Overview & the one mental model
Argo CD can consume Helm charts — but when it does, Helm only renders manifests. Argo CD, not Helm, owns the application lifecycle inside the GitOps workflow.
Most operational mistakes come from treating Argo CD as “Helm with a UI” or Helm as “GitOps by itself.” Helm is a packaging, templating and release tool; Argo CD is a GitOps controller that continuously reconciles live cluster state to the desired state defined in Git.
Where this material comes from
Optional background. When you want to go deeper, trust official documentation first: Argo CD references, then Helm docs and best-practice guides, then OpenGitOps and the original Weaveworks articulation, and finally curated community material for worked examples.
Argo CD concepts & operating model
The repo-server renders manifests from source; the application-controller compares desired and live state, detects OutOfSync and runs hooks; the API server fronts the UI, CLI and CI/CD and enforces auth and RBAC.
desired state
{{ c.explanation }}
{{ cmd.text }}
Helm concepts & packaging model
Helm’s centre of gravity is the chart: a versioned package of Kubernetes resources rendered through Go templates plus Helm/Sprig functions. Separate authoring (structure, values, helpers, dependencies, tests, distribution) from consumption (install, upgrade, rollback, registry, verification).
{{ c.explanation }}
{{ cmd.text }}
Argo CD vs Helm — who owns what
Helm answers “how do I package and parameterise Kubernetes resources?” Argo CD answers “how do I continuously and safely converge clusters to the desired state in Git?” Don’t teach or operate them as interchangeable deployment engines.
{{ r.helm }}{{ r.argo }}How to work through it
Learn Kubernetes basics, then Helm as the packaging language, then Argo CD as the GitOps control plane — a sequence that follows directly from Argo’s Helm-integration model.
Hands-on labs, artifacts & assessment
Each lab reinforces the separation between Helm authoring and Argo CD reconciliation. Commands and fields align with the official docs.
- {{ s }}
{{ f.name }}
{{ f.code }}
{{ f.name }}
{{ f.code }}
Prioritised source list
Keep official docs as the normative source, OpenGitOps as the conceptual frame, Weaveworks for historical context, and community guides only after the official mental model is anchored.