KEP-4369keps/sig-node/4369-allow-special-characters-environment-variable

Allow special characters environment variable

implementedstablesig-nodelatest v1.34

KEP on GitHub kep.yaml Ask about this KEP

Allows all printable ASCII characters except "=" to be set as environment variables, the range of printable ASCII characters is 32-126.

Facts

Authors: @hirazawaui
Approvers: @sergeykanzhelev @thockin
Reviewers: @thockin @liggitt
PRR approvers: @jpbetzalpha@jpbetzbeta@jpbetzstable
Tracking issue: #4369(opens GitHub in a new tab) closedcompletedclosed 2025-10-06 21:41 UTCmilestone v1.34sig/nodesig/api-machinerystage/stable
Milestones: alpha v1.30beta v1.32stable v1.34
Participating SIGs: sig-api-machinery
Feature gates: RelaxedEnvironmentVariableValidation
Created / last updated: 2023-12-21 / none

Who decided each state, with the evidence.
Decided	Decision	Deciders	Evidence
2024-02-03 22:43 UTC	stage_graduation KEP-4369 set milestone.alpha to v1.30 in PR #4373, approved by mrunalp, thockin; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2024-02-03.	@mrunalp approver @thockin approve_command @thockin lgtm @hirazawaui author @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@53c565cdc1699deee2e56a48151cfa55a6e4b356(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange milestone.alpha ∅ → v1.30 (2023-12-21)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#4373 Allow almost all printable ASCII characters in environment variables(opens GitHub in a new tab) Review kubernetes/enhancements/pulls/reviews/1861130933(opens GitHub in a new tab) Review kubernetes/enhancements/pulls/reviews/1849846974(opens GitHub in a new tab) Comment kubernetes/enhancements/issues/comments/1917599679(opens GitHub in a new tab)
2024-02-03 22:43 UTC	stage_graduation KEP-4369 graduated to alpha in PR #4373, approved by mrunalp, thockin; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2024-02-03.	@mrunalp approver @thockin approve_command @thockin lgtm @hirazawaui author @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@53c565cdc1699deee2e56a48151cfa55a6e4b356(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange stage ∅ → alpha (2023-12-21)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#4373 Allow almost all printable ASCII characters in environment variables(opens GitHub in a new tab) Review kubernetes/enhancements/pulls/reviews/1861130933
2024-02-03 22:43 UTC	status_transition KEP-4369 status set to provisional in PR #4373, approved by mrunalp, thockin; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2024-02-03.	@mrunalp approver @thockin approve_command @thockin lgtm @hirazawaui author @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@53c565cdc1699deee2e56a48151cfa55a6e4b356(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange status ∅ → provisional (2023-12-21)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#4373 Allow almost all printable ASCII characters in environment variables(opens GitHub in a new tab) Review kubernetes/enhancements/pulls/reviews/1861130933
2024-02-04 14:53 UTC	prr_approval jpbetz gave the production readiness approval for KEP-4369 at alpha on 2024-02-04.	@jpbetz prr_approver	Document 4369.yaml(opens GitHub in a new tab)
2024-02-07 17:24 UTC	stage_graduation KEP-4369 set milestone.beta to v1.32 in PR #4482, approved by mrunalp, jpbetz; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2024-02-07.	@mrunalp approver @thockin lgtm @jpbetz approve_command @hirazawaui author @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@4c796906f579fc0be97b6f1022de218c31820971(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange milestone.beta ∅ → v1.32 (2024-02-06)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#4482 KEP-4396: promote kep into implementable(opens GitHub in a new tab) Review kubernetes/enhancements/pulls/reviews/1868360785
2024-02-07 17:24 UTC	stage_graduation KEP-4369 set milestone.stable to v1.36 in PR #4482, approved by mrunalp, jpbetz; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2024-02-07.	@mrunalp approver @thockin lgtm @jpbetz approve_command @hirazawaui author @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@4c796906f579fc0be97b6f1022de218c31820971(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange milestone.stable ∅ → v1.36 (2024-02-06)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#4482 KEP-4396: promote kep into implementable(opens GitHub in a new tab) Review kubernetes/enhancements/pulls/reviews/1868360785
