Argo Workflows Loop Quick Fix - With Items Iteration Errors

Argo Workflows loops with withItems iterate over a list of items, running a template for each. Incorrect loop syntax or item formatting causes partial execution. This guide covers the fix.

Quick Fix

Wrong

- name: process
  template: process-item
  withItems:
    - item1
    - item2
    - item3

The issue: Process-item template does not receive the item value. The {{item}} reference in the template will be empty because templates must declare inputs.parameters to receive loop items.

Right

- name: process
  template: process-item
  arguments:
    parameters:
    - name: item
      value: "{{item}}"
  withItems:
    - item1
    - item2
    - item3
---
- name: process-item
  inputs:
    parameters:
    - name: item
  container:
    image: alpine:latest
    command: ["/bin/sh", "-c"]
    args: ["echo 'processing {{inputs.parameters.item}}'"]

# Expected output after applying the fix
# processing item1
# processing item2
# processing item3
# All 3 iterations complete in parallel
# Status: Succeeded

Prevention

• Always pass {{item}} as an argument to the loop template
• Declare parameter in the loop template's inputs.parameters
• Use withParam: "{{inputs.parameters.items}}" for dynamic lists
• Set maxDuration for loops with many iterations
• Monitor loop progress with argo get <workflow>

DodaTech Tools

Doda Browser's loop inspector shows iteration progress and per-item status. DodaZIP archives loop results for batch processing analysis. Durga Antivirus Pro detects infinite loop patterns in workflow definitions.

FAQ