Summary table for Argo CD deletion

argocd-delete-prevent-summary.md

Policy	Goal	Trade-offs	Reference
1. ApplicationSet syncPolicy	Control creation, update, and deletion of generated Applications	+ Fine-grained lifecycle control; prevents costly deletions. – Overrides may not be enabled; risk of misconfiguration.	Docs: ApplicationSet spec
2. ApplicationSet preserveResourcesOnDeletion	Prevent cascading deletion of Application-managed resources	+ Avoids mass resource deletion when Applications are removed. – May leave orphaned resources requiring manual cleanup.	Docs: ApplicationSet spec
3. Application non-cascading deletion	Prevent cascading deletion when removing an Application resource	+ Safely remove Applications while retaining workloads. – Risk of drift; manual cleanup needed later.	Docs: App deletion
4. Application syncPolicy prune	Prevent mass-pruning of resources in an Application	+ Ensures Git is the single source of truth. – Misuse can cause accidental deletions from Git mistakes.	Docs: Auto-sync pruning
5. Resource Prune sync-option	Prevent pruning of specific resources in an Application	+ Granular protection for critical resources. – Adds complexity; can be overridden by authorized users.	Docs: Sync-options prune
6. Resource Delete sync-option	Prevent deletion of specific resources in an Application	+ Strongest safeguard; fully blocks deletion. – May cause drift or block intentional cleanup.	Docs: Sync-options delete