Kubernetes v1.29: Mandala

Kubernetes v1.29, codenamed Mandala, introduces 49 enhancements, including 11 promoted to stable, 19 to beta, and 19 to alpha. Stable improvements include ReadWriteOncePod access mode for persistent volumes, node volume expansion secret support for CSI drivers, and generally available KMS v2 encryption at rest. Beta improvements focus on optimizing scheduler throughput, decoupling node lifecycle from taint management, and cleaning up legacy secret-based service account tokens. New alpha features include defining pod affinity using matchLabelKeys, nftables backend for kube-proxy, and APIs to manage IP address ranges for services. Kubernetes v1.29 also deprecates in-tree integrations with cloud providers, requiring users to enable external cloud controller managers or opt back into legacy integrations.