component_pair stringclasses 6
values | current_minor_release stringclasses 1
value | derived_fields listlengths 3 3 | id stringclasses 6
values | max_skew_minor_versions stringclasses 2
values | newer_component_allowed stringclasses 6
values | skew_rule stringclasses 6
values | source stringclasses 1
value | source_quote stringclasses 6
values | upgrade_prerequisite stringclasses 4
values | url stringclasses 6
values | verified_fields listlengths 3 6 | worked_example stringclasses 5
values | ha_cluster_caveat stringclasses 4
values | legacy_version_exception stringclasses 3
values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
kube-apiserver and kube-apiserver (HA instances) | 1.37 | [
"component_pair",
"max_skew_minor_versions",
"newer_component_allowed"
] | kube-apiserver-and-kube-apiserver-ha-instances | 1 | symmetric - the page bounds the gap between the newest and oldest instance without naming a governed side | the newest and oldest kube-apiserver instances must be within one minor version | https://kubernetes.io/releases/version-skew-policy/ | the newest and oldest kube-apiserver instances must be within one minor version. | In a single-instance cluster, the existing kube-apiserver instance is 1.36 In an HA cluster, all kube-apiserver instances are at 1.36 or 1.37 | https://referencesource.org/kubernetes-version-skew-policy/kube-apiserver-and-kube-apiserver-ha-instances/ | [
"current_minor_release",
"skew_rule",
"upgrade_prerequisite",
"worked_example"
] | newest kube-apiserver is at 1.37 other kube-apiserver instances are supported at 1.37 and 1.36 | null | null |
kube-apiserver and kube-controller-manager, kube-scheduler, or cloud-controller-manager | 1.37 | [
"component_pair",
"max_skew_minor_versions",
"newer_component_allowed"
] | kube-apiserver-and-kube-controller-manager-kube-scheduler-or-cloud-controller-ma | 1 | no - these components must not be newer than the kube-apiserver instances they communicate with | They are expected to match the kube-apiserver minor version, but may be up to one minor version older (to allow live upgrades). | https://kubernetes.io/releases/version-skew-policy/ | kube-controller-manager, kube-scheduler, and cloud-controller-manager must not be newer than the kube-apiserver instances they communicate with. They are expected to match the kube-apiserver minor version, but may be up to one minor version older (to allow live upgrades). | The kube-apiserver instances these components communicate with are at 1.37 | https://referencesource.org/kubernetes-version-skew-policy/kube-apiserver-and-kube-controller-manager-kube-scheduler-or-cloud-controller-ma/ | [
"current_minor_release",
"ha_cluster_caveat",
"skew_rule",
"upgrade_prerequisite",
"worked_example"
] | kube-apiserver is at 1.37 kube-controller-manager, kube-scheduler, and cloud-controller-manager are supported at 1.37 and 1.36 | If version skew exists between kube-apiserver instances in an HA cluster, and these components can communicate with any kube-apiserver instance in the cluster (for example, via a load balancer), this narrows the allowed versions of these components. | null |
kube-apiserver and kube-proxy | 1.37 | [
"component_pair",
"max_skew_minor_versions",
"newer_component_allowed"
] | kube-apiserver-and-kube-proxy | 3 | no - kube-proxy must not be newer than kube-apiserver | kube-proxy may be up to three minor versions older than kube-apiserver | https://kubernetes.io/releases/version-skew-policy/ | kube-proxy must not be newer than kube-apiserver. kube-proxy may be up to three minor versions older than kube-apiserver (kube-proxy < 1.25 may only be up to two minor versions older than kube-apiserver). | The kube-apiserver instances kube-proxy communicates with are at 1.37 | https://referencesource.org/kubernetes-version-skew-policy/kube-apiserver-and-kube-proxy/ | [
"current_minor_release",
"ha_cluster_caveat",
"legacy_version_exception",
"skew_rule",
"upgrade_prerequisite",
"worked_example"
] | kube-apiserver is at 1.37 kube-proxy is supported at 1.37, 1.36, 1.35, and 1.34 | If version skew exists between kube-apiserver instances in an HA cluster, this narrows the allowed kube-proxy versions. | kube-proxy < 1.25 may only be up to two minor versions older than kube-apiserver |
kube-apiserver and kubectl | 1.37 | [
"component_pair",
"max_skew_minor_versions",
"newer_component_allowed"
] | kube-apiserver-and-kubectl | 1 | yes - kubectl is supported one minor version older or newer than kube-apiserver | kubectl is supported within one minor version (older or newer) of kube-apiserver. | https://kubernetes.io/releases/version-skew-policy/ | kubectl is supported within one minor version (older or newer) of kube-apiserver. | null | https://referencesource.org/kubernetes-version-skew-policy/kube-apiserver-and-kubectl/ | [
