GitOps is an operational framework that takes DevOps best practices used for application development such as version control, collaboration, compliance, and CI/CD, and applies them to infrastructure automation.
GitOps is an operational framework that takes DevOps best practices used for application development such as version control, collaboration, compliance, and CI/CD tooling, and applies them to infrastructure automation. While the software development lifecycle has been automated, infrastructure has remained a largely manual process that requires specialized teams. With the demands made on today’s infrastructure, it has become increasingly crucial to implement infrastructure automation. Modern infrastructure needs to be elastic so that it can effectively manage cloud resources that are needed for continuous deployments.
Modern applications are developed with speed and scale in mind. Organizations with a mature DevOps culture can deploy code to production hundreds of times per day. DevOps teams can accomplish this through development best practices such as version control, code review, and CI/CD pipelines that automate testing and deployments.
GitOps is used to automate the process of provisioning infrastructure. Similar to how teams use application source code, operations teams that adopt GitOps use configuration files stored as code (infrastructure as code). GitOps configuration files generate the same infrastructure environment every time it’s deployed, just as application source code generates the same application binaries every time it’s built.
GitOps is not a single product, plugin, or platform. GitOps workflows help teams manage IT infrastructure through processes they already use in application development.
GitOps requires three core components:
GitOps = IaC + MRs + CI/CD
IaC: GitOps uses a Git repository as the single source of truth for infrastructure definitions. Git is an open source version control system that tracks code management changes, and a Git repository is a .git folder in a project that tracks all changes made to files in a project over time. Infrastructure as code (IaC) is the practice of keeping all infrastructure configuration stored as code. The actual desired state may or may not be not stored as code (e.g., number of replicas or pods).
MRs: GitOps uses merge requests (MRs) as the change mechanism for all infrastructure updates. The MR is where teams can collaborate via reviews and comments and where formal approvals take place. A merge commits to your main (or trunk) branch and serves as an audit log.
CI/CD: GitOps automates infrastructure updates using a Git workflow with continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD). When new code is merged, the CI/CD pipeline enacts the change in the environment. Any configuration drift, such as manual changes or errors, is overwritten by GitOps automation so the environment converges on the desired state defined in Git. GitLab uses CI/CD pipelines to manage and implement GitOps automation, but other forms of automation, such as definitions operators, can be used as well.
Ready to learn more about GitOps? Here are a few resources to help you get started on your journey.
What is GitOps? Why is it important? How can you get started? →
Using GitLab for GitOps to break down silos and encourage collaboration →
[Expert Panel Discussion] GitOps: The Future of Infrastructure Automation →
Managing infrastructure through GitOps with GitLab and Anthos →
GitLab and HashiCorp - A holistic guide to GitOps and the Cloud Operating Model →
Automating cloud infrastructure with GitLab and Terraform →
GitOps with Pulumi and GitLab →
GitOps with AWS and GitLab →
Accelerating Digital Transformation at Northwestern Mutual →
A beginner's guide to GitOps →