Versioned Kubernetes RPMS on Fedora

Bradley G Smith, Version F41,rawhide Last review: 2025-09-10

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Overview

Versioned Kubernetes rpms (e.g. kubernetes1.34.rpm, kubernetes1.33.rpm) were introduced in Fedora 41 and is the standard used for Kubernetes in all Fedora releases.

As versioned rpms are distinct packages which contain the same set of files, they are treated as conflicting by rpm. The necessary changes to the package update process to deal with this conflict are documented below.

Go language constraint

Each Kubernetes version (at the minor level, e.g. Kubernetes v1.31) is built with a specific version of the go language. Each Fedora release is paired with a specific go version For example, Go 1.22 is available on Fedora 40 and go 1.23 is available on Fedora 41.

A new Kubernetes version may be built with a version of Go not available on older Fedora releases thereby blocking the packaging of that Kubernetes version for that specific Fedora release. If the Go version is updated, the blocked Kubernetes version will be made available as long as the Kubernetes version is still supported.

Kubernetes rpms in Fedora

The table below lists the Kubernetes rpms available for each Kubernetes release, what the rpm contains, and notes on purpose and any cautions or restrictions.

Table 1. Versioned Kubernetes rpms in Fedora 41 (and newer)
RPM Name	Contents	Notes
kubernetes	kubelet	Kubelet is the Kubernetes runtime on a node.
kubernetes-kubeadm	kubeadm	Kubeadm initializes a cluster and joins new nodes to a cluster. This rpm is optional but recommended by the Kubernetes team. Install on every node if used.
kubernetes-client	kubectl	Kubernetes command line client. Recommended on any node configured as a control plane as it allows the cluster administrator control over the cluster from an ssh session on the control plane. Install on a machine that can connect to the cluster over the network.
kubernetes-systemd	kube-apiserver, kube-controller-manager, kube-proxy, kube-scheduler	Systemd services for a kubernetes control-plane and/or node. Not needed for most installations as kubeadm will install these components as static pods. If used, then install on all nodes. Use systemctl to enable kube-proxy on all nodes. Enable kube-apiserver, kube-controller-manager, and kube-scheduler on control plane nodes.

Versioned rpm installation recommendations

For most modern kubernetes clusters install kubernetes, kubernetes-kubeadm, and kubernetes-client on each machine in the cluster. If disk space is a constraint only install kubernetes-client on control-plane machines.

# using kubernetes 1.34 as an example
sudo dnf install kubernetes1.34 kubernetes1.34-kubeadm kubernetes1.34-client

If conducting a manual installation of Kubernetes (see Kubernetes The Hard Way) then install all kubernetes rpms except kubernetes-kubeadm.

# using kubernetes 1.34 as an example
sudo dnf install kubernetes1.34 kubernetes1.34-client kubernetes1.34-systemd

Versioned rpm update recommendations

Since rpm treats kubernetes1.34 as a different application from kubernetes1.31, yet both rpms install the same files in the same locations. These rpms therefore conflict and the normal dnf update will not succeed in replacing v1.34 with v1.31. There are two options available when using dnf: remove/install or swap.

The remove and install sequence using normal dnf commands to first remove one version of Kubernetes and then replace it with the next version. Both dnf commands will also remove/install any dependencies.

Important Note - this is only needed when changing minor versions, that is replacing v1.34 with v1.31. Updates at the patch level such as v1.34.2 to v1.34.3 use the normal dnf update command.

# Remove and replace with kubernetes 1.34 and 1.31 as an example
sudo dnf remove kubernetes1.34 kubernetes1.34-kubeadm kubernetes1.34-client
sudo dnf install kubernetes1.31 kubernetes1.31-kubeadm kubernetes1.31-client

The dnf swap command can also be used to change from one Kubernetes release to the next. Using swap avoids re-installation of dependencies but the kubernetes1.31* dnf package specification will install all matching rpms from the repository and not just the rpms removed by the initial kubernetes1.34* package specification.:w

# Remove and replace with kubernetes 1.34 and 1.31 as an example
sudo dnf swap kubernetes1.34* kubernetes1.31*

Versioned rpm retirement policy

The Kubernetes Project releases a new (minor) version every 4 months which is then supported for one (1) year.

Patches for each minor version are released monthly.

Two months after a Kubernetes version reaches end-of-life, the corresponding rpm is retired in Rawhide following the Package Retirement Process. Packages for the corresponding version of CRI-O and CRI-Tools are also retired.

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