Application API

CRUD operations and management for Argo CD Application resources

Overview

The Application Service API provides comprehensive CRUD operations for Application resources. Applications represent the desired state of a Kubernetes application managed by Argo CD.

Base Path: /api/v1/applications

gRPC Service: application.ApplicationService

Application Resource

An Application defines the source repository, destination cluster, and sync policies.

Application Spec

source · ApplicationSource

Reference to the location of manifests or chart (single-source)

Show ApplicationSource fields

repoURL · string · required

URL to the Git or Helm repository

path · string

Directory path within Git repository

targetRevision · string

Git branch, tag, or commit SHA / Helm chart version

chart · string

Helm chart name (for Helm repos)

helm · ApplicationSourceHelm

Helm-specific options (values, parameters, etc.)

kustomize · ApplicationSourceKustomize

Kustomize-specific options

sources · ApplicationSource[]

Multiple sources for multi-source applications

destination · ApplicationDestination · required

Target Kubernetes cluster and namespace

Show ApplicationDestination fields

server · string

Kubernetes API server URL (e.g., https://kubernetes.default.svc)

name · string

Cluster name (alternative to server)

namespace · string · required

Target namespace for deployment

project · string · required

Project name (use “default” if not specified)

syncPolicy · SyncPolicy

Sync policy configuration

Show SyncPolicy fields

automated · AutomatedSyncPolicy

Automated sync settings (prune, selfHeal, allowEmpty)

syncOptions · string[]

Sync options (e.g., “CreateNamespace=true”)

retry · RetryStrategy

Retry configuration for failed syncs

Example Application

apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
  name: guestbook
  namespace: argocd
spec:
  project: default
  source:
    repoURL: https://github.com/argoproj/argocd-example-apps
    targetRevision: HEAD
    path: guestbook
  destination:
    server: https://kubernetes.default.svc
    namespace: guestbook
  syncPolicy:
    automated:
      prune: true
      selfHeal: true
    syncOptions:
    - CreateNamespace=true

API Operations

List Applications

Retrieve a list of applications.

GET /api/v1/applications

projects · string[]

Filter by project names

selector · string

Label selector (e.g., app=myapp,env=prod)

repo · string

Filter by repository URL

appNamespace · string

Filter by application namespace

cURL

curl https://argocd-server/api/v1/applications?projects=default \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

Get Application

Retrieve a specific application by name.

GET /api/v1/applications/{name}

name · string · required

Application name

refresh · string

Force refresh from Git (“normal” or “hard”)

project · string

Project filter for validation

appNamespace · string

Application namespace

cURL

curl https://argocd-server/api/v1/applications/guestbook \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

Create Application

Create a new application.

POST /api/v1/applications

application · Application · required

Complete Application resource definition

upsert · boolean

Update if already exists (default: false)

validate · boolean

Validate before creating (default: true)

cURL

curl -X POST https://argocd-server/api/v1/applications \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "metadata": {
      "name": "guestbook"
    },
    "spec": {
      "project": "default",
      "source": {
        "repoURL": "https://github.com/argoproj/argocd-example-apps",
        "path": "guestbook",
        "targetRevision": "HEAD"
      },
      "destination": {
        "server": "https://kubernetes.default.svc",
        "namespace": "guestbook"
      }
    }
  }'

Update Application

Update an existing application.

PUT /api/v1/applications/{application.metadata.name}

application · Application · required

Updated Application resource

validate · boolean

Validate before updating

Update Application Spec

Update only the application spec.

PUT /api/v1/applications/{name}/spec

name · string · required

Application name

spec · ApplicationSpec · required

Updated specification

Patch Application

Partially update an application.

PATCH /api/v1/applications/{name}

name · string · required

Application name

patch · string · required

JSON patch or merge patch content

patchType · string · required

Patch type: “json”, “merge”, or “strategic”

Example:

curl -X PATCH https://argocd-server/api/v1/applications/guestbook \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "patch": "{\"spec\":{\"syncPolicy\":{\"automated\":{\"prune\":true}}}}",
    "patchType": "merge"
  }'

Delete Application

Delete an application.

DELETE /api/v1/applications/{name}

name · string · required

Application name

cascade · boolean

Delete application resources (default: true)

propagationPolicy · string

Kubernetes propagation policy: “foreground”, “background”, or “orphan”

appNamespace · string

Application namespace

Delete with cascade

curl -X DELETE "https://argocd-server/api/v1/applications/guestbook?cascade=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN"

Sync Operations

Sync Application

Trigger a sync operation to deploy the application.

POST /api/v1/applications/{name}/sync

name · string · required

Application name

revision · string

Target revision to sync (default: spec.targetRevision)

prune · boolean

Delete resources not in Git

dryRun · boolean

Preview sync without applying changes

strategy · SyncStrategy

Sync strategy (hook, apply)

resources · SyncOperationResource[]

Specific resources to sync

syncOptions · string[]

Sync options (e.g., “PruneLast=true”)

cURL

curl -X POST https://argocd-server/api/v1/applications/guestbook/sync \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "prune": true,
    "dryRun": false
  }'

Terminate Operation

Cancel a running sync operation.

DELETE /api/v1/applications/{name}/operation

Rollback Application

Rollback to a previous revision.

POST /api/v1/applications/{name}/rollback

name · string · required

Application name

id · int64 · required

History ID to rollback to

prune · boolean

Prune resources during rollback

dryRun · boolean

Preview rollback

Resource Operations

Get Resource

Get a specific resource managed by the application.

GET /api/v1/applications/{name}/resource

namespace · string

Resource namespace

resourceName · string · required

Resource name

version · string · required

API version (e.g., “v1”)

group · string

API group (empty for core)

kind · string · required

Resource kind (e.g., “Deployment”)

Delete Resource

Delete a specific resource.

DELETE /api/v1/applications/{name}/resource

Patch Resource

Patch a specific resource.

POST /api/v1/applications/{name}/resource

Monitoring & Observability

Get Resource Tree

Get the application’s resource hierarchy.

GET /api/v1/applications/{applicationName}/resource-tree

Watch Resource Tree

Stream resource tree updates.

GET /api/v1/stream/applications/{applicationName}/resource-tree

Get Pod Logs

Stream logs from application pods.

GET /api/v1/applications/{name}/pods/{podName}/logs

container · string

Container name

follow · boolean

Stream logs

tailLines · int64

Number of lines to tail

sinceSeconds · int64

Logs from last N seconds

Watch Applications

Stream application change events.

GET /api/v1/stream/applications

Next Steps

ApplicationSet API

Manage ApplicationSets

Project API

Configure projects for applications