All guides

Production AI Radar

How to GitOps ML manifests with Argo CD

Declarative model deploys with PR review, rollback via revert, and audit trail for regulated releases.

TrialPlatform & DevEx13 min
Registry → canary → rollback

Hover a node · click to focus · ←/→ steps

Promote only after eval. Canary a traffic slice on K8s; auto-rollback on SLO breach; GitOps is the audit trail.

When you need this

  • Manual kubectl deploys with no history
  • Model config drift between staging and prod
  • Need change approval for enterprise releases
  • Rollback depends on one engineer’s memory

Prerequisites

  • Git repo for manifests (separate or monorepo)
  • K8s cluster with Argo CD
  • CI that can open PRs with image tags

Tools

  • Works best once model configs live in Git alongside app manifests.

  • Start with registry + experiment tracking before full deployment automation.

Steps

  1. 1

    Store model manifests in Git

    Image tag, env vars, resource limits, and feature flags as YAML. One folder (or overlay) per environment.

  2. 2

    Configure Argo CD applications

    Sync staging on merge; production requires manual sync or an approval policy / ApplicationSet progressive sync.

  3. 3

    Link to MLflow registry version

    CI updates the manifest image tag only when registry promotion succeeds — registry remains source of truth for model identity.

  4. 4

    Practice rollback

    Revert the Git commit and sync. Time a rollback drill quarterly; document who can approve prod sync.

Adoption pitfalls

  • Argo auto-sync to prod without human gate for high-risk models
  • Secrets in Git instead of ExternalSecrets / Sealed Secrets
  • Manifest repo out of sync with registry for weeks

Adoption checklist

  • No manual prod deploys
  • Manifest change = PR with reviewer
  • Rollback tested in last 90 days
  • Registry version matches live manifest

SEER REAL assessment / sprint

Assessment checks deploy path and change control. Sprint often migrates one model family to Argo with staging auto-sync and prod approval.

Related radar blips