Explain like I'm five · SRE

What is GitOps?

GitOps, told as a story about a blueprint store where construction starts automatically the moment a new blueprint arrives.

NEW BLUEPRINTride: change to x2I'll get to the construction... next weekthe blueprint gets updated, but the actual construction sometimes gets forgotten

The blueprint gets updated, but the actual construction sometimes gets forgotten.It only catches up much later.

BLUEPRINT STOREchanged 2 weeks agostill just 1oh, I forgot to actually build it...when updating the blueprint and building are two separate steps, people forget one

When updating the blueprint and building are two separate steps, people forget one.Split into two steps, and one of them always slips through the cracks.

BLUEPRINT STOREnew blueprint just arrived✓✓✓drop a new blueprint in the store, and the crew notices it and builds it, automaticallythe store is always today's single source of truth

Drop a new blueprint in the store, and the crew notices it and builds it, automatically.The store is always today's single source of truth.

Just drop the blueprint in the storenothing else to do
Construction follows automaticallyit notices on its own
The store is always the answerof what things should look like now
Mismatched? It re-syncs automaticallyreality follows the store
STOREnew oneauto-detectedbuildingdrop it in → auto-detected → built → done

Drop it in, it's auto-detected, built, and done.No person needs to step in anywhere along the way.

STOREonly reviewed blueprintsgoes in only after reviewSTOREa mistake slipped init gets built automatically, as-isput a bad blueprint in the store, and it gets built automatically, exactly as it is

Put a bad blueprint in the store, and it gets built automatically, exactly as it is.A review before it goes in is essential.

In one breath

GitOps = treating the blueprint store as the single source of truth, so that construction automatically follows whenever a new blueprint goes in.

Running infrastructure by treating a Git repository as the single source of truth. When the repo changes, an automated tool detects the difference and pulls the live environment into sync (pull-based deployment). If reality drifts from the repo, it auto-syncs back, and rolling back is as simple as reverting the repo to an earlier commit.

When grown-ups say it

GitOps
A way where construction automatically follows a change to the blueprint store. The next step after infrastructure as code.
Repo as single source of truth
The store is always the answer. Reality is what has to match it.
Auto-sync
Automatically reconciling reality with the store. No one needs to manually line things up.
Pull-based deployment
The crew pulling the blueprint from the store on its own. Nothing is pushed in — it's pulled.
Infrastructure as Code
Writing the blueprint down as a single piece of code. This is the blueprint that GitOps operates on. → building the whole park from one blueprint
Review and approval
Reviewing before it goes into the store. Catch mistakes here, or they spread automatically.
Rollback
Reverting the store to an earlier blueprint. Revert it, and reality follows automatically too.
CI/CD
The earlier steps — reviewing and getting the blueprint into the store. GitOps picks up after that, from the store to construction.
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