Usage

Comparing a branch

The simplest scenario is to compare every changed Application file in the current branch against a target branch:

argo-compare branch <target-branch>

To restrict the comparison to a single file:

argo-compare branch <target-branch> --file <file-path>

Output modes

By default, argo-compare prints only the diff of changed manifests. To include added or removed manifests in full:

# Print added manifests in addition to the diff
argo-compare branch <target-branch> --print-added-manifests

# Print removed manifests in addition to the diff
argo-compare branch <target-branch> --print-removed-manifests

# Print added, removed, and changed manifests
argo-compare branch <target-branch> --full-output

External diff tool

Set EXTERNAL_DIFF_TOOL to pipe each file diff through a third-party tool such as diff-so-fancy:

EXTERNAL_DIFF_TOOL=diff-so-fancy argo-compare branch <target-branch>

Helm labels

Helm-injected labels are stripped from rendered manifests before comparison because they add noise without changing the deployed state. Pass --preserve-helm-labels to keep them.

Sensitive data

argo-compare masks the rendered contents of Kubernetes Secret manifests before they reach stdout logs, external diff tools, or merge request comments. Each secret entry is replaced with a deterministic hash placeholder, allowing reviewers to spot that a value changed without exposing the underlying secret material.

Where to next

• Anchored repositories — for repos where the PR touches chart content instead of the Application YAML.
• Manifest validation — schema-check rendered manifests with kubeconform.
• GitLab integration — post the diff as an MR comment.
• Repository credentials — authenticate to private chart sources.