tf-context-to-argocd

This is an example how you can pass context from external source(s) (like vales for helm charts) to ArgoCD with Terraform.

Requirements

• local minikube cluster up and running

Install minimal version of operational ArgoCD

First step is to install ArgoCD. The method doesn't really matter - at the end ArgoCD which you are about to install will get updated to the version defined in helm/argocd folder.

My example uses terraform and helm provider:

  cd terraform/1-install-bare-argocd
  terraform init
  terraform apply --auto-approve

Bootstrap ArgoCD

Next step is the part, where the power of ArgoCD is used to take over cluster lifecycle. An applicationset is used to install core applications.

Using git generator it looks for existance of values.${ENV}.yaml files in helm subfolder (even if these are empty). With this metod you can dynamically install / uninstall different applications in different clusters / environments.

  cd terraform/2-boostrap-argocd
  terraform init
  TF_VAR_environment="dev" terraform apply --auto-approve

You should have ArgoCD, external-secrets and cert-manager installed in your cluster.

  kubectl -n cert-manager get cm info -o yaml

You should get a cm with environment and vpcCIDR populated.

  TF_VAR_environment="test" terraform apply --auto-approve

cert-manager is gone!

Of course this method doesn't prevent race conditions between applications. There is an alpha feature - Progressive Sync which could be used to solve that issue and set dependencies of apps. Other approach would be to use App of apps pattern and pass context there.