KEP-4210keps/sig-node/4210-max-image-gc-age

ImageMaximumGCAge in Kubelet

implementedstablesig-nodelatest v1.35

KEP on GitHub kep.yaml Ask about this KEP

Add an option ImageMaximumGCAge, which allows an admin to specify a time after which unused images will be garbage collected by the Kubelet, regardless of disk usage, as well as an associated feature gate to toggle the behavior.

Facts

Authors: @haircommander
Approvers: @dchen1107 @mrunalp
Reviewers: @sergeykanzhelev @bsdnet
PRR approvers: @johnbelamaricalpha@johnbelamaricbeta@johnbelamaricstable
Tracking issue: #4210(opens GitHub in a new tab) closedcompletedclosed 2026-02-10 22:24 UTCmilestone v1.35sig/nodestage/stable
Milestones: alpha v1.29beta v1.30stable v1.35
Participating SIGs: none
Feature gates: ImageGCMaximumAge
Created / last updated: 2023-09-14 / none

Who decided each state, with the evidence.
Decided	Decision	Deciders	Evidence
2023-09-14 20:55 UTC	prr_approval johnbelamaric gave the production readiness approval for KEP-4210 at alpha on 2023-09-14.	@johnbelamaric prr_approver	Document 4210.yaml(opens GitHub in a new tab)
2023-10-05 18:53 UTC	stage_graduation KEP-4210 set milestone.alpha to v1.29 in PR #4211, approved by mrunalp, sergeykanzhelev, johnbelamaric; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2023-10-05.	@kannon92 lgtm @mrunalp approver @haircommander author @sergeykanzhelev approver @sergeykanzhelev lgtm @johnbelamaric approve_command @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@78f1bf89a33da64429973831475651905884316c(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange milestone.alpha ∅ → v1.29 (2023-09-14)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#4211 KEP-4210: Add ImageGCMaximumAge KEP(opens GitHub in a new tab) Review kubernetes/enhancements/pulls/reviews/1660479590(opens GitHub in a new tab) Review kubernetes/enhancements/pulls/reviews/1660477374(opens GitHub in a new tab) Comment kubernetes/enhancements/issues/comments/1749441179(opens GitHub in a new tab) Comment kubernetes/enhancements/issues/comments/1749212945
2023-10-05 18:53 UTC	stage_graduation KEP-4210 graduated to alpha in PR #4211, approved by mrunalp, sergeykanzhelev, johnbelamaric; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2023-10-05.	@kannon92 lgtm @mrunalp approver @haircommander author @sergeykanzhelev approver @sergeykanzhelev lgtm @johnbelamaric approve_command @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@78f1bf89a33da64429973831475651905884316c(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange stage ∅ → alpha (2023-09-14)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#4211 KEP-4210: Add ImageGCMaximumAge KEP
2023-10-05 18:53 UTC	status_transition KEP-4210 status set to implementable in PR #4211, approved by mrunalp, sergeykanzhelev, johnbelamaric; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2023-10-05.	@kannon92 lgtm @mrunalp approver @haircommander author @sergeykanzhelev approver @sergeykanzhelev lgtm @johnbelamaric approve_command @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@78f1bf89a33da64429973831475651905884316c(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange status ∅ → implementable (2023-09-14)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#4211 KEP-4210: Add ImageGCMaximumAge KEP
2024-01-22 18:25 UTC	prr_approval johnbelamaric gave the production readiness approval for KEP-4210 at beta on 2024-01-22.	@johnbelamaric prr_approver	Document 4210.yaml(opens GitHub in a new tab)
2024-02-07 23:38 UTC	milestone_retarget KEP-4210 latest-milestone moved from v1.29 to v1.30 in PR #4426, approved by mrunalp, sergeykanzhelev, johnbelamaric; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2024-02-07.	@kannon92 lgtm @mrunalp approver @haircommander author @sergeykanzhelev approver @sergeykanzhelev lgtm @johnbelamaric approve_command @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@706d26548eb0b8f06760c4ed61d156af279fef4d(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange latest_milestone v1.29 → v1.30 (2024-01-22)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#4426 KEP-4210: retarget to beta for 1.30
