GitOps with Argo CD & Flux
Continuous delivery, done the GitOps way. Learn how Git becomes the single source of truth and how Argo CD and Flux reconcile your clusters to it — principles, sync, patterns and troubleshooting, remembered with spaced repetition.
- flashcards
- 140
- flashcards
- per day
- ~10 min
- per day
- level
- Intermediate
- level
- modules
- 9
- modules
What is GitOps?
GitOps is an operating model for continuous delivery: you describe the desired state of your system declaratively in Git, and a software agent running in the cluster continuously reconciles the live state to match. Git becomes the single source of truth — every change is a reviewed commit, every rollback is a revert, and any drift is detected and corrected automatically.
The two tools that define the space are Argo CD and Flux. Argo CD wraps your app in an Application resource, shows Synced/Healthy status in a UI, and pulls from Git to keep the cluster in line. Flux takes a composable, CRD-driven approach with the GitOps Toolkit. Understanding both — plus sync waves, hooks, ApplicationSets and self-healing — is what separates copy-pasting YAML from operating delivery with confidence.
This track breaks GitOps into bite-sized, practical questions and finishes with real-world troubleshooting scenarios — why a manual edit keeps reverting, why an app is Synced but Degraded, why a rollback won't stick — and uses spaced repetition so the concepts stick when you are shipping to production.
Alongside the tools, two modules stay deliberately vendor-neutral: how GitOps relates to infrastructure as code, configuration as code, DevOps and CI/CD, and the delivery and architecture patterns underneath — progressive delivery, in-cluster versus external reconcilers, repository structure and state stores. Those are also where the exam weight sits, so the Certified GitOps Associate guide maps this track onto the five CGOA domains and is blunt about which modules are off-blueprint.
A dedicated Argo Rollouts module then takes progressive delivery from idea to mechanism — the Rollout resource, canary and blue-green fields, analysis templates and the kubectl argo rollouts commands — which is also the third domain of the Certified Argo Project Associate exam.
9 modules, seed to bloom
Each module is a set of flashcards — 140 in total. Answer, review, and watch your knowledge grow from seed to full bloom.
GitOps Principles
The GitOps model — declarative desired state, pull-based delivery, continuous reconciliation, drift, rollback and secrets
20 cardsGitOps & Adjacent Practices
How GitOps relates to IaC, CaC, DevOps, DevSecOps and CI/CD, plus tooling interoperability
15 cardsDelivery & Architecture Patterns
Progressive delivery, reconciler architecture, repository structure and state-store patterns
15 cardsArgo CD Core
Argo CD architecture and the Application model — components, the Application CRD, sync and health status, drift and resource tracking
15 cardsRepo & App Patterns
Organizing Argo CD at scale — app-of-apps, ApplicationSets and generators, Kustomize/Helm/plain sources, AppProjects and multi-source apps
15 cardsSync Strategies
Controlling how Argo CD applies changes — manual vs automated sync, selfHeal and prune, sync phases and waves, resource hooks and rollback
15 cardsArgo Rollouts
The Rollout resource, canary and blueGreen fields, analysis templates and the rollouts CLI
15 cardsFlux & Multi-cluster
The Flux alternative and running GitOps at scale — the GitOps Toolkit controllers, GitRepository/Kustomization/HelmRelease, image automation, and Flux vs Argo CD
15 cardsPractical Tips
Real-world GitOps troubleshooting — why manual edits revert, apps show OutOfSync or Degraded, syncs get blocked, prune deletes, and rollbacks don't stick
15 cardsSample questions
A taste of the real flashcards. Pick an answer, then reveal the explanation.
What is GitOps?
- AAn operating model that reconciles a cluster's live state to a declarative desired state stored in Git
- BA CI/CD pipeline that runs kubectl apply from the build server whenever code is merged to Git
- CA Git branching strategy that dictates how teams merge feature, release and hotfix branches
- DA hosted service that stores Kubernetes manifests and renders them as browsable documentation
Which custom resource defines an application managed by Argo CD?
- AThe Application custom resource, which declares an app's source and destination
- BThe Deployment resource, which defines the Pods and replica count to run
- CA ConfigMap that lists the manifests Argo CD should apply to the cluster
- DA Helm release object stored in the cluster to track the installed charts
What does the `selfHeal` option add to an automated sync policy?
- AIt reverts manual live changes, resyncing the cluster to Git without a new commit
- BIt restarts any Pods that have crashed to bring the app back to healthy
- CIt automatically fixes invalid manifests in Git before they are applied
- DIt retries a failed sync repeatedly until the operation finally succeeds
A Flux-managed Deployment is deleted with kubectl. What happens?
- AIt comes back at the next reconcile — Git is the desired state
- BIt stays deleted — until someone re-runs flux bootstrap
- CIt stays deleted — Flux opens a PR proposing the change
- DIt comes back — but only with drift detection switched on
In the CNCF's definitions, what separates continuous delivery from continuous deployment?
- ADelivery automates the path into an acceptance environment; deployment goes to production
- BDelivery automates the build itself; deployment automates the tests that gate that build
- CDelivery applies to application releases; deployment applies to infrastructure changes
- DDelivery describes the pull model; deployment describes the push model of one pipeline
Learn it once, keep it for good
Answer a question
Each card is one practical concept with multiple options. Pick what you think is right.
Get the full answer
See the correct option plus a clear explanation, and a link to deeper docs when one is available.
Review at the right time
A spaced-repetition engine (SM-2 or FSRS) resurfaces each card just before you would forget it.
Why GitOps is worth your time
The modern way apps reach a cluster
Argo CD and Flux are the standard for Kubernetes delivery. Fluency here is a core platform-engineering skill.
Ship and roll back with confidence
When Git is the source of truth, every deploy is a PR and every rollback is a revert — auditable and repeatable.
Debug delivery, not guess
Knowing sync status, health, drift and self-heal turns "why won't it deploy?" into a quick diagnosis.
Interview- and cert-ready
GitOps, Argo CD and Flux are staples of DevOps interviews and pair with Kubernetes certification prep.
Common questions
Do I need to know Kubernetes first? +
Yes, a working grasp of Pods, Deployments and Services helps, since GitOps delivers exactly those. If Kubernetes is new, the Kubernetes track pairs well with this one.
Does it cover both Argo CD and Flux? +
Yes. The deck is Argo CD-centric — architecture, the Application model, ApplicationSets and sync strategies — with a dedicated module on Flux, the GitOps Toolkit and multi-cluster, so you can compare the two.
Is it free? +
Yes, completely free. No registration or credit card is required, and all your progress is stored locally in your browser.
How long does it take? +
About 10 minutes a day. Spaced repetition means short, frequent sessions beat long cramming — most learners get comfortable with the fundamentals within a couple of weeks.
Ready to master GitOps?
Plant your first seed today. Ten minutes a day is all it takes to grow real, lasting delivery skills.