Updated October 25, 2026
· ~2 min read
Most AWS teams deploy from GitHub Actions now, authenticating to AWS with short-lived OIDC credentials instead of stored keys. CodePipeline remains the AWS-native option, with V2 pipelines billed per action-execution minute. For Kubernetes, GitOps with Argo CD, where the cluster pulls its desired state from Git, has become the default, and since EKS Capabilities launched it can run as a managed feature for $0.03 per capability-hour plus $0.0015 per application-hour.
These are not exclusive: a common setup builds and tests in GitHub Actions and lets Argo CD deploy to Kubernetes.
Whatever runs the deploy holds the keys to production. With GitHub Actions, pin the IAM role's trust policy to specific repositories and branches or environments — a wildcard subject lets any branch, and sometimes any fork's pull request, assume the role. With Argo CD, the deploy credentials never leave the cluster, which is the strongest argument for GitOps. With CodePipeline, keep the pipeline in a dedicated tooling account and deploy cross-account with narrowly scoped roles.
Question 1 of 2
Are you deploying to Kubernetes?
Use GitHub Actions with OIDC for building, testing and deploying to ECS, Lambda and infrastructure as code — it is where your code already lives, and OIDC removes long-lived AWS keys. Add Argo CD for Kubernetes deployments, as an EKS Capability unless you need to run it yourself. Choose CodePipeline when policy requires the pipeline to live inside AWS accounts and be governed by IAM and CloudTrail, or for cross-account deployment flows built around AWS services.
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As of October 25, 2026. Provided as is, for general information, and accurate to the best of our knowledge on the date shown. Not legal, compliance, tax, financial or other professional advice. Prices, limits and vendor services change; check current vendor documentation before relying on anything here. Terms of use.