2024-02-07 17:24 UTC	status_transition KEP-4369 status changed from provisional to implementable in PR #4482, approved by mrunalp, jpbetz; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2024-02-07.	@mrunalp approver @thockin lgtm @jpbetz approve_command @hirazawaui author @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@4c796906f579fc0be97b6f1022de218c31820971(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange status provisional → implementable (2024-02-06)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#4482 KEP-4396: promote kep into implementable(opens GitHub in a new tab) Review kubernetes/enhancements/pulls/reviews/1868360785
2024-08-26 14:06 UTC	prr_approval jpbetz gave the production readiness approval for KEP-4369 at beta on 2024-08-26.	@jpbetz prr_approver	Document 4369.yaml(opens GitHub in a new tab)
2024-09-29 22:36 UTC	milestone_retarget KEP-4369 latest-milestone moved from v1.30 to v1.32 in PR #4805, approved by jpbetz, sergeykanzhelev, thockin; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2024-09-29.	@sergeykanzhelev lgtm @sergeykanzhelev approver @sergeykanzhelev approve_command @thockin lgtm @thockin approve_command @jpbetz approver @jpbetz approve_command @hirazawaui author @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@a65807898f1efc2d89ca0bff34c48ca955371046(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange latest_milestone v1.30 → v1.32 (2024-08-26)
2024-09-29 22:36 UTC	stage_graduation KEP-4369 graduated to beta from alpha in PR #4805, approved by jpbetz, sergeykanzhelev, thockin; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2024-09-29.	@sergeykanzhelev approver @sergeykanzhelev approve_command @sergeykanzhelev lgtm @thockin approve_command @thockin lgtm @jpbetz approver @jpbetz approve_command @hirazawaui author @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@a65807898f1efc2d89ca0bff34c48ca955371046(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange stage alpha → beta (2024-08-26)
2025-06-03 14:16 UTC	prr_approval jpbetz gave the production readiness approval for KEP-4369 at stable on 2025-06-03.	@jpbetz prr_approver	Document 4369.yaml(opens GitHub in a new tab)
2025-06-06 20:54 UTC	milestone_retarget KEP-4369 latest-milestone moved from v1.32 to v1.34 in PR #5364, approved by sergeykanzhelev, jpbetz; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2025-06-06.	@sergeykanzhelev approver @sergeykanzhelev approve_command @sergeykanzhelev lgtm @jpbetz approve_command @hirazawaui author @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@ae558311f66bf32d57b145fd9f51012b808d72d5(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange latest_milestone v1.32 → v1.34 (2025-06-03)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#5364 KEP-4369: Promote to GA (allow ~all ASCII characters in env vars)
2025-06-06 20:54 UTC	milestone_retarget KEP-4369 milestone.stable moved from v1.33 to v1.34 in PR #5364, approved by sergeykanzhelev, jpbetz; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2025-06-06.	@sergeykanzhelev approver @sergeykanzhelev approve_command @sergeykanzhelev lgtm @jpbetz approve_command @hirazawaui author @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@ae558311f66bf32d57b145fd9f51012b808d72d5(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange milestone.stable v1.33 → v1.34 (2025-06-03)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#5364 KEP-4369: Promote to GA (allow ~all ASCII characters in env vars)
2025-06-06 20:54 UTC	stage_graduation KEP-4369 graduated to stable from beta in PR #5364, approved by sergeykanzhelev, jpbetz; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2025-06-06.	@sergeykanzhelev approver @sergeykanzhelev approve_command @sergeykanzhelev lgtm @jpbetz approve_command @hirazawaui author @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@ae558311f66bf32d57b145fd9f51012b808d72d5(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange stage beta → stable (2025-06-03)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#5364 KEP-4369: Promote to GA (allow ~all ASCII characters in env vars)
2025-10-06 21:42 UTC	status_transition KEP-4369 status changed from implementable to implemented in PR #5626, approved by mrunalp; merged by automation (k8s-ci-robot) on 2025-10-06.	@mrunalp approver @mrunalp lgtm @sergeykanzhelev author @k8s-ci-robot merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@63474517dcade31043e54640d74c3574469cbdfa(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange status implementable → implemented (2025-10-06)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#5626 mark 4369 as implemented:(opens GitHub in a new tab) Review kubernetes/enhancements/pulls/reviews/3307543029

