gitops
Manages declarative GitOps deployments for Kubernetes clusters.
Install
mkdir -p .claude/skills/gitops && curl -L -o skill.zip "https://agentskills.codes/api/skills/download/14206" && unzip -o skill.zip -d .claude/skills/gitops && rm skill.zipInstalls to .claude/skills/gitops
Activation
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GitOps workflows with ArgoCD and Flux for declarative Kubernetes deployments. Use when setting up GitOps, ArgoCD sync, or Kubernetes declarative infrastructure. NOT for simple deploys (use vercel-deploy) or general CI/CD (use cicd-pipeline).Key capabilities
- →Decide between ArgoCD and Flux for Kubernetes deployments
- →Configure sync policies per environment (Manual, Auto, Prune, Self-Heal)
- →Implement secret management strategies using Sealed Secrets or External Secrets
- →Define repository structure for GitOps workflows
- →Ensure OpenGitOps compliance with four principles
How it works
The skill provides architecture and strategy for GitOps delivery, guiding decisions between ArgoCD and Flux based on criteria like UI and multi-cluster support. It defines sync policies, secret management, and repository structure to ensure declarative Kubernetes deployments.
Inputs & outputs
When to use gitops
- →Setting up ArgoCD or Flux
- →Defining GitOps sync policies
- →Managing Kubernetes secrets securely
- →Implementing declarative deployments
About this skill
GitOps Workflow — Declarative Kubernetes Delivery
Git is the single source of truth. Continuous reconciliation. No auto-sync to production.
Prerequisites
Required: Kubernetes cluster, kubectl, ArgoCD or Flux installed.
When to Use
| Situation | Action |
|---|---|
| K8s deployment needed | Choose ArgoCD or Flux via decision tree |
| CD pipeline setup | Configure sync policies per environment |
| Secret management | Use Sealed Secrets or External Secrets (no plaintext) |
| Multi-environment | Set up staging → production promotion |
| Architecture review | Read rules/engineering-spec.md |
System Boundaries
| Owned by This Skill | NOT Owned |
|---|---|
| ArgoCD vs Flux decision (4 criteria) | CI pipeline (→ cicd-pipeline) |
| Sync policy selection (4 policies) | Server management (→ server-ops) |
| Repository structure template | Git operations (→ git-workflow) |
| OpenGitOps compliance (4 principles) | Cluster provisioning |
| Secret management strategy | Helm chart development |
Expert decision skill: Produces architecture decisions. No cluster modifications.
OpenGitOps Principles (4 — All Required)
| # | Principle | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Declarative | Entire system described declaratively |
| 2 | Versioned | Desired state stored in Git |
| 3 | Pulled | Agents pull desired state (not pushed) |
| 4 | Reconciled | Agents continuously reconcile actual vs desired |
ArgoCD vs Flux Decision Tree
| Criterion | ArgoCD | Flux |
|---|---|---|
| Web UI | ✅ Rich dashboard | ❌ CLI only |
| Multi-cluster | ✅ Native support | ⚠️ Requires setup |
| Helm support | ✅ Native | ✅ Native |
| Learning curve | Medium | Lower |
Rule: needs_ui=true OR cluster_count>1 → ArgoCD. Otherwise → Flux.
Sync Policies (4)
| Policy | Environment | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Manual | Production | Requires explicit approval |
| Auto | Dev, Staging | Deploys on Git push |
| Prune | All | Removes resources not in Git |
| Self-Heal | All | Reverts manual cluster changes |
Safety: Production is ALWAYS manual sync. No exceptions.
Repository Structure
gitops-repo/
├── apps/
│ ├── production/
│ └── staging/
├── infrastructure/
│ ├── ingress-nginx/
│ └── cert-manager/
└── argocd/
└── applications/
Safety Rules (Non-Negotiable)
| Rule | Enforcement |
|---|---|
| No auto-sync to production | Sync policy = manual |
| No secrets in Git | Sealed Secrets / External Secrets |
| Rollback tested | Rollback procedure in promotion workflow |
Error Taxonomy
| Code | Recoverable | Trigger |
|---|---|---|
ERR_INVALID_REQUEST_TYPE | No | Request type not supported |
ERR_MISSING_CLUSTER_COUNT | Yes | Cluster count not provided |
ERR_MISSING_ENVIRONMENTS | Yes | Environment list not provided |
ERR_INVALID_ENVIRONMENT | Yes | Environment name not recognized |
ERR_REFERENCE_NOT_FOUND | No | Reference file missing |
Zero internal retries. Deterministic; same context = same recommendation.
Anti-Patterns
| ❌ Don't | ✅ Do |
|---|---|
| Auto-sync to production | Manual sync with approval |
| Store secrets in Git | Sealed Secrets / External Secrets |
| Push-based deployment | Pull-based reconciliation |
| Skip rollback testing | Test rollback on every release |
Use imperative kubectl apply | Declarative manifests in Git |
📑 Content Map
| File | Description | When to Read |
|---|---|---|
| argocd-setup.md | ArgoCD installation and config | ArgoCD selected |
| sync-policies.md | Sync policy deep dive | Policy configuration |
| engineering-spec.md | Full engineering spec | Architecture review |
🔗 Related
| Item | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
cicd-pipeline | Skill | CI/CD pipeline |
server-ops | Skill | Server management |
git-workflow | Skill | Git operations |
/launch | Workflow | Deployment |
⚡ PikaKit v3.9.213
When not to use it
- →When deploying simple applications (use vercel-deploy)
- →When setting up general CI/CD pipelines (use cicd-pipeline)
- →When performing cluster modifications
Prerequisites
Limitations
- →No auto-sync to production is allowed
- →No secrets are stored in Git repositories
- →Does not handle cluster provisioning
How it compares
This approach focuses on declarative Kubernetes deployments using Git as the single source of truth and continuous reconciliation, which differs from traditional imperative deployment methods or general CI/CD pipelines.
Compared to similar skills
gitops side by side with the closest alternatives in the catalog.
| Skill | Installs | Updated | Safety | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gitops (this skill) | 0 | 2mo | No flags | Advanced |
| k8s-helm | 8 | 6mo | Review | Intermediate |
| gitops-workflow | 5 | 2mo | Review | Advanced |
| deployment-engineer | 4 | 4mo | No flags | Advanced |
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