Argo CD on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS — Support & Quick Start

At a glance

Application ports	30443 (Argo CD UI/API — NodePort; HTTP redirects to HTTPS with a self-signed certificate); 6443 (K3s API) is NOT exposed
Open in browser	https://<VM-IP>:30443/
Admin credential file	sudo cat /var/lib/argocd/admin-password
Sign in as	admin
Service(s)	k3s (Argo CD runs in the `argocd` namespace on the bundled K3s)
Configuration	/etc/rancher/k3s/k3s.yaml (kubeconfig, root-only, cluster-admin); `sudo k3s kubectl get pods -n argocd`
Logs	sudo k3s kubectl logs -n argocd deploy/argocd-server
Version	Argo CD v3.5.3 on bundled K3s v1.36.5+k3s1
Platform	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

Quick start

1. Deploy from the Azure Marketplace (Get It Now → Create), choosing your SSH key at the Administration step.
2. Allow inbound SSH (22) for yourself plus the application port(s): 30443 (Argo CD UI) — restrict to your own IP where possible. The in-image firewall already allows them; only the Network Security Group (NSG) keeps them closed.
3. Open https://<VM-IP>:30443/ and sign in as admin (see First login below).
4. Connect your Git repository (Settings → Repositories) and create your first Application — Argo CD reconciles the cluster to match Git.

First login / credentials

This image generates its admin credential on the VM at first boot — nothing is pre-set. SSH into the VM with the username + key you chose at deploy, then print the generated credential:

ssh <your-username>@<VM-IP>
sudo cat /var/lib/argocd/admin-password

Sign in as admin.

1. Print the credential file: ARGOCD_ADMIN_USER=admin and ARGOCD_ADMIN_PASSWORD (generated at first boot).
2. Open https://<VM-IP>:30443/ (accept the self-signed certificate) and sign in as admin.
3. Change the password (User Info → Update password, or `argocd account update-password`) and delete the file.

Sign in as admin with the password in /var/lib/argocd/admin-password (first boot writes it after Argo CD is up). The `argocd` CLI is installed on the VM: `argocd login 127.0.0.1:30443 --insecure --username admin`. The K3s API on 6443 is intentionally not exposed; manage the cluster over SSH with `sudo k3s kubectl`.

Still stuck?

Email support@dcassociatesgroup.com (response within 1 business day) or send a message via the contact form. Include the offer name, VM size, region, and any log output — sudo journalctl -u <service> -n 100 usually tells the story.