2024-02-07 23:38 UTC	stage_graduation KEP-4210 set milestone.beta to v1.30 in PR #4426, approved by mrunalp, sergeykanzhelev, johnbelamaric; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2024-02-07.	@kannon92 lgtm @mrunalp approver @haircommander author @sergeykanzhelev approver @sergeykanzhelev lgtm @johnbelamaric approve_command @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@706d26548eb0b8f06760c4ed61d156af279fef4d(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange milestone.beta ∅ → v1.30 (2024-01-22)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#4426 KEP-4210: retarget to beta for 1.30
2024-02-07 23:38 UTC	stage_graduation KEP-4210 graduated to beta from alpha in PR #4426, approved by mrunalp, sergeykanzhelev, johnbelamaric; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2024-02-07.	@kannon92 lgtm @mrunalp approver @haircommander author @sergeykanzhelev approver @sergeykanzhelev lgtm @johnbelamaric approve_command @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@706d26548eb0b8f06760c4ed61d156af279fef4d(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange stage alpha → beta (2024-01-22)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#4426 KEP-4210: retarget to beta for 1.30
2025-10-08 15:15 UTC	prr_approval johnbelamaric gave the production readiness approval for KEP-4210 at stable on 2025-10-08.	@johnbelamaric prr_approver	Document 4210.yaml(opens GitHub in a new tab)
2025-10-15 00:51 UTC	milestone_retarget KEP-4210 latest-milestone moved from v1.30 to v1.35 in PR #5638, approved by sergeykanzhelev, dchen1107, johnbelamaric; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2025-10-15.	@dchen1107 approve_command @dchen1107 lgtm @haircommander author @sergeykanzhelev approver @sergeykanzhelev approve_command @sergeykanzhelev lgtm @johnbelamaric approve_command @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@c8675ecb308326910dca81564cba36d23cec2ebd(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange latest_milestone v1.30 → v1.35 (2025-10-08)
2025-10-15 00:51 UTC	stage_graduation KEP-4210 set milestone.stable to v1.35 in PR #5638, approved by sergeykanzhelev, dchen1107, johnbelamaric; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2025-10-15.	@dchen1107 approve_command @dchen1107 lgtm @haircommander author @sergeykanzhelev approver @sergeykanzhelev approve_command @sergeykanzhelev lgtm @johnbelamaric approve_command @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@c8675ecb308326910dca81564cba36d23cec2ebd(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange milestone.stable ∅ → v1.35 (2025-10-08)
2025-10-15 00:51 UTC	stage_graduation KEP-4210 graduated to stable from beta in PR #5638, approved by sergeykanzhelev, dchen1107, johnbelamaric; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2025-10-15.	@dchen1107 approve_command @dchen1107 lgtm @haircommander author @sergeykanzhelev approver @sergeykanzhelev approve_command @sergeykanzhelev lgtm @johnbelamaric approve_command @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@c8675ecb308326910dca81564cba36d23cec2ebd(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange stage beta → stable (2025-10-08)
2026-02-10 22:24 UTC	status_transition KEP-4210 status changed from implementable to implemented in PR #5802, approved by mrunalp; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2026-02-10.	@kannon92 lgtm @mrunalp approver @mrunalp lgtm @haircommander author @sergeykanzhelev lgtm @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@b3fdf89e25ef36c998a768b62424d1d370b50556(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange status implementable → implemented (2026-01-16)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#5802 KEP-4210: mark as implemented(opens GitHub in a new tab)

Metadata, label and milestone changes, oldest first.Showing 1–10 of 48Rows

Status history
At	Kind	Field	Change	Actor	Evidence
2023-09-14 19:41 UTC	label	needs-sig added	none → needs-sig	@k8s-ci-robot	source(opens GitHub in a new tab)
2023-09-14 19:42 UTC	label	sig/node added	none → sig/node	@k8s-ci-robot	source

Relationships as stored, Person → KEP, from kep.yaml(opens GitHub in a new tab)
Person	Relationship
@haircommander GitHub(opens GitHub in a new tab)	—AUTHORED→
@sergeykanzhelev GitHub(opens GitHub in a new tab)	—REVIEWS→
@bsdnet GitHub(opens GitHub in a new tab)	—REVIEWS→
@dchen1107

How they connect

Shortest paths in the graph between this KEP and its SIG or one of its people, up to four hops.

