Managing Kubernetes Workloads Using the App of Apps Pattern in ArgoCD-2

Posted on October 7, 2025 by Marcin Kujawski, Principal Kubernetes Engineer, Software Mind CNCF projects highlighted in this post Managing a cloud native infrastructure at scale is no longer just about deploying single applications – it’s about organizing environments, defining clear boundaries and keeping everything version-controlled, consistent, automated and easily managed within a simple and clear lifecycle process. This is where GitOps practices – tools like ArgoCD – truly shine. One of ArgoCD’s most powerful patterns is called App of Apps – a design where a single parent ArgoCD Application manages and deploys multiple child ArgoCD Applications. It brings order to potentially chaotic deployments, improves observability and aligns perfectly with GitOps methodologies. In this article, we’ll explore the App of Apps pattern in ArgoCD, including its concept, structure, pros and cons, as well as a production-grade way to configure child applications via dedicated values files. You’ll learn how to build a reusable, scalable pattern by deploying two example applications: NGINX Ingress Controller Cert-Manager Let’s dive in. What Is the App of Apps Pattern in ArgoCD? Concept The App of Apps pattern is an ArgoCD deployment strategy where one central ArgoCD Application (the “parent”) is responsible for managing and deploying several other Applications (the “children”). Each child application corresponds to a logical unit (e. g. , a microservice, controller, or platform component) and is fully managed by ArgoCD. This enables a modular, hierarchical structure – especially useful in environments where infrastructure is composed of many separate but related components. Real-World Analogy Think of the parent app as a conductor of an orchestra.