# Automate Your AWS Environment with GitLab

End-to-end cloud infrastructure automation with OpenTofu and Argo CD

- **Source:** [GitLab](https://brifing.si/source/76101668-80db-4240-8676-e968d2b72546)
- **Published:** 2026-08-18
- **Topic:** [Software & Engineering](https://brifing.si/c/engineering)
- **Original article:** <https://about.gitlab.com/blog/gitlab-as-your-aws-control-plane/>
- **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/9e4011f5-bbf6-4477-8ebe-f899b0532075

## Introduction to Cloud Infrastructure Automation

Manual management of modern cloud environments carries risks and doesn't scale. GitLab enables defining AWS infrastructure as code and fully automated deployments using OpenTofu and Argo CD. This approach ensures version-controlled and reproducible management of everything from network components to Kubernetes clusters.

## Benefits of Infrastructure as Code

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) ensures consistent outcomes with every deployment. Terraform/OpenTofu configurations hosted on GitLab enable reliable creation of AWS resources from VPCs to EKS clusters. Changes are tracked in version control, and rollbacks become as simple as reverting a commit.

## Application Lifecycle with GitOps

Argo CD allows defining the desired state of Kubernetes applications in a Git repository. GitLab CI/CD pipelines automatically deploy Argo CD to the cluster after infrastructure provisioning with OpenTofu. This brings GitOps principles to application deployments without manual intervention.

## Security and Traceability

GitLab stores AWS credentials as protected and masked CI/CD variables. Terraform state files are securely maintained in GitLab's integrated backend. All deployment processes can be reviewed via merge requests, enhancing both security and compliance.

## AWS Environment Provisioning Process

The OpenTofu pipeline first creates network components like VPCs, subnets, and gateways. Then it deploys an EKS cluster spread across multiple availability zones. The entire process is managed by GitLab's Terraform state backend, automatically triggering a second pipeline to install Argo CD upon completion.

## Automated Kubernetes Tooling Setup

Tools like Argo CD, CertManager, and Ingress NGINX Controller are installed via a separate GitLab pipeline using Helm Provider. Triggered automatically by the infrastructure pipeline, it adds necessary operational tools to the newly created EKS cluster, making it fully operational.

## Sample Application Deployment

A sample web application operating on GitOps principles is packaged by GitLab CI/CD pipelines and stored in the container registry. Argo CD reads the application's Kubernetes manifests from the Git repository and automatically deploys them to the EKS cluster, eliminating developers' need for direct cluster access.

## Advantages of the Integrated Solution

GitLab provides source code management, CI/CD pipelines, container registry, and Terraform state management in one platform. This integration enables centralized management of everything from infrastructure to application deployment. Teams can monitor and manage all operations through a single interface.

## Significance for Modern DevOps Practices

This approach transforms cloud infrastructure management in enterprise environments. GitLab's integrated solution enables DevOps teams to work more securely, traceably, and efficiently. The OpenTofu and Argo CD integration proves particularly crucial for large-scale deployments.

## Sources covering this story

- https://about.gitlab.com/blog/gitlab-as-your-aws-control-plane/ — 

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_Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._