What is this?
ingress-nginx was an Ingress controller for Kubernetes that used NGINX as a reverse proxy and load balancer to route traffic into clusters. The project is now retired.
ingress-nginx was an Ingress controller for Kubernetes that used NGINX as a reverse proxy and load balancer to route traffic into clusters. The project is now retired.If my cluster still runs it, what exactly is deployed?A controller that runs inside your cluster and drives NGINX as the traffic path, installed via its official Helm chart. Charts and container images remain available even after retirement.
A controller that runs inside your cluster and drives NGINX as the traffic path, installed via its official Helm chart. Charts and container images remain available even after retirement.Should I pick it for a brand-new cluster?No. The README is blunt: if you are not already using ingress-nginx, you should not deploy it — identify a Gateway API implementation and use that instead.
No. The README is blunt: if you are not already using ingress-nginx, you should not deploy it — identify a Gateway API implementation and use that instead.Which Kubernetes versions do the final releases support?The final v1.15.x line is tested against Kubernetes 1.31-1.35 and ships NGINX 1.27.1. Older releases target older clusters, e.g. v1.11.x for 1.26-1.30.
The final v1.15.x line is tested against Kubernetes 1.31-1.35 and ships NGINX 1.27.1. Older releases target older clusters, e.g. v1.11.x for 1.26-1.30.I saw it's retired — what does that actually mean for someone still running it?Best-effort maintenance runs until March 2026; after that there are no releases, no bugfixes and no security fixes. Deployments that already exist will not break.
Best-effort maintenance runs until March 2026; after that there are no releases, no bugfixes and no security fixes. Deployments that already exist will not break.Is it okay to use in a shared, multi-tenant production cluster?No. The project says not to use it in multi-tenant production and assumes that anyone who can create Ingress objects is a cluster administrator.
No. The project says not to use it in multi-tenant production and assumes that anyone who can create Ingress objects is a cluster administrator.What is an Ingress in Kubernetes, exactly?It is the Kubernetes mechanism for exposing services to outside traffic. An ingress controller like this one watches Ingress objects and turns them into NGINX reverse-proxy and load-balancing rules.
It is the Kubernetes mechanism for exposing services to outside traffic. An ingress controller like this one watches Ingress objects and turns them into NGINX reverse-proxy and load-balancing rules.Was this an official Kubernetes project?Yes — it lived under the kubernetes GitHub organization, followed the Kubernetes Community Code of Conduct, and user support ran through the #ingress-nginx-users channel on Kubernetes Slack.
Yes — it lived under the kubernetes GitHub organization, followed the Kubernetes Community Code of Conduct, and user support ran through the #ingress-nginx-users channel on Kubernetes Slack.What does 'supported version' mean in its compatibility table?A combination where the project completed E2E tests and they pass. Versions may still work on older Kubernetes releases, but that is not guaranteed.
A combination where the project completed E2E tests and they pass. Versions may still work on older Kubernetes releases, but that is not guaranteed.What are similar projects?apisix, k3s, cilium, containerd, tengine, traefik, distribution, Reloader
apisix, k3s, cilium, containerd, tengine, traefik, distribution, ReloaderWhich topics is it in?helm-charts, gateway, k8s, load-balancer, nginx, cncf, infrastructure, reverse-proxy, containers, cloud-native, http, kubernetes
helm-charts, gateway, k8s, load-balancer, nginx, cncf, infrastructure, reverse-proxy, containers, cloud-native, http, kubernetes