I've heard that Ingress-NGINX might be retiring and that it's being replaced by the Gateway API. Can anyone confirm if this is true? If so, what's the reason behind it and what's the issue with NGINX?
4 Answers
Yep, you're a bit behind, but yes, it was announced that Ingress-NGINX will be retired. You can check out more details in the announcement here: https://thenewstack.io/kubernetes-to-retire-ingress-nginx/.
Yes, the Ingress-NGINX codebase was getting pretty unmaintainable, and it was always a bit of a makeshift solution. It's not just being replaced directly by the Gateway API, but it's one clear path forward. I prefer using Traefik myself; it's been quite stable. There are alternatives like Cilium with Envoy, but they don't seem as reliable right now.
It's important to know that Ingress-NGINX is just one controller. The Gateway API represents the future, but if you're not ready to make a switch, there are other Ingress controllers you can use. That said, the Gateway API does offer more robust features. I personally think it's a significant improvement.
The retirement was officially announced in November 2025, and the maintainers had raised concerns about it a year before that. They were struggling to keep up with the codebase as it became hard to manage.
True, but I wouldn't be surprised if more Ingress projects are phased out soon since the Kubernetes community seems keen to move away from them.