Impact of change

Rows returned by the tool
Kep	Depth	Reached	By hop	Open pull requests	Hop	Feature gates	Sigs	People
{ "label": "KEP", "key": "keps/sig-node/4210-max-image-gc-age", "title": "ImageMaximumGCAge in Kubelet", "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/tree/5b503a75369bdfdd494a2c2c72107a41bf6dd1a8/keps/sig-node/4210-max-image-gc-age", "evidence_id": "tcwjcns3ugqf", "number": 4210, "owning_sig": "sig-node", "status": "implemented", "stage": "stable", "latest_milestone": "v1.35", "milestone_alpha": "v1.29", "milestone_beta": "v1.30", "milestone_stable": "v1.35", "creation_date": "2023-09-14", "metadata_invalid": false }	2	5	{ "1": { "feature_gates": 1, "sigs": 1, "people": 3 } }	not in graph (merged pull requests only)	none	none	none	none
none	none	none	none	none	1	[ { "label": "FeatureGate", "key": "ImageGCMaximumAge", "title": "ImageGCMaximumAge", "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/blob/5b503a75369bdfdd494a2c2c72107a41bf6dd1a8/keps/sig-node/4210-max-image-gc-age/kep.yaml", "evidence_id": "2kv3jy7hyyul", "name": "ImageGCMaximumAge" } ]	[ { "label": "SIG", "key": "sig-node", "title": "Node", "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/community/tree/440e496d3a172234d81728df1bfe43849b589adf/sig-node", "evidence_id": "nrsuxu2xcxa7", "display_name": "Node", "sig_label": "node", "in_scope": true } ]	[ { "label": "Person", "key": "haircommander", "title": "haircommander", "url": "https://github.com/haircommander", "evidence_id": "so5ew2mhqcu2", "login": "haircommander", "is_bot": false }, { "label": "Person", "key": "dchen1107", "title": "dchen1107", "url": "https://github.com/dchen1107", "evidence_id": "frhgjvzxlrsh", "login": "dchen1107", "is_bot": false }, { "label": "Person", "key": "mrunalp", "title": "mrunalp", "url": "https://github.com/mrunalp", "evidence_id": "oysq4hgp6yuk", "login": "mrunalp", "is_bot": false } ]

Rows returned by the tool
Kep	Depth	Reached	By hop	Open pull requests	Hop	Feature gates	Sigs	People
{ "label": "KEP", "key": "keps/sig-node/4210-max-image-gc-age", "title": "ImageMaximumGCAge in Kubelet", "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/tree/5b503a75369bdfdd494a2c2c72107a41bf6dd1a8/keps/sig-node/4210-max-image-gc-age", "evidence_id": "tcwjcns3ugqf", "number": 4210, "owning_sig": "sig-node", "status": "implemented", "stage": "stable", "latest_milestone": "v1.35", "milestone_alpha": "v1.29", "milestone_beta": "v1.30", "milestone_stable": "v1.35", "creation_date": "2023-09-14", "metadata_invalid": false }	2	5	{ "1": { "feature_gates": 1, "sigs": 1, "people": 3 } }	not in graph (merged pull requests only)	none	none	none	none
none	none	none	none	none	1	[ { "label": "FeatureGate", "key": "ImageGCMaximumAge", "title": "ImageGCMaximumAge", "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/blob/5b503a75369bdfdd494a2c2c72107a41bf6dd1a8/keps/sig-node/4210-max-image-gc-age/kep.yaml", "evidence_id": "2kv3jy7hyyul", "name": "ImageGCMaximumAge" } ]	[ { "label": "SIG", "key": "sig-node", "title": "Node", "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/community/tree/440e496d3a172234d81728df1bfe43849b589adf/sig-node", "evidence_id": "nrsuxu2xcxa7", "display_name": "Node", "sig_label": "node", "in_scope": true } ]	[ { "label": "Person", "key": "haircommander", "title": "haircommander", "url": "https://github.com/haircommander", "evidence_id": "so5ew2mhqcu2", "login": "haircommander", "is_bot": false }, { "label": "Person", "key": "dchen1107", "title": "dchen1107", "url": "https://github.com/dchen1107", "evidence_id": "frhgjvzxlrsh", "login": "dchen1107", "is_bot": false }, { "label": "Person", "key": "mrunalp", "title": "mrunalp", "url": "https://github.com/mrunalp", "evidence_id": "oysq4hgp6yuk", "login": "mrunalp", "is_bot": false } ]

