Delivery & Platform 90 days 2-3 hours/day updated 2026-06-01

GitOps 90-Day Learning Path

Learn GitOps in 90 days — declarative config, pull-based deployments, and drift reconciliation with Argo CD and Flux. Build auditable, self-healing delivery pipelines.

What GitOps means

GitOps applies the developer workflow of version control to infrastructure and application deployments. Every desired state is described in Git, and automated reconcilers continuously ensure the live environment matches that state. This approach provides audit trails, easy rollbacks, and eliminates configuration drift at scale.

Who should follow this path

DevOps engineers adopting Kubernetes-native delivery
Platform teams building golden-path pipelines
SREs seeking auditable deployment processes
Cloud-native engineers moving from push to pull deployments

Prerequisites

Working knowledge of Git branching and pull requests
Basic Kubernetes objects (Deployment, Service, ConfigMap)
Familiarity with YAML configuration
Understanding of CI/CD pipeline fundamentals

The 90-day plan

Daily study recommendation: 2-3 hours/day, six days a week. Consistency beats intensity — block the time in your calendar like a meeting.

Days 1–15: Foundation

GitOps principles (Weaveworks four principles)
Declarative vs imperative configuration
Git repository structure for GitOps
Monorepo vs polyrepo strategies
Branch and environment mapping patterns

Outcome: Articulate GitOps principles and design a Git repository layout for multi-environment deployments.

Days 16–30: Core concepts

Argo CD architecture and installation
Application and ApplicationSet resources
Sync policies and automated reconciliation
Flux CD overview and comparison
Helm and Kustomize integration

Outcome: Deploy and configure Argo CD to manage Kubernetes workloads from a Git repository.

Days 31–45: Tools and workflows

Secrets management in GitOps (Sealed Secrets, ESO)
RBAC and multi-tenant Argo CD setup
Drift detection and self-healing behavior
Notification and alerting in Argo CD
Progressive delivery with Argo Rollouts

Outcome: Implement secure, multi-tenant GitOps with automated drift correction and progressive delivery.

Days 46–60: Hands-on projects

Multi-cluster GitOps patterns
App of apps and ApplicationSet generators
Environment promotion workflows
Policy enforcement with OPA Gatekeeper
GitOps for infrastructure with Crossplane

Outcome: Manage a fleet of clusters with consistent policy and automated environment promotion.

Days 61–75: Advanced practices

Argo CD performance tuning
Canary and blue-green with Argo Rollouts
Image updater automation
Compliance and audit log strategies
Disaster recovery with Git-based state

Outcome: Operate GitOps at scale with canary rollouts, image automation, and compliance controls.

Days 76–90: Portfolio, interview & certification prep

Portfolio: multi-cluster GitOps platform
GitOps interview question preparation
GitOps Certified Associate exam prep
Contributing to Argo CD or Flux open source
Writing ADRs for GitOps architecture decisions

Outcome: Demonstrate a production-grade GitOps portfolio and confidently discuss design trade-offs.

Weekly outcomes at a glance

Phase	Outcome
Days 1–15	Articulate GitOps principles and design a Git repository layout for multi-environment deployments.
Days 16–30	Deploy and configure Argo CD to manage Kubernetes workloads from a Git repository.
Days 31–45	Implement secure, multi-tenant GitOps with automated drift correction and progressive delivery.
Days 46–60	Manage a fleet of clusters with consistent policy and automated environment promotion.
Days 61–75	Operate GitOps at scale with canary rollouts, image automation, and compliance controls.
Days 76–90	Demonstrate a production-grade GitOps portfolio and confidently discuss design trade-offs.

Tools to learn

Argo CD
Flux CD
Argo Rollouts
Kustomize
Helm
Sealed Secrets
External Secrets Operator
Crossplane
GitHub
OPA Gatekeeper

Labs to practice

Mini projects

Build a multi-environment GitOps platform with Argo CD ApplicationSets
Implement progressive delivery with canary analysis using Argo Rollouts
Create a secrets management workflow using External Secrets Operator

Interview questions to prepare

Explain the difference between push-based and pull-based deployment models.
How does Argo CD detect and remediate configuration drift?
What are the trade-offs between Flux and Argo CD?
How would you implement secrets in a GitOps workflow without storing them in Git?
Describe an environment promotion strategy for staging and production.
What is an ApplicationSet and when would you use it?
How do you handle database schema migrations in a GitOps workflow?

Certification suggestions

GitOps Certified Associate (CGOA) — CNCF
Certified Argo Project Associate (CAPA) — CNCF
Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) — CNCF

Browse the full certification registry for exam details and official links.

Free resources

// instructor-led option

Prefer live, guided training with mentors and certification support? DevOpsSchool.com runs paid instructor-led programs that pair well with this free path.

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