Tekton + Argo CD

Tekton + Argo CD

This stack provides a fully Kubernetes-native CI/CD pipeline. Tekton runs continuous integration as Kubernetes resources — pipelines and tasks defined as custom resources that execute in the cluster. Argo CD handles continuous delivery using GitOps: it continuously reconciles cluster state to match declarative manifests stored in Git. The two cleanly separate build (Tekton) from deploy (Argo CD).

The stack targets platform teams standardizing on Kubernetes that want CI/CD that lives in the cluster, is declarative, and follows GitOps principles. Both are CNCF projects.

Components

• Tekton defines CI as Kubernetes custom resources: Tasks and Pipelines run in pods, building, testing, and producing container images and artifacts.
• Argo CD watches Git repositories of manifests and reconciles the cluster to the desired state, providing drift detection, rollbacks, and a deployment UI.
• Docker / OCI images are the build output, pushed to a registry for Argo CD to deploy.
• Helm charts (or Kustomize) describe deployable applications that Argo CD renders and applies.
• Kubernetes is the substrate for everything, so CI and CD share one platform.

Strengths

Everything is Kubernetes-native and declarative, so pipelines and deployments are version-controlled, reproducible, and managed with the same tooling as the rest of the cluster. Tekton scales builds elastically using cluster resources and avoids a separate CI server to maintain. Argo CD's GitOps model makes Git the single source of truth, with automatic drift detection, easy rollbacks, and clear audit history. Both are open source and CNCF-governed, avoiding vendor lock-in. The build/deploy separation keeps concerns clean.

Trade-offs

The stack only makes sense if you are committed to Kubernetes. Tekton's primitives are low-level, so teams often need additional tooling or templates for a friendly developer experience. Running CI in-cluster competes for cluster resources and needs isolation and security controls. GitOps requires discipline around repository structure and secrets handling. The combined learning curve is significant for teams new to Kubernetes-native CI/CD.

When to Use It

Choose Tekton + Argo CD when your organization is Kubernetes-centric and wants declarative, GitOps-driven CI/CD that lives in the cluster with no external CI server, plus strong auditability and rollback. For non-Kubernetes workloads or teams wanting a simpler managed experience, GitHub Actions or GitLab CI may be more pragmatic. This stack rewards platform teams invested in cloud-native standards.