CLI Overview - Argo CD

The Argo CD CLI (argocd) provides a complete interface for managing your GitOps deployments. This page covers authentication, configuration, and common usage patterns.

Global Flags

The CLI supports numerous global flags that apply to all commands:

argocd [command] [flags]

Authentication Flags

--server

string

Argo CD server address

--auth-token

string

Authentication token (or set ARGOCD_AUTH_TOKEN environment variable)

--argocd-context

string

The name of the Argo CD server context to use

Connection Flags

--insecure

boolean

Skip server certificate and domain verification

--plaintext

boolean

Disable TLS

--grpc-web

boolean

Enables gRPC-web protocol. Useful if Argo CD server is behind proxy which does not support HTTP2

--port-forward

boolean

Connect to a random argocd-server port using port forwarding

--port-forward-namespace

string

Namespace name which should be used for port forwarding

Kubernetes Flags

--core

boolean

If set to true, CLI talks directly to Kubernetes instead of Argo CD API server

--kube-context

string

Directs the command to the given kube-context

Authentication

Authenticate with username and password:

argocd login cd.example.com

You’ll be prompted for credentials:

WARNING: server certificate had error: x509: certificate signed by unknown authority. Proceed insecurely (y/n)? y
Username: admin
Password: 
'admin:login' logged in successfully
Context 'cd.example.com' updated

argocd login cd.example.com --sso

This will open your browser for SSO authentication.

Skip TLS Verification

For testing or self-signed certificates:

argocd login cd.example.com --insecure

Using --insecure is not recommended for production environments as it skips certificate verification.

Using Authentication Tokens

Generate and use an authentication token:

# Generate a token
argocd account generate-token --account admin

# Use the token
argocd app list --auth-token <your-token> --server cd.example.com

# Or set it as an environment variable
export ARGOCD_AUTH_TOKEN=<your-token>
argocd app list --server cd.example.com

Core Mode (Direct Kubernetes Access)

For administrative tasks without going through the API server:

argocd login cd.example.com --core

Configuration File

The CLI stores configuration in ~/.config/argocd/config (or $HOME/.argocd/config on older versions):

contexts:
- name: cd.example.com
  server: cd.example.com
  user: admin
current-context: cd.example.com
users:
- auth-token: eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9...
  name: admin
  refresh-token: eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9...

Manage Contexts

Switch between multiple Argo CD servers:

# List available contexts
argocd context

# Switch context
argocd context cd.example.com

Common Usage Patterns

Quick Application Status

# List all applications
argocd app list

# Get specific application
argocd app get my-app

# Watch application sync status
argocd app wait my-app --health

Sync and Deploy

# Sync an application
argocd app sync my-app

# Sync with preview
argocd app diff my-app
argocd app sync my-app

# Force sync (override protections)
argocd app sync my-app --force

Multiple Output Formats

Most commands support different output formats:

# JSON output
argocd app list -o json

# YAML output
argocd app get my-app -o yaml

# Wide format (more details)
argocd cluster list -o wide

Port Forwarding

Access Argo CD without external exposure:

# Use port forwarding for all commands
argocd app list --port-forward --port-forward-namespace argocd

# Or configure it in your context
argocd login --port-forward --port-forward-namespace argocd

Shell Completion

Enable shell completion for faster command entry:

Bash
Zsh
Fish

# Add to ~/.bashrc
source <(argocd completion bash)

# Or install globally
argocd completion bash > /etc/bash_completion.d/argocd

# Add to ~/.zshrc
source <(argocd completion zsh)

# Or for Oh My Zsh
argocd completion zsh > "${fpath[1]}/_argocd"

argocd completion fish | source

# To load completions for each session
argocd completion fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/argocd.fish

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

# Test connection
argocd version

# Enable debug logging
argocd app list --loglevel debug

# Skip TLS verification (temporary)
argocd app list --insecure

Authentication Expiry

If your token expires:

# Re-login
argocd relogin

# Or login again
argocd login cd.example.com

Available Commands

app

Manage applications

appset

Manage ApplicationSets

cluster

Manage cluster credentials

repo

Manage repository connections

project

Manage projects

admin

Administrative commands

account

Manage account settings

Environment Variables

ARGOCD_AUTH_TOKEN

string

Authentication token to avoid passing --auth-token flag

ARGOCD_SERVER

string

Argo CD server address to avoid passing --server flag

ARGOCD_OPTS

string

Additional CLI options applied to all commands

Next Steps

App Commands

Learn application management commands

Cluster Commands

Configure cluster connections

Overview

Commands

​Global Flags

​Authentication Flags

​Connection Flags

​Kubernetes Flags

​Authentication

​Login to Argo CD Server

​SSO Login

​Skip TLS Verification

​Using Authentication Tokens

​Core Mode (Direct Kubernetes Access)

​Configuration File

​Manage Contexts

​Common Usage Patterns

​Quick Application Status

​Sync and Deploy

​Multiple Output Formats

​Port Forwarding

​Shell Completion

​Troubleshooting

​Connection Issues

​Authentication Expiry

​Available Commands

app

appset

cluster

repo

project

admin

account

​Environment Variables

​Next Steps

App Commands

Cluster Commands

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Global Flags

Authentication Flags

Connection Flags

Kubernetes Flags

Authentication

Login to Argo CD Server

SSO Login

Skip TLS Verification

Using Authentication Tokens

Core Mode (Direct Kubernetes Access)

Configuration File

Manage Contexts

Common Usage Patterns

Quick Application Status

Sync and Deploy

Multiple Output Formats

Port Forwarding

Shell Completion

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

Authentication Expiry

Available Commands

Environment Variables

Next Steps