Bootstrapping ArgoCD with Nyl

This guide demonstrates how to bootstrap ArgoCD using Nyl with a self-hosting pattern, where ArgoCD manages itself and all applications through the ApplicationGenerator resource.

Overview

The bootstrap pattern works as follows:

1. Manually apply a bootstrap manifest to install ArgoCD
2. The bootstrap includes an ArgoCD Application pointing to apps.yaml
3. ArgoCD syncs the “apps” Application, running nyl render apps.yaml
4. Nyl sees ApplicationGenerator in apps.yaml and scans for NylRelease files
5. Nyl generates ArgoCD Applications for each found NylRelease
6. ArgoCD receives and creates all child Applications
7. ArgoCD now manages all applications (including itself) declaratively

Prerequisites

• kubectl configured with cluster access
• Git repository for storing manifests
• Basic understanding of ArgoCD concepts

Directory Structure

Organize your repository as follows:

gitops-repo/
├── bootstrap.yaml              # Initial bootstrap (apply once manually)
├── apps.yaml                   # ApplicationGenerator definition
├── argocd/                     # ArgoCD installation manifests
│   └── argocd.yaml            # HelmChart for ArgoCD
├── clusters/
│   └── default/               # Applications for default cluster
│       ├── app1.yaml          # Application 1 with NylRelease
│       ├── app2.yaml          # Application 2 with NylRelease
│       └── app3.yaml          # Application 3 with NylRelease
├── nyl-project.yaml           # Nyl project configuration
├── nyl-profiles.yaml          # Nyl profiles (environments)
└── nyl-secrets.yaml           # Secrets configuration

Step 1: Create Configuration Files

nyl-project.yaml

{}

nyl-profiles.yaml

default:
  values: {}

nyl-secrets.yaml

type: null

Step 2: Create ArgoCD Installation Manifest

Create argocd/argocd.yaml:

apiVersion: nyl.niklasrosenstein.github.com/v1
kind: NylRelease
metadata:
  name: argocd
  namespace: argocd
---
apiVersion: nyl.niklasrosenstein.github.com/v1
kind: HelmChart
metadata:
  name: argocd
  namespace: argocd
spec:
  chart:
    repository: https://argoproj.github.io/argo-helm
    name: argo-cd
    version: "5.51.6"
  release:
    name: argocd
    namespace: argocd
    createNamespace: true
  values:
    # ArgoCD configuration
    server:
      extraArgs:
        - --insecure  # For testing; use TLS in production

    # Configure the Nyl plugin
    repoServer:
      volumes:
        - name: plugins
          emptyDir: {}

      initContainers:
        - name: install-nyl
          image: alpine:3.18
          command: [sh, -c]
          args:
            - |
              apk add --no-cache curl
              curl -L https://github.com/NiklasRosenstein/nyl/releases/latest/download/nyl-linux-amd64 \
                -o /plugins/nyl
              chmod +x /plugins/nyl
          volumeMounts:
            - name: plugins
              mountPath: /plugins

      volumeMounts:
        - name: plugins
          mountPath: /usr/local/bin/nyl
          subPath: nyl

    # Plugin configuration
    configs:
      cm:
        configManagementPlugins: |
          - name: nyl
            generate:
              command: ["/bin/sh", "-c"]
              args:
                - nyl render .

Step 3: Create ApplicationGenerator

Create apps.yaml with the ApplicationGenerator resource:

apiVersion: argocd.nyl.niklasrosenstein.github.com/v1
kind: ApplicationGenerator
metadata:
  name: cluster-apps
  namespace: argocd
spec:
  # Where to create generated Applications
  destination:
    server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
    namespace: argocd

  # Source repository configuration
  source:
    repoURL: https://github.com/your-org/gitops-repo.git
    targetRevision: HEAD
    path: clusters/default

    # Optional: file filtering
    include:
      - "*.yaml"
      - "*.yml"
    exclude:
      - ".*"           # Skip hidden files
      - "_*"           # Skip files starting with underscore
      - "apps.yaml"    # Avoid recursion

  # ArgoCD project for generated Applications
  project: default

  # Default sync policy for all generated Applications
  syncPolicy:
    automated:
      prune: true
      selfHeal: true
    syncOptions:
      - CreateNamespace=true

  # Labels added to all generated Applications
  labels:
    managed-by: nyl
    generator: cluster-apps

  # Annotations added to all generated Applications
  annotations:
    docs-url: https://wiki.example.com/cluster-apps

Step 4: Create Sample Applications

Create clusters/default/nginx.yaml:

apiVersion: nyl.niklasrosenstein.github.com/v1
kind: NylRelease
metadata:
  name: nginx
  namespace: default
---
apiVersion: nyl.niklasrosenstein.github.com/v1
kind: HelmChart
metadata:
  name: nginx
spec:
  chart:
    repository: https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
    name: nginx
    version: "15.4.4"
  release:
    name: nginx
    namespace: default
  values:
    replicaCount: 2
    service:
      type: ClusterIP

Create clusters/default/redis.yaml:

apiVersion: nyl.niklasrosenstein.github.com/v1
kind: NylRelease
metadata:
  name: redis
  namespace: default
---
apiVersion: nyl.niklasrosenstein.github.com/v1
kind: HelmChart
metadata:
  name: redis
spec:
  chart:
    repository: https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
    name: redis
    version: "18.4.0"
  release:
    name: redis
    namespace: default
  values:
    architecture: standalone
    auth:
      enabled: false

Step 5: Create Bootstrap Manifest

Create bootstrap.yaml:

