1.33 version information and update actions

Review information about version 1.33 of IBM Cloud® Kubernetes Service. For more information about Kubernetes project version 1.33, see the Kubernetes change log.

Release timeline

The following table includes the expected release timeline for version 1.33 of IBM Cloud® Kubernetes Service. You can use this information for planning purposes, such as to estimate the general time that the version might become unsupported.

Dates that are marked with a dagger (†) are tentative and subject to change.

Release timeline for IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service version 1.33
Version	Supported?	Release date	Unsupported date
1.33	Yes	31 July 2025	14 October 2026 `†`

Preparing to update

This information summarizes updates that are likely to have an impact on deployed apps when you update a cluster to version 1.33. For a complete list of changes, review the community Kubernetes change log and IBM version change log for version 1.33. You can also review the Kubernetes helpful warnings.

Cluster autoscaler does not yet support version 1.33. Do not upgrade your cluster to version 1.33 if your cluster uses cluster autoscaler.

Portworx does not yet support version 1.33. Do not upgrade your cluster to version 1.33 if your apps use Portworx.

The Istio add-on version 1.23 is not supported for IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service version 1.33 because the Istio add-on does not support Istio 1.25. Do not update to IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service version 1.33 if you use the add-on in your cluster. As an alternative, you can migrate from the Istio add-on to community Istio.

Update before master

The following table shows the actions that you must take before you update the Kubernetes master.

Changes to make before you update the master to Kubernetes 1.33
Type	Description
Unsupported: `gitRepo` volume driver	The `gitRepo` volume driver is not supported and cannot not be enabled via the `GitRepoVolumeDriver` feature gate. There are alternatives, such as using an `EmptyDir` volume mount with an `init` container to clone a repository by using `git`. For more information, see the Removal of in-tree `gitRepo` volume driver.

Update after master

The following table shows the actions that you must take after you update the Kubernetes master.

Changes to make after you update the master to Kubernetes 1.33
Type	Description
Deprecated: Service annotation `service.kubernetes.io/topology-mode`	The service annotation `service.kubernetes.io/topology-mode` is deprecated and is not graduating from beta to GA. Migrate to the service `.spec.trafficDistribution` field instead. This field is closely related to the `service.kubernetes.io/topology-mode` annotation and provides flexible options for traffic routing within Kubernetes.
Deprecated: `v1` version of the `Endpoints` API	The `v1` `Endpoints` API is deprecated. Migrate to the `discovery.k8s.io/v1` `EndpointSlice` API instead. For more information, see Kubernetes v1.33: Continuing the transition from Endpoints to EndpointSlices.