# ADR 20260407: CI/CD Architecture with ArgoCD, Gitea, and Vault ## Status Proposed ## Context The home lab requires a secure and automated CI/CD pipeline to deploy applications to the k3s cluster. The pipeline must integrate with: - **Gitea**: For Git repository management and CI runners. - **ArgoCD**: For GitOps-based continuous deployment. - **Vault**: For secrets management and OIDC authentication. - **Gitea Act Runner**: For executing CI jobs. ## Decision We will implement a **GitOps-driven CI/CD pipeline** with the following components: ### 1. Gitea OIDC Authentication with Vault - Gitea is registered as an OIDC application in Vault. - Vault issues short-lived tokens for Gitea users. - The `gitea_oidc_auth.yml` playbook automates this setup using Playwright and OpenTofu. - **OIDC Workflow**: 1. The `oidc_jwt_token.sh` script (base64-encoded in `secrets.vault_oauth__sh_b64`) handles the OIDC flow. 2. Gitea Act Runner executes the script to obtain an ID token from Gitea. 3. The ID token is used to authenticate with Vault and retrieve secrets. ### 2. Gitea Act Runner - Deployed on `pi1` and `pi3` (not on the Gitea host, which is `pi2`). - Uses Docker-in-Docker for job execution. - **Custom Runner Image (`ubuntu-latest-ca`)**: Required due to the self-signed `.lab` domain. The custom image includes the local CA certificate to trust the Gitea instance (`gitea.arcodange.lab`). - Managed via Docker Compose (`03_cicd.yml`). ### 3. ArgoCD - Deployed on the k3s cluster (via HelmChart in `/var/lib/rancher/k3s/server/manifests/argocd.yaml`). - Uses Gitea as the source of truth for GitOps. - Synchronizes the `factory` repository to deploy applications. - Configured with Traefik for TLS termination. ### 4. Vault Secrets Operator - Deployed in the `tools` namespace. - Manages secrets for applications deployed via ArgoCD. - Integrates with Gitea OIDC for authentication. - **Helm Chart Integration**: - `VaultAuth`: Authenticates with Vault using Kubernetes service accounts. - `VaultStaticSecret`: Retrieves static secrets (e.g., `kvv2/webapp/config`). - `VaultDynamicSecret`: Generates dynamic secrets (e.g., PostgreSQL credentials). ### 5. Security - **TLS**: Traefik terminates TLS using Let's Encrypt. - **OIDC**: Gitea authentication via Vault. - **Secrets**: Stored in Vault, injected via the Vault Secrets Operator. ## Architecture Diagram ```mermaid %%{init: {'theme': 'base', 'themeVariables': { 'primaryColor': '#333333', 'edgeLabelBackground':'#f0f0f0', 'tertiaryColor': '#e67e22'}}}%% graph TD %% Styles classDef gitea fill:#ffcc99,stroke:#cc9966,color:#333; classDef argocd fill:#99ffcc,stroke:#66cc99,color:#333; classDef vault fill:#ccccff,stroke:#6666cc,color:#333; classDef k3s fill:#ff9999,stroke:#cc0000,color:#333; classDef runner fill:#ffff99,stroke:#cccc00,color:#333; %% Components Gitea["Gitea (pi2)"]:::gitea ArgoCD["ArgoCD (k3s)"]:::argocd Vault["Vault (k3s/tools)"]:::vault Runner1["Gitea Act Runner (pi1)"]:::runner Runner2["Gitea Act Runner (pi3)"]:::runner VaultOperator["Vault Secrets Operator (k3s/tools)"]:::vault k3s["k3s Cluster"]:::k3s %% Workflow Gitea -->|OIDC Auth| Vault Gitea -->|Trigger CI| Runner1 Gitea -->|Trigger CI| Runner2 Runner1 -->|Deploy to| k3s Runner2 -->|Deploy to| k3s ArgoCD -->|GitOps Sync| Gitea ArgoCD -->|Deploy Apps| k3s VaultOperator -->|Inject Secrets| k3s Vault -->|Secrets| VaultOperator %% Annotations linkStyle 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7 stroke:#999,stroke-width:1px; ``` ## Consequences ### Positive - **Automated Deployments**: ArgoCD ensures the cluster state matches Git. - **Secure Secrets**: Vault centralizes secret management. - **Scalable CI**: Gitea Act Runners can be added to any host. - **OIDC Integration**: Secure authentication via Vault. ### Negative - **Complexity**: Multiple moving parts (Gitea, ArgoCD, Vault). - **Dependency on Vault**: If Vault fails, CI/CD may be disrupted. - **Learning Curve**: Requires familiarity with GitOps and Vault. ## Alternatives Considered ### Alternative 1: GitHub Actions - **Rejected**: Self-hosted Gitea aligns better with the home lab's privacy goals. ### Alternative 2: Jenkins - **Rejected**: ArgoCD + Gitea Act Runner is lighter and more GitOps-native. ### Alternative 3: No CI/CD - **Rejected**: Manual deployments are error-prone and unscalable. ## Sequence Diagrams ### 1. CI/CD Workflow for OpenTofu/Terraform ```mermaid sequenceDiagram participant Gitea participant Runner as Gitea Act Runner (pi1/pi3) participant Vault participant WebApp as WebApp (k3s) Gitea->>Runner: Trigger vault.yaml workflow Runner->>Gitea: Execute vault_oauth__sh_b64 (OIDC) Gitea-->>Runner: Return ID Token Runner->>Vault: Authenticate with ID Token Vault-->>Runner: Return Vault Token Runner->>Runner: Run OpenTofu/Terraform Runner->>Vault: Fetch Secrets (via Vault Action) Vault-->>Runner: Return Secrets Runner->>WebApp: Deploy Changes ``` ### 2. Vault Secrets Operator Workflow ```mermaid sequenceDiagram participant ArgoCD participant WebApp as WebApp (k3s) participant VaultOperator as Vault Secrets Operator participant Vault ArgoCD->>WebApp: Deploy Helm Chart WebApp->>VaultOperator: Create VaultAuth (K8s Auth) VaultOperator->>Vault: Authenticate (K8s Service Account) Vault-->>VaultOperator: Return Vault Token WebApp->>VaultOperator: Create VaultStaticSecret (kvv2/webapp/config) VaultOperator->>Vault: Fetch Static Secret Vault-->>VaultOperator: Return Secret VaultOperator->>WebApp: Inject Secret (secretkv) WebApp->>VaultOperator: Create VaultDynamicSecret (postgres/creds/webapp) VaultOperator->>Vault: Generate Dynamic Secret Vault-->>VaultOperator: Return Credentials VaultOperator->>WebApp: Inject Credentials (vso-db-credentials) WebApp->>WebApp: Restart Pods (Rollout) ``` ## Success Metrics - Gitea Act Runners successfully execute CI jobs. - ArgoCD synchronizes the `factory` repository without errors. - Vault Secrets Operator injects secrets into deployed applications.