Argo CD 2.0: GitOps Evolution with Enhanced Multi-Cluster

Introduction

Argo CD 2.0 — GitOps Evolution with Enhanced Multi-Cluster — was released on May 27, 2021.

GitOps and platform tooling pay off (or fall apart) when you scale to many apps, many environments, and many clusters.

In this release: Argo CD 2.0 introduces ApplicationSets GA, improved security, enhanced UI, and advanced multi-cluster capabilities for enterprise GitOps.

ApplicationSets General Availability

• ApplicationSet controller graduates to stable, enabling declarative generation of Applications across clusters, environments, and Git paths.
• Generators support cluster discovery, Git directory scanning, pull request automation, and Helm repository integration.
• Template customization allows fine-grained control over Application generation with variable substitution and conditional logic.
• Multi-tenancy safeguards ensure ApplicationSets respect Projects, RBAC, and namespace boundaries.

Security & Authentication Enhancements

1. OIDC improvements support multiple identity providers with role-based access control and session management.
2. RBAC refinements provide granular permissions for Applications, Projects, and cluster resources.
3. Secret management integrates with external secret operators and cloud provider secret stores.
4. Audit logging tracks all user actions, API calls, and reconciliation events for compliance and troubleshooting.

User Experience Upgrades

• Redesigned UI delivers improved navigation, resource visualization, and application health dashboards.
• Application comparison view highlights configuration drift between Git and cluster state with diff visualization.
• Resource tree visualization shows application dependencies, health status, and sync status in an intuitive hierarchy.
• Terminal integration enables direct kubectl access from the UI for debugging and troubleshooting.

Multi-Cluster & Progressive Delivery

• Cluster management improvements simplify adding and managing remote clusters with credential rotation and health monitoring.
• Sync waves and hooks enable declarative ordering of resource deployment with automated verification gates.
• Analysis templates integrate with external testing frameworks (e.g., Flagger, Argo Rollouts) for progressive delivery workflows.
• Multi-cluster rollouts support canary and blue-green deployments across cluster fleets with centralized control.

Performance & Scalability

• Reconciliation optimization reduces controller CPU usage and improves response times for large Application inventories.
• Caching improvements accelerate Git repository and Helm chart access with intelligent refresh strategies.
• Resource filtering enables efficient querying of Applications and resources across namespaces and clusters.
• Metrics expansion provides detailed observability into sync performance, resource counts, and controller health.

Getting Started

kubectl create namespace argocd
kubectl apply -n argocd -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2.0.0/manifests/install.yaml

Create an ApplicationSet:

apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: ApplicationSet
metadata:
  name: tenant-apps
  namespace: argocd
spec:
  generators:
  - clusters: {}
  template:
    metadata:
      name: '{{name}}-frontend'
    spec:
      project: default
      source:
        repoURL: https://github.com/org/platform-config.git
        targetRevision: main
        path: apps/frontend
      destination:
        server: '{{server}}'
        namespace: frontend
      syncPolicy:
        automated:
          prune: true
          selfHeal: true

Summary

Argo CD 2.0 solidifies its position as the leading GitOps platform, providing teams with powerful tools to manage Kubernetes applications across clusters with confidence and efficiency.