Compatibility Matrix

Compatibility matrix

Validated versions, support posture, and production guidance for the current pre-GA line.

Terminology

Use these terms consistently on this page:

• Validated: explicitly exercised in CI.
• Best-effort supported: eligible for issue triage and fixes on the latest stable release line only.
• Recommended for production: stable releases using the documented Hardened profile, selfInit, admission enforcement, explicit version pinning, and staged upgrade validation.

Pre-GA posture

The current stable release line is intended for real deployments, but it remains pre-GA. The served CRD API is openbao.org/v1alpha1, and minor releases may introduce breaking changes. See Deprecation Policy and Support Policy for the full release contract.

Reference table

Kubernetes versions

Kubernetes versions.

Version	Validated	Support posture	Production note
v1.35	PR gate, release gate, and nightly E2E	Best-effort supported on the latest stable line	Primary validated baseline
v1.34	Release gate, nightly E2E, and performance baseline	Best-effort supported on the latest stable line	Minimum validated version
v1.36	Not validated for the current release line	Tracked as the next supported Kubernetes candidate	Adopt after controller-runtime, Kind, and release-gate coverage are available
v1.33	Not validated for the current release line	May work but is not release-gated for 0.2.0	Validate in staging before carrying this version into the current pre-GA line
v1.32	Not validated	Out of support scope	Do not use for the current pre-GA line

Reference table

Platforms

Platforms.

Platform	Validated	Support posture	Production note
Kubernetes	Default CI and nightly path	Best-effort supported on the latest stable line	Default recommended platform path
OpenShift	Helm rendering regression checks, manifest admission tests, and focused platform E2E	Best-effort supported on the latest stable line	Validate on your target cluster before production rollout

Reference table

OpenBao versions

OpenBao versions.

Version	Validated	Support posture	Production note
2.5.x	PR gate, nightly E2E, and config compatibility checks	Best-effort supported on the latest stable line	Primary validated target
2.4.x	Nightly config compatibility checks	Best-effort supported on the latest stable line	Validate workload behavior and upgrade flow in staging before production rollout
2.3.x	Not validated	Deprecated and out of support scope	Upgrade before production use

Reference table

CI validation matrix

Versions and paths exercised by CI workflows.

CI validation matrix. Versions and paths exercised by CI workflows.

Workflow	Scope	Versions tested
PR Gate	Logic, manifests, and primary compatibility path	K8s 1.35.1 + OpenBao 2.5.3
Release Gate E2E	Stable release lifecycle coverage	K8s 1.34.3 and 1.35.1 + OpenBao 2.5.3
Nightly E2E	Full lifecycle coverage	K8s 1.34.3 and 1.35.1 + OpenBao 2.5.3
Nightly Config Compatibility	Render and config compatibility checks	OpenBao 2.4.4 and 2.5.3

Production upgrade rule

Always validate new Kubernetes or OpenBao versions in a staging environment before upgrading production, even when they are listed as validated and best-effort supported.

Related reference pages

Upgrade compatibilityUpgrade sequencing and rollback stance for operator upgrades.Support policyRelease-line maintenance beyond raw validation coverage.Known limitationsCurrent caveats and explicit non-goals for unsupported paths.