KEP-6318keps/sig-node/6318-mutable-container-probes

In-place Updates to Container Probes

implementablealphasig-nodelatest v1.38

KEP on GitHub kep.yaml Ask about this KEP

Container probes are part of a Pod's desired configuration, but today their configuration cannot be changed after the Pod is created. Correcting a probe, tuning it after observing a workload, or temporarily removing a liveness probe therefore requires replacing the Pod. This KEP makes liveness, readiness, and startup probes mutable for regular containers and restartable init containers. A user can update the existing probe fields through the normal Pod UPDATE or PATCH APIs. The kubelet reconciles the new configuration without recreating the Pod or restarting the container merely because its probe changed.

Facts

Authors: @hirazawaui
Approvers: @mrunalp
Reviewers: @haircommander @sergeykanzhelev @tallclair
PRR approvers: @kannon92alpha
Tracking issue: #6318(opens GitHub in a new tab) openmilestone v1.38sig/nodestage/alphatracked/yeskind/keplead-opted-in
Milestones: alpha v1.38
Participating SIGs: none
Feature gates: MutableContainerProbes
Created / last updated: 2026-09-03 / none

Who decided each state, with the evidence.
Decided	Decision	Deciders	Evidence
2026-09-03 16:51 UTC	prr_approval kannon92 gave the production readiness approval for KEP-6318 at alpha on 2026-09-03.	@kannon92 prr_approver	Document 6318.yaml(opens GitHub in a new tab)
2026-09-28 21:26 UTC	stage_graduation KEP-6318 set milestone.alpha to v1.38 in PR #6323, approved by mrunalp, sergeykanzhelev, kannon92; merged by automation (kubernetes-prow) on 2026-09-28.	@kannon92 approve_command @mrunalp approver @sergeykanzhelev approver @sergeykanzhelev approve_command @sergeykanzhelev lgtm @hirazawaui author @kubernetes-prow merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@1f3520d151f061d1d321825ceefb8cde4983e46e(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange milestone.alpha ∅ → v1.38 (2026-09-03)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#6323 KEP-6318: Allow in-place updates to container probes(opens GitHub in a new tab) Review kubernetes/enhancements/pulls/reviews/5344809453(opens GitHub in a new tab) Review kubernetes/enhancements/pulls/reviews/5344739247(opens GitHub in a new tab) Review kubernetes/enhancements/pulls/reviews/5344360570(opens GitHub in a new tab)
2026-09-28 21:26 UTC	stage_graduation KEP-6318 graduated to alpha in PR #6323, approved by mrunalp, sergeykanzhelev, kannon92; merged by automation (kubernetes-prow) on 2026-09-28.	@kannon92 approve_command @mrunalp approver @sergeykanzhelev approver @sergeykanzhelev approve_command @sergeykanzhelev lgtm @hirazawaui author @kubernetes-prow merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@1f3520d151f061d1d321825ceefb8cde4983e46e(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange stage ∅ → alpha (2026-09-03)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#6323 KEP-6318: Allow in-place updates to container probes
2026-09-28 21:26 UTC	status_transition KEP-6318 status set to provisional in PR #6323, approved by mrunalp, sergeykanzhelev, kannon92; merged by automation (kubernetes-prow) on 2026-09-28.	@kannon92 approve_command @mrunalp approver @sergeykanzhelev approver @sergeykanzhelev approve_command @sergeykanzhelev lgtm @hirazawaui author @kubernetes-prow merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@1f3520d151f061d1d321825ceefb8cde4983e46e(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange status ∅ → provisional (2026-09-03)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#6323 KEP-6318: Allow in-place updates to container probes
2026-09-30 01:31 UTC	status_transition KEP-6318 status changed from provisional to implementable in PR #6442, approved by mrunalp, tallclair; merged by automation (kubernetes-prow) on 2026-09-30.	@mrunalp approver @tallclair approve_command @tallclair lgtm @hirazawaui author @kubernetes-prow merger	Commit kubernetes/enhancements@29d13e2a3c00bf3d1ec4359d5f4161fb7912e4ed(opens GitHub in a new tab) StatusChange status provisional → implementable (2026-09-29)(opens GitHub in a new tab) PullRequest kubernetes/enhancements#6442 KEP-6318: clarify mutable probe behavior(opens GitHub in a new tab) Review kubernetes/enhancements/pulls/reviews/5360262658

Metadata, label and milestone changes, oldest first.Showing 1–10 of 15Rows

Status history
At	Kind	Field	Change	Actor	Evidence
2026-09-02 15:54 UTC	label	sig/node added	none → sig/node	@kubernetes-prow	source(opens GitHub in a new tab)
2026-09-03 16:51 UTC	metadata	approvers set	none → ["mrunalp"]	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→
@haircommander GitHub(opens GitHub in a new tab)	—REVIEWS→
@sergeykanzhelev GitHub(opens GitHub in a new tab)	—REVIEWS→
@tallclair

