        NAMESPACE     NAME           STATUS  HEALTH   HOOK    MESSAGE
apps    Deployment  applications  guestbook-ui    Synced  Healthy          deployment.apps/guestbook-ui configured
apps    Service     applications  guestbook-ui    Synced  Healthy

Test self-heal behavior

Simulate an out-of-band change by scaling the deployment directly with kubectl:

kubectl scale deployment guestbook-ui -n applications --replicas=5

Console output:

deployment.apps/guestbook-ui scaled

Argo CD (with automated sync + self-heal) should detect the divergence and revert the replica count back to what’s declared in Git. Check status and pods again:

argocd app get web-frontend
kubectl get pods -n applications

Representative outputs:

# argocd app get web-frontend
Sync Policy:        Automated (Prune)
Sync Status:        Synced to (723b86e)
Health Status:      Healthy

GROUP   KIND        NAMESPACE     NAME           STATUS  HEALTH   HOOK    MESSAGE
apps    Deployment  applications  guestbook-ui    Synced  Healthy          deployment.apps/guestbook-ui configured
apps    Service     applications  guestbook-ui    Synced  Healthy

# kubectl get pods -n applications
NAME                                READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
guestbook-ui-6595f948db-5ndrw       1/1     Running   0          2m54s

Describe the Deployment to view events that show Kubernetes scaling up and then Argo CD reverting the change:

kubectl describe deployment guestbook-ui -n applications

Relevant events excerpt:

Events:
  Type    Reason             Age    From                   Message
  ----    ------             ---    ----                   -------
  Normal  ScalingReplicaSet  3m18s  deployment-controller  Scaled up replica set guestbook-ui-6595f948db from 0 to 1
  Normal  ScalingReplicaSet  52s    deployment-controller  Scaled up replica set guestbook-ui-6595f948db from 1 to 5
  Normal  ScalingReplicaSet  52s    deployment-controller  Scaled down replica set guestbook-ui-6595f948db from 5 to 1

Wait for sync to complete

If you need to block until an application reaches Synced (and optionally Healthy), use:

argocd app wait web-frontend --sync

Example output when the app is Synced and Healthy:

Name:                argocd/web-frontend
Project:             default
Server:              https://kubernetes.default.svc
Namespace:           applications
URL:                 http://localhost:30080/applications/web-frontend
Source:
  - Repo:             https://github.com/argoproj/argocd-example-apps.git
    Path:             guestbook
SyncWindow:          Sync Allowed
Sync Policy:         Automated (Prune)
Sync Status:         Synced to (723b86e)
Health Status:       Healthy

GROUP   KIND        NAMESPACE     NAME          STATUS  HEALTH   HOOK  MESSAGE
apps    Deployment  applications  guestbook-ui  Synced  Healthy       deployment.apps/guestbook-ui configured
apps    Service     applications  guestbook-ui  Synced  Healthy

Common Argo CD CLI commands

Task	Command example
Login to Argo CD	`argocd login localhost:30080 --username admin --password <PASSWORD> --insecure`
Create app	`argocd app create web-frontend --repo https://github.com/argoproj/argocd-example-apps.git --path guestbook --dest-server https://kubernetes.default.svc --dest-namespace applications`
Get app status	`argocd app get web-frontend`
Sync app	`argocd app sync web-frontend`
Set automated sync	`argocd app set web-frontend --sync-policy automated`
Enable self-heal	`argocd app set web-frontend --self-heal`
Enable auto-prune	`argocd app set web-frontend --auto-prune`
Wait for sync	`argocd app wait web-frontend --sync`

References and further reading

Argo CD official docs: https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/
GitOps with Argo CD: https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/getting_started/
Kubernetes docs: https://kubernetes.io/docs/

Conclusion

Everything you can manage in the Argo CD UI is also available via the CLI: creating applications, syncing, enabling automated sync/self-heal/auto-prune, and monitoring application/resource status. The CLI provides the same control and visibility in a scriptable form, making it ideal for automation and CI/CD pipelines.

Course Introduction

Platform Architecture and Infrastructure

GitOps and Continuous Delivery

Platform APIs and Self-Service Capabilities

Observability and Operations

Security and Policy Enforcement

Conclusion

Demo GitOps Delivery with ArgoCD CLI

Create the application

Sync the application

Enable automated sync, self-heal, and auto-prune

Test self-heal behavior

Wait for sync to complete

Common Argo CD CLI commands

References and further reading

Conclusion

Watch Video

Practice Lab

​Login to Argo CD

​Create the application

​Sync the application

​Enable automated sync, self-heal, and auto-prune

​Test self-heal behavior

​Wait for sync to complete

​Common Argo CD CLI commands

​References and further reading

​Conclusion

Watch Video

Practice Lab

Login to Argo CD

Create the application

Sync the application

Enable automated sync, self-heal, and auto-prune

Test self-heal behavior

Wait for sync to complete

Common Argo CD CLI commands

References and further reading

Conclusion