argo9s
A K9s-inspired terminal UI for monitoring Argo CD Applications in real time.
Screenshots
Offline demo (no cluster): argo9s --demo
Regenerate assets (needs VHS):
make build
PATH="$(go env GOPATH)/bin:$PATH" vhs docs/screenshots/demo.tapeFeatures
- Two backends: Kubernetes (kubeconfig / in-cluster) or Argo CD HTTP API (URL + token)
- Named connections in
~/.argo9s/config.yamlwith startup picker (kubernetes,argocd-test,argocd-prod, …) - Real-time watch of Applications (CRD watch or API stream/poll)
- Unified + type views: Applications, ApplicationSets, AppProjects
- K9s-style UX:
j/k,/filter,:commands,?help - Project / name / sync filters
- Graph view (
g): Argo UI–style tree (resource-tree API or live RS/Pods) - Actions (when not read-only): sync, refresh, suspend/resume, delete
- Read-only by default
--demo: offline sample apps for screenshots / VHS recordings--no-color: monochrome TUI (alsoNO_COLOR=1ornoColor: truein config)
Install
Homebrew
brew install vvrnv/tap/argo9s
Go
go install github.com/vvrnv/argo9s/cmd/argo9s@latest
Binary
Download from the releases page.
Build from source
git clone https://github.com/vvrnv/argo9s.git
cd argo9s
make build
./bin/argo9sReleases are published automatically on v* tags via GoReleaser (GitHub Release + Homebrew formula in vvrnv/homebrew-tap).
Connections
1) CLI (one-shot Argo CD API)
argo9s --server https://argocd.example.com --auth-token "$TOKEN" argo9s --server https://argocd.example.com --auth-token "$TOKEN" --insecure # token also from ARGOCD_AUTH_TOKEN
2) Config profiles + picker
argo9s config init # writes example ~/.argo9s/config.yaml # edit connections, put tokens in env vars export ARGOCD_TEST_TOKEN=... export ARGOCD_PROD_TOKEN=... argo9s # picker: kubernetes / argocd-test / argocd-prod argo9s --connection argocd-prod argo9s --pick # force picker
Example ~/.argo9s/config.yaml:
defaultConnection: kubernetes connections: - name: kubernetes type: kubernetes - name: argocd-test type: argocd server: https://argocd.test.example.com tokenEnv: ARGOCD_TEST_TOKEN readOnly: false - name: argocd-prod type: argocd server: https://argocd.prod.example.com tokenEnv: ARGOCD_PROD_TOKEN readOnly: true
readOnly on a connection overrides the global readOnly. CLI --readonly still wins when passed explicitly.
3) Kubernetes / in-cluster (original mode)
argo9s --connection kubernetes argo9s --context my-cluster -n argocd
Navigation
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
j / k |
Move |
g |
Resource graph (Application) |
l |
Pod logs (on Pod); horizontal scroll in log/YAML views |
y |
Live YAML of selected graph node |
e |
Edit YAML in $EDITOR (not read-only) |
p |
Previous container logs (log view) |
enter / d |
Describe |
/ |
Name filter |
: |
Command |
R |
Sync application |
f / F |
Refresh / hard refresh |
s / r |
Suspend (manual) / resume (auto-sync) |
CLI (autosync / sync)
# need writable connection (readOnly: false) or --readonly=false argo9s --connection argocd-test --readonly=false app autosync on guestbook argo9s --connection argocd-test --readonly=false app autosync off guestbook argo9s --connection argocd-test --readonly=false app resume guestbook argo9s --connection argocd-test --readonly=false app suspend guestbook argo9s --connection argocd-test --readonly=false app sync guestbook argo9s --connection argocd-test --readonly=false app refresh guestbook --hard
| ctrl+d | Delete (confirm) |
| ? | Help |
| Q / :q | Quit |
Filters
:name guestbook # filter by name substring
:n mpi # short form
:name clear
:project default # Applications in AppProject "default"
:p staging
:project clear
:sync outofsync # only OutOfSync (yellow)
:sync synced
:outofsync
:sync clear
/text is a live substring filter across name/namespace/project/status.
Colors: Synced+Healthy = green · OutOfSync = yellow · Progressing = blue · Degraded = red · Unknown = gray
Disable: --no-color, NO_COLOR=1, or argo9s config set noColor true.
Graph view
- Select an Application
- Press
g(or:graph) - Navigate nodes with
j/k,escto go back
Layout matches Argo CD UI (left → right):
app ── cm
├─ svc
└─ deploy ── rs ── pod
Managed resources come from status.resources; ReplicaSets/Pods are loaded live from the cluster via ownerReferences.
Commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
:app / :appset / :appproject / :all |
Switch resource view |
:project <name> |
Filter apps by Argo CD project |
:ns <namespace|all> |
Filter list by namespace |
:graph |
Open graph for selected Application |
:readonly |
Toggle read-only |
:nocolor |
Toggle monochrome TUI |
:ctx |
List kube contexts |
:q |
Quit |
Config
Stored at ~/.argo9s/config.yaml:
argo9s config view argo9s config set readOnly false argo9s config set noColor true argo9s config set namespace argocd argo9s config set allNamespaces true
How it works
Two backends, same TUI:
- Kubernetes — dynamic client watches Argo CD CRDs (
applications/applicationsets/appprojects). Mutating actions patch the Application CR (refresh annotation,.operation.sync,syncPolicy). - Argo CD HTTP API — list/watch via the server API (token auth); sync/refresh/suspend go through the same API. Preferred for full resource trees across destination clusters.
Acknowledgments
- K9s — UX inspiration
- Argo CD — GitOps engine
- Bubble Tea — TUI framework
License
MIT