GitOps Project

A learning GitOps demo: Next.js frontend, NestJS backend, Postgres, Kubernetes manifests, and Argo CD.

Stack

Path	What
frontend/	Next.js app + Dockerfile
backend/	NestJS API + Dockerfile
infra/k8s/	Kubernetes manifests (Minikube-friendly local images)
infra/argocd/	Argo CD Application (watches infra/k8s)
.github/workflows/	Build and push images to Docker Hub
docs/minikube.md	Start here on Mac — Minikube + Argo CD guide
docs/home-server.md	Later: Ubuntu home server with k3s

Quick start (Mac + Minikube)

Docker Desktop and Minikube should already be installed.

1. Prove the apps with Compose

cd gitops-project
docker compose up --build

• Frontend: http://localhost:3000
• Backend: http://localhost:3001/message

2. Deploy manually on Minikube

minikube start --driver=docker --cpus=4 --memory=6144

docker build -t gitops-backend:local ./backend
docker build -t gitops-frontend:local ./frontend
minikube image load gitops-backend:local
minikube image load gitops-frontend:local

kubectl apply -f infra/k8s/
kubectl port-forward -n gitops svc/gitops-frontend 30080:3000

Open http://127.0.0.1:30080

Full details: docs/minikube.md.

3. Wire Argo CD (GitOps)

1. Push this repo to GitHub.
2. Set repoURL in infra/argocd/gitops-app.yaml.
3. Install Argo CD and apply the Application (steps in docs/minikube.md).

For Docker Hub + GitHub Actions, see docs/dockerhub-images.md.

Local image defaults

infra/k8s uses:

• gitops-backend:local / gitops-frontend:local
• imagePullPolicy: Never
• replicas: 1

That keeps Phase 2 working without a registry. Switch to Docker Hub images when you move to the full GitOps loop.

Notes

• Frontend NodePort is 30080 (use port-forward on Mac Docker driver).
• Backend talks to gitops-postgres inside the cluster.
• Home-server / Tailscale / k3s is optional and documented separately — learn Minikube GitOps first.