Changing The Kubernetes Package Repository

This page explains how to enable a package repository for the desired Kubernetes minor release upon upgrading a cluster. This is only needed for users of the community-owned package repositories hosted at pkgs.k8s.io. Unlike the legacy package repositories, the community-owned package repositories are structured in a way that there's a dedicated package repository for each Kubernetes minor version.

Before you begin

This document assumes that you're already using the community-owned package repositories (pkgs.k8s.io). If that's not the case, it's strongly recommended to migrate to the community-owned package repositories as described in the official announcement.

Verifying if the Kubernetes package repositories are used

If you're unsure whether you're using the community-owned package repositories or the legacy package repositories, take the following steps to verify:

Print the contents of the file that defines the Kubernetes apt repository:

# On your system, this configuration file could have a different name
pager /etc/apt/sources.list.d/kubernetes.list

If you see a line similar to:

deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/kubernetes-apt-keyring.gpg] https://pkgs.k8s.io/core:/stable:/v1.27/deb/ /

You're using the Kubernetes package repositories and this guide applies to you. Otherwise, it's strongly recommended to migrate to the Kubernetes package repositories as described in the official announcement.

Print the contents of the file that defines the Kubernetes yum repository:

# On your system, this configuration file could have a different name
cat /etc/yum.repos.d/kubernetes.repo

If you see a baseurl similar to the baseurl in the output below:

[kubernetes]
name=Kubernetes
baseurl=https://pkgs.k8s.io/core:/stable:/v1.27/rpm/
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://pkgs.k8s.io/core:/stable:/v1.27/rpm/repodata/repomd.xml.key
exclude=kubelet kubeadm kubectl

You're using the Kubernetes package repositories and this guide applies to you. Otherwise, it's strongly recommended to migrate to the Kubernetes package repositories as described in the official announcement.

Print the contents of the file that defines the Kubernetes zypper repository:

# On your system, this configuration file could have a different name
cat /etc/zypp/repos.d/kubernetes.repo

If you see a baseurl similar to the baseurl in the output below:

[kubernetes]
name=Kubernetes
baseurl=https://pkgs.k8s.io/core:/stable:/v1.27/rpm/
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://pkgs.k8s.io/core:/stable:/v1.27/rpm/repodata/repomd.xml.key
exclude=kubelet kubeadm kubectl

You're using the Kubernetes package repositories and this guide applies to you. Otherwise, it's strongly recommended to migrate to the Kubernetes package repositories as described in the official announcement.

Switching to another Kubernetes package repository

This step should be done upon upgrading from one to another Kubernetes minor release in order to get access to the packages of the desired Kubernetes minor version.

  1. Open the file that defines the Kubernetes apt repository using a text editor of your choice:

    nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/kubernetes.list

    You should see a single line with the URL that contains your current Kubernetes minor version. For example, if you're using v1.27, you should see this:

    deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/kubernetes-apt-keyring.gpg] https://pkgs.k8s.io/core:/stable:/v1.27/deb/ /

  2. Change the version in the URL to the next available minor release, for example:

    deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/kubernetes-apt-keyring.gpg] https://pkgs.k8s.io/core:/stable:/v1.28/deb/ /

  3. Save the file and exit your text editor. Continue following the relevant upgrade instructions.

  1. Open the file that defines the Kubernetes yum repository using a text editor of your choice:

    nano /etc/yum.repos.d/kubernetes.repo

    You should see a file with two URLs that contain your current Kubernetes minor version. For example, if you're using v1.27, you should see this:

    [kubernetes]
name=Kubernetes
baseurl=https://pkgs.k8s.io/core:/stable:/v1.27/rpm/
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://pkgs.k8s.io/core:/stable:/v1.27/rpm/repodata/repomd.xml.key
exclude=kubelet kubeadm kubectl cri-tools kubernetes-cni

  2. Change the version in these URLs to the next available minor release, for example:

    [kubernetes]
name=Kubernetes
baseurl=https://pkgs.k8s.io/core:/stable:/vv1.28/rpm/
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
gpgkey=https://pkgs.k8s.io/core:/stable:/vv1.28/rpm/repodata/repomd.xml.key
exclude=kubelet kubeadm kubectl cri-tools kubernetes-cni

  3. Save the file and exit your text editor. Continue following the relevant upgrade instructions.

What's next

Last modified November 13, 2023 at 1:36 PM PST: Additional clarifications for changing package repository (4163d74fa5)