Crossplane
The cloud native control plane framework.
Overview
Crossplane is an open-source Kubernetes add-on that transforms your cluster into a universal control plane. It enables you to manage your infrastructure and services from different cloud providers directly from kubectl. When used with Argo CD, you can implement GitOps for your entire cloud infrastructure, not just your applications.
✨ Key Features
- Manage cloud infrastructure (e.g., S3 buckets, RDS databases) using Kubernetes YAML
- Providers for AWS, Azure, GCP, and more
- Composition feature to create custom, high-level infrastructure abstractions
- Extends the Kubernetes RBAC and policy model to infrastructure
🎯 Key Differentiators
- Kubernetes-native API and control loop model
- Enables a single GitOps workflow for both apps and infra with Argo CD
- Composition allows for building powerful platform abstractions
Unique Value: Extends the Kubernetes declarative, API-driven model to all of your infrastructure, enabling true GitOps for your entire cloud-native stack.
🎯 Use Cases (3)
✅ Best For
- GitOps for Infrastructure
- Building platform-as-a-service (PaaS) on top of Kubernetes
💡 Check With Vendor
Verify these considerations match your specific requirements:
- Organizations not using Kubernetes
- Managing infrastructure that does not have a Crossplane provider
🏆 Alternatives
Unlike tools like Terraform, Crossplane uses a continuously reconciling control plane model (like Kubernetes itself) rather than a CLI-driven, stateful execution model. This makes it a natural fit for GitOps workflows with tools like Argo CD.
💻 Platforms
🔌 Integrations
🔒 Compliance & Security
💰 Pricing
Free tier: Fully-featured, open-source software.
🔄 Similar Tools in Argo Ecosystem
Argo CD
A declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes....
Argo Workflows
An open source container-native workflow engine for orchestrating parallel jobs on Kubernetes....
Argo Rollouts
A Kubernetes controller providing advanced deployment capabilities like blue-green and canary....
Argo Events
An event-driven workflow automation framework for Kubernetes....
Akuity Platform
A managed, enterprise-grade platform for Argo CD, founded by the creators of Argo....
Codefresh
A software delivery platform powered by Argo for continuous integration, delivery, and GitOps....