The argocd appset command manages ApplicationSets, which enable you to use templating to automatically generate multiple Argo CD applications.
Quick Examples # Get an ApplicationSet argocd appset get my-appset # List all ApplicationSets argocd appset list # Create an ApplicationSet from a file argocd appset create appset.yaml # Delete an ApplicationSet argocd appset delete my-appset
What are ApplicationSets? ApplicationSets provide a way to automatically generate Argo CD applications using templates and generators. They’re useful for:
Deploying the same application to multiple clusters
Managing multi-tenant environments
Implementing monorepos with multiple applications
Automating application creation from Git repositories
Subcommands create Create one or more ApplicationSets from YAML files.
# Create from local file argocd appset create applicationset.yaml # Create from URL argocd appset create https://raw.githubusercontent.com/example/repo/main/appset.yaml # Create from stdin cat applicationset.yaml | argocd appset create - # Create multiple ApplicationSets argocd appset create appset1.yaml appset2.yaml appset3.yaml
Example ApplicationSet: apiVersion : argoproj.io/v1alpha1 kind : ApplicationSet metadata : name : cluster-addons namespace : argocd spec : generators : - list : elements : - cluster : engineering-dev url : https://kubernetes.default.svc - cluster : engineering-prod url : https://prod-cluster.example.com template : metadata : name : '{{cluster}}-guestbook' spec : project : default source : repoURL : https://github.com/argoproj/argocd-example-apps targetRevision : HEAD path : guestbook destination : server : '{{url}}' namespace : guestbook syncPolicy : automated : prune : true selfHeal : true
Key Flags: Update the ApplicationSet if it already exists
Validate the ApplicationSet before creating
list List all ApplicationSets.
# List all ApplicationSets argocd appset list # List with output format argocd appset list -o json argocd appset list -o yaml argocd appset list -o wide # Filter by project argocd appset list -p my-project
Output: NAME PROJECT SYNCPOLICY CONDITIONS cluster-addons default Automated <none> git-generator default Manual <none> matrix-example default Automated <none>
get Get ApplicationSet details.
# Get ApplicationSet details argocd appset get my-appset # Get with YAML output argocd appset get my-appset -o yaml # Get with JSON output argocd appset get my-appset -o json
Output: Name : cluster-addons Project : default SyncPolicy : Automated (Prune) Conditions : <none> Generators : List Generator : Elements : - cluster : engineering-dev url : https://kubernetes.default.svc - cluster : engineering-prod url : https://prod-cluster.example.com Applications : engineering-dev-guestbook : Status : Synced Health : Healthy engineering-prod-guestbook : Status : Synced Health : Healthy
delete Delete one or more ApplicationSets.
# Delete single ApplicationSet argocd appset delete my-appset # Delete multiple ApplicationSets argocd appset delete appset1 appset2 appset3 # Delete without confirmation argocd appset delete my-appset --yes
Deleting an ApplicationSet will also delete all applications generated by it.
Key Flags: generate Generate and render ApplicationSet templates without creating applications.
# Generate applications from ApplicationSet argocd appset generate my-appset # Generate with output format argocd appset generate my-appset -o yaml # Generate from file argocd appset generate --file applicationset.yaml
This is useful for testing and debugging ApplicationSet templates before creating them.
Output: apiVersion : argoproj.io/v1alpha1 kind : Application metadata : name : engineering-dev-guestbook spec : project : default source : repoURL : https://github.com/argoproj/argocd-example-apps path : guestbook targetRevision : HEAD destination : server : https://kubernetes.default.svc namespace : guestbook --- apiVersion : argoproj.io/v1alpha1 kind : Application metadata : name : engineering-prod-guestbook spec : project : default source : repoURL : https://github.com/argoproj/argocd-example-apps path : guestbook targetRevision : HEAD destination : server : https://prod-cluster.example.com namespace : guestbook
ApplicationSet Generators List Generator Generate applications from a static list of parameters:
generators : - list : elements : - cluster : dev url : https://dev.example.com - cluster : prod url : https://prod.example.com
Git Generator Generate applications from Git repository structure:
generators : - git : repoURL : https://github.com/example/repo revision : HEAD directories : - path : apps/*
Cluster Generator Generate applications for all registered clusters:
generators : - clusters : selector : matchLabels : environment : production
Matrix Generator Combine multiple generators:
generators : - matrix : generators : - git : repoURL : https://github.com/example/apps directories : - path : apps/* - clusters : selector : matchLabels : environment : production
Common Workflows Multi-Cluster Deployment multi-cluster-appset.yaml
apiVersion : argoproj.io/v1alpha1 kind : ApplicationSet metadata : name : multi-cluster-app spec : generators : - clusters : selector : matchLabels : deploy : "true" template : metadata : name : '{{name}}-myapp' spec : project : default source : repoURL : https://github.com/example/myapp targetRevision : HEAD path : manifests destination : server : '{{server}}' namespace : myapp syncPolicy : automated : prune : true selfHeal : true
Create the ApplicationSet:
argocd appset create multi-cluster-appset.yaml
Monorepo with Multiple Apps apiVersion : argoproj.io/v1alpha1 kind : ApplicationSet metadata : name : monorepo-apps spec : generators : - git : repoURL : https://github.com/example/monorepo revision : HEAD directories : - path : apps/* template : metadata : name : '{{path.basename}}' spec : project : default source : repoURL : https://github.com/example/monorepo targetRevision : HEAD path : '{{path}}' destination : server : https://kubernetes.default.svc namespace : '{{path.basename}}' syncPolicy : automated : {}
Testing ApplicationSet Templates # Generate without creating argocd appset generate --file my-appset.yaml # Validate the output argocd appset generate --file my-appset.yaml | kubectl apply --dry-run=client -f - # Create after validation argocd appset create my-appset.yaml
Update ApplicationSet # Edit the YAML file vim applicationset.yaml # Update with upsert argocd appset create applicationset.yaml --upsert # Or delete and recreate argocd appset delete my-appset --yes argocd appset create applicationset.yaml
Monitoring ApplicationSets # List all ApplicationSets and their status argocd appset list -o wide # Get detailed status argocd appset get my-appset # Check generated applications argocd app list -l argocd.argoproj.io/application-set-name=my-appset
Troubleshooting Validate Template Rendering # Use generate to preview applications argocd appset generate my-appset # Check for syntax errors argocd appset generate --file appset.yaml
Check ApplicationSet Status # Get ApplicationSet details argocd appset get my-appset -o yaml # Check conditions argocd appset get my-appset | grep -A 5 Conditions
Debug Generator Issues # For Git generators, verify repository access argocd repo list # For Cluster generators, verify cluster registration argocd cluster list # Check ApplicationSet controller logs kubectl logs -n argocd -l app.kubernetes.io/name=argocd-applicationset-controller
Best Practices
Use descriptive names for generated applications with template variables
Test ApplicationSets with generate before creating them
Use labels to organize generated applications
Consider using sync waves for ordered deployment
Document generator parameters for team members
Next Steps
App Commands Manage generated applications
Cluster Commands Register clusters for multi-cluster deployment