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	Open issues
{ "label": "KEP", "key": "keps/sig-node/6318-mutable-container-probes", "title": "In-place Updates to Container Probes", "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/tree/6ebe0a94771723b3f27cb4a757f0cc22f29e38a2/keps/sig-node/6318-mutable-container-probes", "evidence_id": "wvsylgswpms3", "number": 6318, "owning_sig": "sig-node", "status": "implementable", "stage": "alpha", "latest_milestone": "v1.38", "milestone_alpha": "v1.38", "creation_date": "2026-09-03", "metadata_invalid": false }	2	5	{ "1": { "feature_gates": 1, "sigs": 1, "people": 2, "open_issues": 1 } }	not in graph (merged pull requests only)	none	none	none	none	none
none	none	none	none	none	1	[ { "label": "FeatureGate", "key": "MutableContainerProbes", "title": "MutableContainerProbes", "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/blob/6ebe0a94771723b3f27cb4a757f0cc22f29e38a2/keps/sig-node/6318-mutable-container-probes/kep.yaml", "evidence_id": "k6tyatahzznb", "name": "MutableContainerProbes" } ]	[ { "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": "mrunalp", "title": "mrunalp", "url": "https://github.com/mrunalp", "evidence_id": "oysq4hgp6yuk", "login": "mrunalp", "is_bot": false } ]	[ { "label": "Issue", "key": "kubernetes/enhancements#6318", "title": "Allow in-place updates to container probes", "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/issues/6318", "evidence_id": "klxzeytk3ftl", "number": 6318, "state": "open", "created_at_iso": "2026-09-02T15:54:04Z", "labels_current": [ "sig/node", "stage/alpha", "tracked/yes", "kind/kep", "lead-opted-in" ], "milestone_current": "v1.38", "is_tracking_issue": true } ]

Rows returned by the tool
Kep	Depth	Reached	By hop	Open pull requests	Hop	Feature gates	Sigs	People	Open issues
{ "label": "KEP", "key": "keps/sig-node/6318-mutable-container-probes", "title": "In-place Updates to Container Probes", "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/tree/6ebe0a94771723b3f27cb4a757f0cc22f29e38a2/keps/sig-node/6318-mutable-container-probes", "evidence_id": "wvsylgswpms3", "number": 6318, "owning_sig": "sig-node", "status": "implementable", "stage": "alpha", "latest_milestone": "v1.38", "milestone_alpha": "v1.38", "creation_date": "2026-09-03", "metadata_invalid": false }	2	5	{ "1": { "feature_gates": 1, "sigs": 1, "people": 2, "open_issues": 1 } }	not in graph (merged pull requests only)	none	none	none	none	none
none	none	none	none	none	1	[ { "label": "FeatureGate", "key": "MutableContainerProbes", "title": "MutableContainerProbes", "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/blob/6ebe0a94771723b3f27cb4a757f0cc22f29e38a2/keps/sig-node/6318-mutable-container-probes/kep.yaml", "evidence_id": "k6tyatahzznb", "name": "MutableContainerProbes" } ]	[ { "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": "mrunalp", "title": "mrunalp", "url": "https://github.com/mrunalp", "evidence_id": "oysq4hgp6yuk", "login": "mrunalp", "is_bot": false } ]	[ { "label": "Issue", "key": "kubernetes/enhancements#6318", "title": "Allow in-place updates to container probes", "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/issues/6318", "evidence_id": "klxzeytk3ftl", "number": 6318, "state": "open", "created_at_iso": "2026-09-02T15:54:04Z", "labels_current": [ "sig/node", "stage/alpha", "tracked/yes", "kind/kep", "lead-opted-in" ], "milestone_current": "v1.38", "is_tracking_issue": true } ]

Kep

Depth

Reached

By hop

Open pull requests

Hop

Feature gates

Sigs

People

Open issues

{
  "label": "KEP",
  "key": "keps/sig-node/6318-mutable-container-probes",
  "title": "In-place Updates to Container Probes",
  "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/tree/6ebe0a94771723b3f27cb4a757f0cc22f29e38a2/keps/sig-node/6318-mutable-container-probes",
  "evidence_id": "wvsylgswpms3",
  "number": 6318,
  "owning_sig": "sig-node",
  "status": "implementable",
  "stage": "alpha",
  "latest_milestone": "v1.38",
  "milestone_alpha": "v1.38",
  "creation_date": "2026-09-03",
  "metadata_invalid": false
}

{
  "1": {
    "feature_gates": 1,
    "sigs": 1,
    "people": 2,
    "open_issues": 1
  }
}

not in graph (merged pull requests only)

[
  {
    "label": "FeatureGate",
    "key": "MutableContainerProbes",
    "title": "MutableContainerProbes",
    "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/blob/6ebe0a94771723b3f27cb4a757f0cc22f29e38a2/keps/sig-node/6318-mutable-container-probes/kep.yaml",
    "evidence_id": "k6tyatahzznb",
    "name": "MutableContainerProbes"
  }
]

[
  {
    "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": "mrunalp",
    "title": "mrunalp",
    "url": "https://github.com/mrunalp",
    "evidence_id": "oysq4hgp6yuk",
    "login": "mrunalp",
    "is_bot": false
  }
]

[
  {
    "label": "Issue",
    "key": "kubernetes/enhancements#6318",
    "title": "Allow in-place updates to container probes",
    "url": "https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/issues/6318",
    "evidence_id": "klxzeytk3ftl",
    "number": 6318,
    "state": "open",
    "created_at_iso": "2026-09-02T15:54:04Z",
    "labels_current": [
      "sig/node",
      "stage/alpha",
      "tracked/yes",
      "kind/kep",
      "lead-opted-in"
    ],
    "milestone_current": "v1.38",
    "is_tracking_issue": true
  }
]

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

In-place Updates to Container Probes

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