Merge pull request #1166 from dholbach/vscode-blog

ecosystem blog post: vscode gitops extension

content/en/blog/2022-09-28-gitops-without-leaving-your-ide/index.md

@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+---
+author: "juozasg & dholbach"
+date: 2022-09-28 11:00:00+00:00
+title: GitOps Without Leaving your IDE
+description: "Are you a fan of VS Code and would love to use all standard GitOps feature without ever changing windows. This one is for you. Access all Flux's goodness through the UI of your IDE!"
+url: /blog/2022/09/gitops-without-leaving-your-ide/
+tags: [ecosystem]
+resources:
+- src: "**.{png,jpg}"
+  title: "Image #:counter"
+---
+
+Welcome to the second [blog post in our Flux Ecosystem category](/tags/ecosystem/)!
+This time we are talking about one of the [Flux UIs](/ecosystem/#flux-uis): it's
+the [VS Code GitOps Extension](https://github.com/weaveworks/vscode-gitops-tools).
+
+If you already use VS Code, this extension will be straight up your alley: it
+provides an intuitive way to manage, troubleshoot and operate your Kubernetes
+environment following the GitOps operating model, accelerating your development
+lifecycle and simplifying your continuous delivery pipelines. Of course it uses
+Flux under the hood.
+
+## Getting Started
+
+Installing it: It's [in the Visual Studio Code
+Marketplace](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=Weaveworks.vscode-gitops-tools), so if you search for it in VS Code, it's just a click of
+the Install button away.
+
+{{< imgproc vscode-gitops-features Resize 800x >}}
+{{< /imgproc >}}
+
+Additionally, you will need to
+
+- [Install Kubectl](https://kubectl.docs.kubernetes.io/installation/kubectl/)
+- [Install Flux CLI](/docs/installation/#install-the-flux-cli)
+- [Install git](https://git-scm.com/downloads)
+
+Optionally, if available, the extension will make use of the `az` tool
+(for Azure clusters) and `docker` as well.
+
+With that out of the way, let's get going and take the extension for a
+spin.
+
+## Drive everything from your IDE
+
+Once you launch VS Code, you should see available clusters listed in the
+Clusters section of the GitOps extension. Now you can easily interact
+with the resources in each of the clusters. This makes it very
+straightforward to make changes in your manifests, commit and observe
+changes in the clusters without leaving your IDE.
+
+{{< imgproc vscode-gitops-commands-featured Resize 800x >}}
+{{< /imgproc >}}
+
+{{< imgproc vscode-gitops-tools Resize 800x >}}
+{{< /imgproc >}}
+
+The extension was designed so that you always have access to the
+immediate tasks and events. Turning a manifest into a `Kustomization` or
+`Source`? Right-click on the YAML file. View repositories, clusters,
+sources, kustomizations, etc. - you see them at the first glance. View
+GitOps Output panel with CLI command traces for diagnostics, cluster and
+components versions, Flux controller logs, everything you might need to
+debug. Enable/disable GitOps cluster operations with just a click.
+Reconcile Sources and Workloads demand, and much more - links to
+most-needed docs included.
+
+## Constantly evolving
+
+The extension is rapidly growing new features. In 0.21.0, the team added
+OCI support which is supported natively in Flux. If you would like to
+see a video demo of this, check out this talk done by Annie Talvasto and
+Kingdon Barrett in the CNCF Webinar series.
+
+{{% youtube id=Hz8IP_eprec %}}
+
+In 0.22.0 basic support for Azure AKS/Arc was added. Future releases
+will add a new beginner-friendly UI workflow for creating complete Flux
+configurations using both generic Flux Source (Git, OCI, Bucket,
+`HelmRepository`) and Workload (`Kustomization`, `HelmRelease`) resources
+as well as Azure `FluxConfig` resources.
+
+{{< imgproc azure-support Resize 800x >}}
+{{< /imgproc >}}
+
+The team has begun work to transition the extension implementation from
+shell out commands to Javascript APIs for Kubernetes and Azure. Once
+that is complete, extension responsiveness and performance will improve
+dramatically.
+
+## Join the community
+
+The team behind the extension loves feedback. If you like what you see,
+please star [the extension on
+GitHub](https://github.com/weaveworks/vscode-gitops-tools)
+or leave an issue if something is missing, or send a PR if you can.
+
+All feedback is very welcome!