# Namespace for ArgoCD
apiVersion: v1
kind: Namespace
metadata:
  name: argocd
---
# Application to install ArgoCD itself
apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
  name: argocd
  namespace: argocd
  finalizers:
    - resources-finalizer.argocd.argoproj.io
spec:
  project: default
  source:
    repoURL: https://github.com/your-org/gitops-repo.git
    targetRevision: HEAD
    path: argocd
    plugin:
      name: nyl
  destination:
    server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
    namespace: argocd
  syncPolicy:
    automated:
      prune: true
      selfHeal: true
    syncOptions:
      - CreateNamespace=true
---
# Application generator that creates all other Applications
apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
  name: apps
  namespace: argocd
  finalizers:
    - resources-finalizer.argocd.argoproj.io
spec:
  project: default
  source:
    repoURL: https://github.com/your-org/gitops-repo.git
    targetRevision: HEAD
    path: .
    plugin:
      name: nyl
  destination:
    server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
    namespace: argocd
  syncPolicy:
    automated:
      prune: true
      selfHeal: true

Important: In the apps Application, the path is . (repository root) because apps.yaml contains the ApplicationGenerator which will scan clusters/default.

Step 6: Bootstrap the Cluster

1. Commit all files to your Git repository:

git add .
git commit -m "Initial Nyl + ArgoCD bootstrap"
git push origin main

2. Apply the bootstrap manifest to your cluster:

kubectl apply -f bootstrap.yaml

3. Wait for ArgoCD to install:

kubectl wait --for=condition=available --timeout=5m \
  deployment/argocd-server -n argocd

4. Access ArgoCD UI:

# Port forward to access UI
kubectl port-forward svc/argocd-server -n argocd 8080:443

# Get admin password
kubectl get secret argocd-initial-admin-secret -n argocd \
  -o jsonpath='{.data.password}' | base64 -d

5. Verify Applications were created:

kubectl get applications -n argocd

Expected output:

NAME     SYNC STATUS   HEALTH STATUS
argocd   Synced        Healthy
apps     Synced        Healthy
nginx    Synced        Healthy
redis    Synced        Healthy

How It Works

When you apply bootstrap.yaml:

1. ArgoCD Namespace Created: The argocd namespace is created
2. ArgoCD Application Syncs: ArgoCD installs itself via the Nyl plugin
3. Apps Application Syncs: The “apps” Application runs nyl render .
4. ApplicationGenerator Processes: Nyl finds apps.yaml, sees ApplicationGenerator
5. Directory Scanned: Nyl scans clusters/default/ for YAML files
6. Applications Generated: For each NylRelease found (nginx, redis), Nyl generates an ArgoCD Application
7. Applications Created: ArgoCD receives the generated Applications and creates them
8. Child Applications Sync: Each generated Application syncs its resources to the cluster

Verification

Check Application Status

# View all applications
argocd app list

# Get details of a specific application
argocd app get nginx

# View application tree
argocd app get nginx --show-operation

# View rendered manifests
argocd app manifests nginx

Verify Nyl Plugin

# Check if Nyl is available in repo-server
kubectl exec -it deployment/argocd-repo-server -n argocd -- nyl --version

# View plugin configuration
kubectl get configmap argocd-cm -n argocd -o yaml | grep -A10 configManagementPlugins

View Generated Applications

# See what ApplicationGenerator produced
kubectl exec -it deployment/argocd-repo-server -n argocd -- \
  sh -c 'cd /tmp && git clone https://github.com/your-org/gitops-repo.git && \
  cd gitops-repo && nyl render apps.yaml'

Adding New Applications

To add a new application to be managed by ArgoCD:

1. Create a new YAML file in clusters/default/:

# clusters/default/postgres.yaml
apiVersion: nyl.niklasrosenstein.github.com/v1
kind: NylRelease
metadata:
  name: postgres
  namespace: database
---
apiVersion: nyl.niklasrosenstein.github.com/v1
kind: HelmChart
metadata:
  name: postgres
spec:
  chart:
    repository: https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
    name: postgresql
    version: "13.2.24"
  release:
    name: postgres
    namespace: database
    createNamespace: true
  values:
    auth:
      username: myuser
      database: mydb

2. Commit and push to Git:

git add clusters/default/postgres.yaml
git commit -m "Add PostgreSQL application"
git push origin main

3. ArgoCD automatically detects the change and creates the postgres Application

No manual intervention needed! The ApplicationGenerator pattern discovers new applications automatically.

Troubleshooting

Applications Not Created

If generated Applications don’t appear:

1. Check the “apps” Application status:

   argocd app get apps
   

2. View the rendered manifests:

   argocd app manifests apps
   

3. Check if ApplicationGenerator is processing correctly:

   # Should show ArgoCD Applications, not the ApplicationGenerator
   argocd app manifests apps | grep "kind: Application"
   

Plugin Failures

If the Nyl plugin fails:

1. Check repo-server logs:

   kubectl logs deployment/argocd-repo-server -n argocd -f
   

2. Verify Nyl installation:

   kubectl exec deployment/argocd-repo-server -n argocd -- which nyl
   kubectl exec deployment/argocd-repo-server -n argocd -- nyl --version
   

3. Test Nyl render manually:

   kubectl exec -it deployment/argocd-repo-server -n argocd -- sh
   # Inside the pod:
   cd /tmp
   git clone <your-repo>
   cd <repo-name>
   nyl render apps.yaml
   

Sync Issues

If Applications fail to sync:

1. Check Application health:

   argocd app get <app-name>
   

2. View sync operation details:

   argocd app get <app-name> --show-operation
   

3. Force refresh and sync:

   argocd app sync <app-name> --force
   

Next Steps

• ApplicationGenerator Reference - Detailed field documentation
• Best Practices - Production recommendations
• Multi-Cluster Setup - Managing multiple clusters