How to fix ArgoCD missing in Kubernetes

First, ensure the namespace exists:

kubectl create namespace argocd

If namespace already exists, this command will return an error (which is safe to ignore).

Apply the complete ArgoCD installation manifest:

kubectl apply -n argocd -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/argoproj/argo-cd/stable/manifests/install.yaml

For namespace-scoped installation (no cluster-wide access):

kubectl apply -n argocd -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/argoproj/argo-cd/stable/manifests/namespace-install.yaml

Note: namespace-install.yaml requires manual CRD installation (see next step).

If using namespace-install.yaml, CRDs must be installed separately:

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/argoproj/argo-cd/stable/manifests/crds/application-crd.yaml
kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/argoproj/argo-cd/stable/manifests/crds/applicationset-crd.yaml
kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/argoproj/argo-cd/stable/manifests/crds/appproject-crd.yaml

Verify CRDs are installed:

kubectl get crd | grep argoproj

Check that all ArgoCD components are deployed and healthy:

kubectl get pods -n argocd

Expected pods (multi-tenant install):
- argocd-application-controller
- argocd-applicationset-controller
- argocd-dex-server
- argocd-notifications-controller
- argocd-repo-server
- argocd-redis
- argocd-server

All pods should show status Running with 1/1 ready. If any show CrashLoopBackOff or Pending, investigate with:

kubectl describe pod <pod-name> -n argocd
kubectl logs <pod-name> -n argocd

ArgoCD requires Redis for caching (even though controller can run without it, it's not recommended):

kubectl get pod -n argocd -l app.kubernetes.io/name=argocd-redis

If redis pod is missing, apply the complete install.yaml which includes Redis deployment. If using Helm:

helm repo add argo https://argoproj.github.io/argo-helm
helm install argocd argo/argo-cd -n argocd --set redis.enabled=true

If pods are running but cannot communicate, check for blocking network policies:

kubectl get networkpolicy -n argocd

If restrictive policies exist, delete them temporarily to test:

kubectl delete networkpolicy -n argocd <policy-name>

Then verify connectivity. Create new policies that allow pod-to-pod communication within the argocd namespace.

Once all pods are running, forward the ArgoCD server port:

kubectl port-forward svc/argocd-server -n argocd 8080:443

Access the UI at https://localhost:8080. Get the initial admin password:

kubectl -n argocd get secret argocd-initial-admin-secret -o jsonpath="{.data.password}" | base64 -d; echo

Login with username: admin

For a cleaner, managed installation, use the official Helm chart:

helm repo add argo https://argoproj.github.io/argo-helm
helm repo update
helm install argocd argo/argo-cd -n argocd --create-namespace

This ensures all required components and dependencies (including Redis, CRDs, RBAC) are installed together. Verify installation:

helm status argocd -n argocd