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GitOps argocd CLI reference

The Red Hat OpenShift GitOps argocd CLI tool is a Technology Preview feature only. Technology Preview features are not supported with Red Hat production service level agreements (SLAs) and might not be functionally complete. Red Hat does not recommend using them in production. These features provide early access to upcoming product features, enabling customers to test functionality and provide feedback during the development process.

For more information about the support scope of Red Hat Technology Preview features, see Technology Preview Features Support Scope.

This section lists the basic GitOps argocd CLI commands.

Basic syntax

The GitOps argocd CLI is a tool for configuring and managing Red Hat OpenShift GitOps and Argo CD resources from the command line.

Default mode

In the default mode, the argocd CLI client communicates with the Argo CD server component through API requests. To execute commands, you must log in to the Argo CD server using your Argo CD credentials and remain logged in throughout the session. If the login session times out, you can use the relogin command to log in again. When done using the argocd commands, you can log out using the logout command.

Command syntax

argocd [command or options] [arguments…​]

Core mode

In this mode, the CLI communicates directly with the Kubernetes API server through the credentials set in the kubeconfig file. The default kubeconfig file is available at the $HOME/.kube/config location. You can customize this file using the KUBECONFIG environment variable. To execute commands in the core mode, you can use the --core argument and don’t need to log in to the Argo CD server for user authentication.

To specify the Repo server component name in the <argocd-instance-name>-repo-server format, you can either use the --repo-server-name command line option or set the ARGOCD_REPO_SERVER_NAME environment variable.

Command syntax

KUBECONFIG=~/.kube/config argocd --core [command or options] [arguments…​]

You can choose one of the following options to execute argocd commands in the core mode:

If multiple Argo CD instances are in use, set the default namespace of the current context to the namespace of the ArgoCD instance you want to interact with.

  • Default kubeconfig file with the default context:

    argocd --core [command or options] [arguments…​]

    Example 1: Display a list of applications
    $ argocd --core app list --repo-server-name openshift-gitops-repo-server
    Example 2: Display a list of applications
    $ ARGOCD_REPO_SERVER_NAME=openshift-gitops-repo-server argocd --core app list

  • Default kubeconfig file with a custom context:

    argocd --core --kube-context [context] [command or options] [arguments…​]

    Example 1: Display a list of applications
    $ argocd --core --kube-context kubeadmin-local app list --repo-server-name openshift-gitops-repo-server
    Example 2: Display a list of applications
    $ ARGOCD_REPO_SERVER_NAME=openshift-gitops-repo-server argocd --core --kube-context kubeadmin-local app list

  • A custom kubeconfig file with the default context:

    KUBECONFIG=~/.kube/custom_config argocd --core [command or options] [arguments…​]

    Example: Display a list of applications
    $ KUBECONFIG=~/.kube/custom_config argocd --core app list --repo-server-name openshift-gitops-repo-server

  • A custom kubeconfig file with a custom context:

    KUBECONFIG=~/.kube/custom_config argocd --core --kube-context [context] [command or options] [arguments…​]

    Example: Display a list of applications
    $ KUBECONFIG=~/.kube/custom_config argocd --kube-context kubeadmin-local --core app list --repo-server-name openshift-gitops-repo-server

Global options

Global options are applicable to all the subcommands of the argocd.

Table 1. Global options
Option Argument type Description

--auth-token

string

Authentication token.

--client-crt

string

Client certificate file.

--client-crt-key

string

Client certificate key file.

--config

string

Path to Argo CD configuration file. Defaults to the /home/user/.config/argocd/config path.

--controller-name

string

Name of the Argo CD Application Controller component with argocd-application-controller as the default label.

If the label of this component’s name differs from the default, for example, when you are installing it through the Helm chart, set either the --controller-name option or the ARGOCD_APPLICATION_CONTROLLER_NAME environment variable to specify the name of the component.

--core

N/A

If set to true, the CLI communicates directly with the Kubernetes API server instead of using the Argo CD API server.

--grpc-web

N/A

Enable the gRPC-Web protocol for the Argo CD server. This is useful if, for example, the server is behind a proxy that does not support the HTTP/2 protocol.

--grpc-web-root-path

string

Enable the gRPC-Web protocol for the Argo CD server. This is useful if, for example, the server is behind a proxy that does not support the HTTP/2 protocol. Set web root.

-H, --header

string

Configure an additional header to all requests made by the GitOps argocd CLI. You can add multiple headers by setting this option multiple times. This option also supports comma-separated headers.

-h, --help

N/A

Help for the GitOps argocd CLI.

--http-retry-max

integer

Set the maximum number of retries to establish an HTTP connection to the Argo CD server.

--insecure

N/A

Skip server certificate and domain verification.

--kube-context

string

Direct the command to the given kube context.

--logformat

string

Set the logging format to either text or JSON. Defaults to text.

--loglevel

string

Set the logging level. Defaults to info. The debug, info, warn, and error levels are available. The logging levels are listed in decreasing order of verbosity.

--plaintext

N/A

Disable Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols.

--port-forward

N/A

Connect to a random Argo CD server port using port forwarding.

--port-forward-namespace

string

Namespace name to be used for port forwarding.

--redis-haproxy-name

string

Name of the Redis HA Proxy deployment with argocd-redis-ha-haproxy as the default label.

If the label of this deployment’s name differs from the default, for example, when you are installing HAProxy through the Helm chart, set either the --redis-haproxy-name option or the ARGOCD_REDIS_HAPROXY_NAME environment variable to specify the name of the deployment.

--redis-name

string

Name of the Redis deployment with argocd-redis as the default label.

If the label of this deployment’s name differs from the default, for example, when you are installing it through the Helm chart, set either the --redis-name option or the ARGOCD_REDIS_NAME environment variable to specify the name of the deployment.

--repo-server-name

string

Name of the Argo CD Repo server with argocd-repo-server as the default label.

If the label of this Repo server’s name differs from the default, for example, when you are installing it through the Helm chart, set either the --repo-server-name option or the ARGOCD_REPO_SERVER_NAME environment variable to specify the name of the deployment.

--server

string

Argo CD server address.

--server-crt

string

Server certificate file.

--server-name

string

Name of the Argo CD API server with argocd-server as the default label.

If the label of this Argo CD API server’s name differs from the default, for example, when you are installing it through the Helm chart, set either the --server-name option or the ARGOCD_SERVER_NAME environment variable to specify the name of the deployment.

Utility commands

argocd

Parent command for GitOps argocd CLI.

Example: Display all options
$ argocd

version

Print version information of the CLI.

Command syntax

argocd version [flags]

Example: Print the full version of client and server to stdout
$ argocd version
Example: Print only full version of the client, no connection to server will be made
$ argocd version --client
Example: Print only full version of the server
$ argocd version --server <server_url>
Example: Print the full version of client and server in JSON format
$ argocd version -o json
Example: Print only client and server core version strings in YAML format
$ argocd version --short -o yaml

help

Print the help message about any command in the application.

Command syntax

argocd help [command] [flags]

Example: Get the help text for all the available commands
$ argocd help
Example: Get the help text for admin subcommand
$ argocd help admin

completion

Write bash or zsh shell completion code to standard output.

Command syntax

argocd completion SHELL [flags]

For bash, ensure you have Bash completions installed and enabled. Alternatively, write it to a file and source it in your .bash_profile.

Example: Access completion in your current shell
# source <(argocd completion bash)

For zsh, ensure you have Bash completions installed and enabled.

Example: Add to your ~/.zshrc file and access completion in your current shell
source <(argocd completion zsh)
compdef _argocd argocd

Additional resources