Kep

Depth

Reached

By hop

Open pull requests

Hop

Feature gates

Sigs

People

{
  "label": "KEP",
  "key": "keps/sig-node/4210-max-image-gc-age",
  "title": "ImageMaximumGCAge in Kubelet",
  "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/tree/5b503a75369bdfdd494a2c2c72107a41bf6dd1a8/keps/sig-node/4210-max-image-gc-age",
  "evidence_id": "tcwjcns3ugqf",
  "number": 4210,
  "owning_sig": "sig-node",
  "status": "implemented",
  "stage": "stable",
  "latest_milestone": "v1.35",
  "milestone_alpha": "v1.29",
  "milestone_beta": "v1.30",
  "milestone_stable": "v1.35",
  "creation_date": "2023-09-14",
  "metadata_invalid": false
}

{
  "1": {
    "feature_gates": 1,
    "sigs": 1,
    "people": 3
  }
}

not in graph (merged pull requests only)

[
  {
    "label": "FeatureGate",
    "key": "ImageGCMaximumAge",
    "title": "ImageGCMaximumAge",
    "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/blob/5b503a75369bdfdd494a2c2c72107a41bf6dd1a8/keps/sig-node/4210-max-image-gc-age/kep.yaml",
    "evidence_id": "2kv3jy7hyyul",
    "name": "ImageGCMaximumAge"
  }
]

[
  {
    "label": "SIG",
    "key": "sig-node",
    "title": "Node",
    "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/community/tree/440e496d3a172234d81728df1bfe43849b589adf/sig-node",
    "evidence_id": "nrsuxu2xcxa7",
    "display_name": "Node",
    "sig_label": "node",
    "in_scope": true
  }
]

[
  {
    "label": "Person",
    "key": "haircommander",
    "title": "haircommander",
    "url": "https://github.com/haircommander",
    "evidence_id": "so5ew2mhqcu2",
    "login": "haircommander",
    "is_bot": false
  },
  {
    "label": "Person",
    "key": "dchen1107",
    "title": "dchen1107",
    "url": "https://github.com/dchen1107",
    "evidence_id": "frhgjvzxlrsh",
    "login": "dchen1107",
    "is_bot": false
  },
  {
    "label": "Person",
    "key": "mrunalp",
    "title": "mrunalp",
    "url": "https://github.com/mrunalp",
    "evidence_id": "oysq4hgp6yuk",
    "login": "mrunalp",
    "is_bot": false
  }
]

MATCH (k:KEP {key: $key}) RETURN k LIMIT 1 ; MATCH (k:KEP {key: $key}) MATCH path = (k)-[:REPLACES|SUPERSEDED_BY|SEE_ALSO|GATED_BY*1..2]-(n) WHERE n <> k AND (n:KEP OR n:FeatureGate) AND all(x IN nodes(path)[1..-1] WHERE x <> k AND (x:KEP OR (x:FeatureGate AND NOT x.key IN $placeholders))) WITH n, path ORDER BY length(path), [x IN nodes(path) | x.key] WITH n, collect(path)[0] AS path RETURN n AS node, length(path) AS hop, path ORDER BY hop, n.key LIMIT 150 ; UNWIND $keys AS kk MATCH (k:KEP {key: kk}) RETURN k.key AS kep, [(k)-[r_0:OWNED_BY]->(s_0:SIG) WHERE coalesce(r_0.valid_to, $open) = $open | s_0] AS sigs, [(p_1:Person)-[r_1:AUTHORED]->(k) WHERE coalesce(r_1.valid_to, $open) = $open AND coalesce(p_1.is_bot, false) = false | p_1] AS authors, [(p_2:Person)-[r_2:APPROVES]->(k) WHERE coalesce(r_2.valid_to, $open) = $open AND coalesce(p_2.is_bot, false) = false | p_2] AS approvers, [(k)-[r_3:TRACKED_BY]->(i_3:Issue) WHERE coalesce(r_3.valid_to, $open) = $open AND i_3.state = 'open' | i_3] AS open_issues LIMIT 200

ImageMaximumGCAge in Kubelet

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