Validated Patterns now deploys its own ArgoCD instance

by Michele Baldessari

April 13, 2026

patterns argocd gitops

Preamble

Until now the Validated Patterns operator relied on the default ArgoCD instance created by the OpenShift GitOps operator in the openshift-gitops namespace. While this worked, it meant that the patterns framework shared its ArgoCD instance with whatever else the cluster administrator or the gitops operator itself might configure there. Starting with the 0.0.70 version of the patterns operator, new deployments will get their own dedicated ArgoCD instance running in a brand-new vp-gitops namespace.

Why the change

Sharing the default openshift-gitops ArgoCD instance had a few drawbacks:

Potential conflicts Any other workload or operator that also relied on the default ArgoCD instance could interfere with the patterns deployment, and vice versa.
Lifecycle coupling Upgrades or configuration changes to the gitops-operator’s default instance could unexpectedly affect a running pattern.
Limited customization Because the default instance is owned and managed by the gitops-operator, the patterns operator had limited control over its configuration (e.g. init-containers, resource settings, sync policies).

By owning its own ArgoCD instance in the vp-gitops namespace, the patterns operator can configure it exactly the way it needs without worrying about external interference.

What changes for new deployments

On a fresh cluster where no previous Validated Patterns deployment exists, the operator now:

Tells the gitops-operator to not create the default ArgoCD instance by setting the DISABLE_DEFAULT_ARGOCD_INSTANCE=true environment variable on the gitops-operator subscription. This avoids having an unused ArgoCD instance sitting in openshift-gitops.
Creates the vp-gitops namespace itself and deploys a dedicated ArgoCD CR there.
Creates a ConsoleLink resource so that the new ArgoCD instance shows up in the OpenShift console application menu (the nine-box), labelled "ArgoCD VP". This makes it easy to find and access.

What changes for existing deployments

Nothing. If you already have a running Validated Patterns deployment that uses the default openshift-gitops ArgoCD instance, it will continue to work exactly as before. The operator detects whether the legacy openshift-gitops/openshift-gitops ArgoCD CR exists at reconciliation time. If it does, the operator operates in legacy mode: it keeps using the existing instance and does not set DISABLE_DEFAULT_ARGOCD_INSTANCE on the gitops-operator subscription. Your environment is not affected in any way.

This detection happens automatically on every reconcile loop, so there is no manual configuration or migration step needed. Existing clusters that upgrade the patterns operator will simply keep running as they always have.

Summary

This change gives the Validated Patterns framework its own independent ArgoCD instance, improving isolation and giving the operator full control over its GitOps engine. Existing deployments are unaffected and will continue to use the openshift-gitops instance they were deployed with. New deployments will automatically get the dedicated vp-gitops instance with no additional configuration required.