Installing

You need a Kubernetes cluster. For learning, minikube or kind on your own machine is plenty — nothing here touches production.

Install Argo CD

Check: the official install is one manifest, verified October 2026:

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

The stable URL tracks the latest stable release (v3.x line as of this writing). For a pinned version, replace stable with a tag like v3.5.4 — check the releases page for what's current.

Wait for the pods:

kubectl get pods -n argocd

All should reach Running. On a small local cluster this takes a few minutes — Argo CD is several services, not one binary.

Install the CLI

curl -sSL -o argocd-linux-amd64 https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/releases/latest/download/argocd-linux-amd64
sudo install -m 555 argocd-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/argocd
rm argocd-linux-amd64

(Windows and macOS binaries are on the same releases page. Package managers carry it too, usually a version behind.)

First login

The UI isn't exposed by default. Port-forward it:

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

Then open https://localhost:8080. The username is admin; the initial password lives in a secret:

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

Change that password immediately — via the UI (User Info → Update Password) or argocd account update-password. The initial secret is deleted after first login in newer versions, but don't rely on that.

Log the CLI in the same way:

argocd login localhost:8080 --username admin --insecure

(--insecure skips TLS verification for your local port-forward. Never use it against a real server.)

What you should see

An empty UI with a "New App" button and no applications. That's correct — Argo CD manages applications you define; out of the box it manages nothing, which is exactly the safe default you want. Your first app fills that empty screen.