Odyssey Platform # 04

🗞️ In this newsletter

🗓️ Events

• Platform engineering maturity roadmap: Insights, metrics, and strategies

🔦 Tool Spotlight

• The new ArgoCD MCP Server by Akuity is redefining GitOps with AI-powered natural language interfaces. A game-changer for simplifying and accelerating Kubernetes management!

🔍️ Deep Dive

• Discover how the ArgoCD MCP Server integrates AI assistants to manage applications through natural language

🎯 Stay Inspired - Case Studies

• How Outshift by Cisco achieved a 10x productivity boost with their Agentic AI Platform Engineer

👀 In Case you missed it

• Latest news & events in the platform engineering domain

📆 Upcoming Events

🚀How enterprises can achieve success with platform engineering

📅 Jun 5, 2025 – Virtual
This event offers a candid discussion on best practices and lessons learned from numerous platform implementations
👉 Register here

🔦 Tool Spotlight

The Argo CD MCP Server connects AI assistants to your Argo CD instance, enabling natural language interaction with your GitOps environment. Instead of using CLI commands or the UI, you can simply ask questions like "List all production applications" or "Sync the staging app." The server translates these requests into Argo CD API calls and returns results directly in your chat interface, streamlining day-to-day operations.

🧠 Argo CD MCP Server

In this edition, we explore how the new ArgoCD MCP Server is bringing AI-driven workflows to GitOps. Learn how you can manage Kubernetes applications through natural language, automate routine tasks, and streamline day-to-day operations — all without touching the CLI or UI.

Let’s first understand what is MCP server 

MCP Server = Model Context Protocol Server
It is a gateway that allows AI assistants (like ChatGPT, Copilot Chat, Cursor, etc.) to securely interact with external tools, APIs, and systems.

👉 You type a natural language request in your AI assistant (ex: "Get the latest build status")
👉 The AI sends this request to MCP Server
👉 MCP Server translates the request into actual API calls to the target system (CI/CD tool, cloud platform, database, etc.)
👉 The results are returned back into your chat or IDE

The Argo CD MCP Server acts as a bridge between MCP-supported AI assistants and your Argo CD instance.
Instead of writing CLI commands or navigating the UI, you can simply chat with your preferred AI assistant to perform various actions.

Like:

• Show recent sync history for Payment project

• Compare the live state with Git for User Management service

• Get details of Purchases application

• Delete HR application

The MCP Server translates these requests into Argo CD API calls and returns results directly to your chat — with an intuitive, conversational experience.

🚀 Core Capabilities & Available Tools

The MCP Server provides a powerful set of tools that cover key Argo CD capabilities — from application management to resource-level insights. It enables AI assistants to retrieve full application context, offer intelligent suggestions, and perform actions — all via natural language.

Beyond core GitOps workflows, it also supports advanced Kubernetes operations.

🔧Available Tools (Initial Release):

Application Management:

• list_applications

• get_application

• create_application

• update_application

• delete_application

• sync_application

Resource Management:

• get_application_resource_tree

• get_application_managed_resources

• get_application_workload_logs

• get_resource_events

• get_resource_actions

• run_resource_action

Key Features

• Natural Language Interface: Interact with Argo CD using everyday language, reducing the need for complex CLI commands.

• Comprehensive API Access: Full integration with Argo CD's API allows for extensive application and resource management.

• Multi-Platform Support: Compatible with Visual Studio Code, Cursor, and Claude Desktop, offering flexibility in development environments.

• Secure Operations: Ensures safe interactions with Argo CD, even when using self-signed certificates.

🛠️ Getting Started

To utilize the Argo CD MCP Server:

1. Prerequisites:

   • Node.js (v18 or higher)

   • pnpm package manager

   • Argo CD instance with API access

   • Argo CD API token

2. Installation:

   • Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/akuity/argocd-mcp.git

   • Navigate to the directory: cd argocd-mcp

   • Install dependencies: pnpm install

   • Start the server: pnpm run dev

3. Integration:

   • For VSCode: Configure .vscode/mcp.json with the appropriate settings.

   • For Cursor: Set up .cursor/mcp.json accordingly.

   • For Claude Desktop: Create a claude_desktop_config.json file with the necessary configurations.

🎯 Stay Inspired - Case Studies

• How Outshift by Cisco achieved a 10x productivity boost with their Agentic AI Platform Engineer

  Discover how Cisco Outshift leveraged an Agentic AI Platform Engineer to accelerate tasks—cutting CI/CD pipeline setup time from a week to under an hour, and driving a 10x productivity gain.

👀 In Case You Missed It…

Rootly's 2025 SRE Report Highlights Growing Demand for SLOs

The 2025 report from Rootly confirms an industry shift towards prioritizing Service Level Objectives (SLOs), recognizing that degraded experiences are as critical as full outages.

Google Study Reveals 65% of Developer Time Lost Without Internal Platforms

A recent study by Google highlights that developers spend up to 65% of their time on repetitive tasks due to the absence of internal developer platforms. The research underscores the importance of platform engineering and AI integration in streamlining workflows and enhancing productivity.

IBM Acquires Seek AI to Launch watsonx AI Labs in NYC

IBM has acquired Seek AI, a startup specializing in natural language data querying, to serve as the foundation for its new AI accelerator, watsonx AI Labs, based in New York City. This initiative aims to foster enterprise AI innovation by providing startups with access to mentorship, technical expertise, and investment opportunities through IBM Ventures. The move underscores IBM's commitment to advancing AI technologies and establishing NYC as a leading hub for AI development.

Till next time,

Odyssey Platform