Project — GitOps-Lite Deploy Flow

Let's think about it this way for a moment

The core idea of GitOps is that the git repository should be the single source of truth for the desired state — the cluster's actual state is kept constantly in sync with the YAML in git. If you don't have time yet to install/set up a full GitOps tool (ArgoCD, Flux), you can simulate a basic version with a simple script: a pipeline that clones/pulls the git repository and then runs `kubectl apply -f .`. Understanding this concept gives you a solid foundation for learning tools like ArgoCD/Flux later on.

Let's connect this to a real scenario

Create a `k8s/` folder in your git repository and commit all your deployment/service YAML files into it. When you need to change something, don't edit it directly with `kubectl edit` or through a dashboard — instead, edit the file in git, commit/push it, and then run `kubectl apply -f k8s/` (or let a CI/CD pipeline auto-apply it). This gives you a history/audit trail, and you can roll back cleanly with `git revert`.

GitOps = treating the git repository as the single source of truth for the desired state
Editing the YAML in git and applying it, instead of editing the cluster manually
Being able to roll back with git revert (which also gets you an audit trail)

Let's look at it together

bash

# Set up a k8s/ folder in your git repo
mkdir k8s
git add k8s/*.yaml
git commit -m "Add web-deployment manifests"
git push

# "Deploy" step — apply everything from the folder
kubectl apply -f k8s/

# Made a mistake? Revert the git commit, then re-apply
git revert HEAD
kubectl apply -f k8s/

You should see

$ git log --oneline k8s/
a1b2c3d Add web-deployment manifests

$ kubectl apply -f k8s/
deployment.apps/web-deployment configured
service/web-service unchanged

5-minute try-it

Commit two or three deployment/service YAML files into a `k8s/` folder, then deliberately commit a mistake (say, a wrong image tag) — fix it with `git revert` and run `kubectl apply` again.

A quick word of caution

This project shows the GitOps concept at its most 'basic' — in production you'd use a tool like ArgoCD/Flux, which brings in auto-sync, drift detection, secret encryption, and more.