[sig-node] [Exception Request] KEP-5825: CRI List Streaming — Code Freeze Exception for v1.36
Ayato Tokubi
Hi,
I am writing to request a code freeze exception for the following enhancement. Please find the details below:
- Enhancement name: CRI List Streaming
- Enhancement status: Alpha
- SIG: SIG Node
- Enhancement issue: https://github.com/kubernetes/enhancements/issues/5825
- PR: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/136987
- Additional time needed: 3 calendar days (due end of day AoE)
Reason this enhancement is critical for this milestone: Kubelet's CRI list operations hit the hard gRPC 16MB message size limit on high-density nodes, causing complete failure to list pods, containers, or images. There is no workaround. This alpha introduces streaming RPCs behind a feature gate (CRIListStreaming, disabled by default) to eliminate this ceiling. Deferring to v1.37 delays relief by ~4 months and pushes runtime ecosystem adoption (containerd, CRI-O) even further out.
Risks from adding code late: Low. The PR has LGTM, thorough review from SIG Node lead (haircommander). The change is purely additive, gated, and falls back to unary RPCs when the runtime returns UNIMPLEMENTED. No existing behavior changes.
Risks from cutting the enhancement:
- Users on high-density nodes remain broken with no workaround
- Runtime projects lose a cycle of lead time to implement streaming endpoints
Please let me know if you need any additional information.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
