GitOps Infrastructure is a declarative approach to managing infrastructure and platform configurations using Git as the single source of truth. All desired system states—clusters, networking, policies, and workloads—are defined <a href="https://aiopscommunity1-g7ccdfagfmgqhma8.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net/glossary/infrastructure-as-code-testing-iac-testing/" title="Infrastructure as Code Testing (IaC Testing)">as code in a repository. Automated agents continuously reconcile the live environment with what is declared in Git.
How It Works
Teams define infrastructure and platform resources using declarative configuration files, typically in formats such as YAML, JSON, or Terraform. These files describe the desired state rather than step-by-step instructions. Changes occur through pull requests, where peers review and approve modifications before merging into the main branch.
A GitOps operator, running inside the environment (for example, a Kubernetes cluster), continuously monitors the repository. When it detects a change, it applies the updated configuration automatically. If drift occurs—such as a manual change in production—the operator detects the mismatch and reconciles the environment back to the declared state.
This pull-based model differs from traditional CI/CD push deployments. Instead of external systems pushing updates into environments, the environment pulls approved changes from Git. This design improves security by limiting direct access to production systems and ensures every change is version-controlled and auditable.
Why It Matters
This approach increases operational consistency and reduces configuration drift. Every infrastructure change is tracked, reviewable, and reversible using Git history. Teams gain reproducibility across environments because they promote the same declarative definitions from development to production.
It also strengthens collaboration between development, operations, and platform teams. Standard Git workflows—branches, pull requests, and reviews—become the control plane for infrastructure changes. Automation handles synchronization, which reduces manual intervention and improves reliability at scale.
Key Takeaway
Git becomes the control plane for infrastructure, enabling automated, auditable, and drift-resistant platform operations.