"current_minor_release",
"ha_cluster_caveat",
"skew_rule",
"worked_example"
] | kube-apiserver is at 1.37 kubectl is supported at 1.38, 1.37, and 1.36 | If version skew exists between kube-apiserver instances in an HA cluster, this narrows the supported kubectl versions. | null |
kube-apiserver and kubelet | 1.37 | [
"component_pair",
"max_skew_minor_versions",
"newer_component_allowed"
] | kube-apiserver-and-kubelet | 3 | no - kubelet must not be newer than kube-apiserver | kubelet may be up to three minor versions older than kube-apiserver | https://kubernetes.io/releases/version-skew-policy/ | kubelet must not be newer than kube-apiserver. kubelet may be up to three minor versions older than kube-apiserver (kubelet < 1.25 may only be up to two minor versions older than kube-apiserver). | The kube-apiserver instances the kubelet communicates with are at 1.37 | https://referencesource.org/kubernetes-version-skew-policy/kube-apiserver-and-kubelet/ | [
"current_minor_release",
"ha_cluster_caveat",
"legacy_version_exception",
"skew_rule",
"upgrade_prerequisite",
"worked_example"
] | kube-apiserver is at 1.37 kubelet is supported at 1.37, 1.36, 1.35, and 1.34 | If version skew exists between kube-apiserver instances in an HA cluster, this narrows the allowed kubelet versions. | kubelet < 1.25 may only be up to two minor versions older than kube-apiserver |
kubelet and kube-proxy | 1.37 | [
"component_pair",
"max_skew_minor_versions",
"newer_component_allowed"
] | kubelet-and-kube-proxy | 3 | yes - kube-proxy may be older or newer than the kubelet instance it runs alongside | kube-proxy may be up to three minor versions older or newer than the kubelet instance it runs alongside | https://kubernetes.io/releases/version-skew-policy/ | kube-proxy may be up to three minor versions older or newer than the kubelet instance it runs alongside (kube-proxy < 1.25 may only be up to two minor versions older or newer than the kubelet instance it runs alongside). | null | https://referencesource.org/kubernetes-version-skew-policy/kubelet-and-kube-proxy/ | [
"current_minor_release",
"legacy_version_exception",
"skew_rule"
] | null | null | kube-proxy < 1.25 may only be up to two minor versions older or newer than the kubelet instance it runs alongside |
Kubernetes component version skew policy: how far apart component versions can be in a supported cluster
Canonical, always-current version: https://referencesource.org/kubernetes-version-skew-policy/ Machine-readable: https://referencesource.org/kubernetes-version-skew-policy/data.json — this mirror is a point-in-time copy.
- Last verified: 2026-09-27
- Stale after: 2026-12-30 (past this date, prefer the canonical copy — it re-verifies on a cadence this snapshot does not)
- Records: 6
The maximum version difference Kubernetes supports between cluster components, one record per governed component pair (kube-apiserver to kubelet, kube-proxy, kubectl, and the kube-controller-manager/kube-scheduler/cloud-controller-manager group, plus the kube-apiserver-to-kube-apiserver HA rule and the kube-proxy-to-kubelet rule), from the project's own version-skew-policy page. Answers 'how many minor versions behind can my kubelet be', 'can kubectl be newer than kube-apiserver', 'what must already be upgraded before I upgrade this component'. Getting this wrong during a rolling upgrade breaks node registration or blocks the upgrade path, usually discovered mid-rollout. The rule text is stable in structure release to release; the version numbers in the worked examples move with each Kubernetes minor release, so the numeric examples need re-verification on that cadence.
Provenance — what every record carries
Every record carries source (the URL the value was read from) and
source_quote (a verbatim quote from that page stating it). A value you
cannot check against its page is indistinguishable from an invented one;
these can all be checked. Each record is also individually addressable on
the canonical site at its url.
Licence position
Source is the Kubernetes project's own documentation (kubernetes.io), a CNCF project. The page footer reads 'Documentation Distributed under CC BY 4.0'. We take the fact plus a short attributed quote linking back.
Facts are not copyrightable; what this dataset takes from each source is a fact plus a short attributed quote linking back to the page that states it.
Sources
Fields
See any record in data/records.jsonl — field names are self-describing,
and the canonical page for each record renders them with labels:
https://referencesource.org/kubernetes-version-skew-policy/
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