Metadata, label and milestone changes, oldest first.Showing 1–10 of 40Rows

Status history
At	Kind	Field	Change	Actor	Evidence
2023-12-20 16:04 UTC	label	needs-sig added	none → needs-sig	@k8s-ci-robot	source(opens GitHub in a new tab)
2023-12-21 15:54 UTC	metadata	approvers set	none → ["liggitt","thockin"]	none

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

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/4369-allow-special-characters-environment-variable", "title": "Allow special characters environment variable", "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/tree/5b503a75369bdfdd494a2c2c72107a41bf6dd1a8/keps/sig-node/4369-allow-special-characters-environment-variable", "evidence_id": "tvp3oeaolvwj", "number": 4369, "owning_sig": "sig-node", "status": "implemented", "stage": "stable", "latest_milestone": "v1.34", "milestone_alpha": "v1.30", "milestone_beta": "v1.32", "milestone_stable": "v1.34", "creation_date": "2023-12-21", "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": "RelaxedEnvironmentVariableValidation", "title": "RelaxedEnvironmentVariableValidation", "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/blob/5b503a75369bdfdd494a2c2c72107a41bf6dd1a8/keps/sig-node/4369-allow-special-characters-environment-variable/kep.yaml", "evidence_id": "ltq7b3pfjdjz", "name": "RelaxedEnvironmentVariableValidation" } ]	[ { "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": "hirazawaui", "title": "hirazawaui", "url": "https://github.com/hirazawaui", "evidence_id": "b4bu2kmctnqp", "login": "hirazawaui", "is_bot": false }, { "label": "Person", "key": "sergeykanzhelev", "title": "sergeykanzhelev", "url": "https://github.com/sergeykanzhelev", "evidence_id": "7y7w4fizv4wu", "login": "sergeykanzhelev", "is_bot": false }, { "label": "Person", "key": "thockin", "title": "thockin", "url": "https://github.com/thockin", "evidence_id": "m5ydmj5ginak", "login": "thockin", "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/4369-allow-special-characters-environment-variable", "title": "Allow special characters environment variable", "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/tree/5b503a75369bdfdd494a2c2c72107a41bf6dd1a8/keps/sig-node/4369-allow-special-characters-environment-variable", "evidence_id": "tvp3oeaolvwj", "number": 4369, "owning_sig": "sig-node", "status": "implemented", "stage": "stable", "latest_milestone": "v1.34", "milestone_alpha": "v1.30", "milestone_beta": "v1.32", "milestone_stable": "v1.34", "creation_date": "2023-12-21", "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": "RelaxedEnvironmentVariableValidation", "title": "RelaxedEnvironmentVariableValidation", "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/blob/5b503a75369bdfdd494a2c2c72107a41bf6dd1a8/keps/sig-node/4369-allow-special-characters-environment-variable/kep.yaml", "evidence_id": "ltq7b3pfjdjz", "name": "RelaxedEnvironmentVariableValidation" } ]	[ { "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": "hirazawaui", "title": "hirazawaui", "url": "https://github.com/hirazawaui", "evidence_id": "b4bu2kmctnqp", "login": "hirazawaui", "is_bot": false }, { "label": "Person", "key": "sergeykanzhelev", "title": "sergeykanzhelev", "url": "https://github.com/sergeykanzhelev", "evidence_id": "7y7w4fizv4wu", "login": "sergeykanzhelev", "is_bot": false }, { "label": "Person", "key": "thockin", "title": "thockin", "url": "https://github.com/thockin", "evidence_id": "m5ydmj5ginak", "login": "thockin", "is_bot": false } ]

Kep

Depth

Reached

By hop

Open pull requests

Hop

Feature gates

Sigs

People

{
  "label": "KEP",
  "key": "keps/sig-node/4369-allow-special-characters-environment-variable",
  "title": "Allow special characters environment variable",
  "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/tree/5b503a75369bdfdd494a2c2c72107a41bf6dd1a8/keps/sig-node/4369-allow-special-characters-environment-variable",
  "evidence_id": "tvp3oeaolvwj",
  "number": 4369,
  "owning_sig": "sig-node",
  "status": "implemented",
  "stage": "stable",
  "latest_milestone": "v1.34",
  "milestone_alpha": "v1.30",
  "milestone_beta": "v1.32",
  "milestone_stable": "v1.34",
  "creation_date": "2023-12-21",
  "metadata_invalid": false
}

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

not in graph (merged pull requests only)

[
  {
    "label": "FeatureGate",
    "key": "RelaxedEnvironmentVariableValidation",
    "title": "RelaxedEnvironmentVariableValidation",
    "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/blob/5b503a75369bdfdd494a2c2c72107a41bf6dd1a8/keps/sig-node/4369-allow-special-characters-environment-variable/kep.yaml",
    "evidence_id": "ltq7b3pfjdjz",
    "name": "RelaxedEnvironmentVariableValidation"
  }
]

[
  {
    "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": "hirazawaui",
    "title": "hirazawaui",
    "url": "https://github.com/hirazawaui",
    "evidence_id": "b4bu2kmctnqp",
    "login": "hirazawaui",
    "is_bot": false
  },
  {
    "label": "Person",
    "key": "sergeykanzhelev",
    "title": "sergeykanzhelev",
    "url": "https://github.com/sergeykanzhelev",
    "evidence_id": "7y7w4fizv4wu",
    "login": "sergeykanzhelev",
    "is_bot": false
  },
  {
    "label": "Person",
    "key": "thockin",
    "title": "thockin",
    "url": "https://github.com/thockin",
    "evidence_id": "m5ydmj5ginak",
    "login": "thockin",
    "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

Allow special characters environment variable

Facts

How they connect

Impact of change

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