Upgrades

kkrolikowskiLess than 1 minuteGuide

Upgrading Talos Linux means replacing the entire system image with a new version. This operation is best performed outside the CI/CD process, upgrading each node separately. This reduces the risk of the cluster getting out of sync.

Upgrading Talos Linux CI/CD not supported

Change the value of the talos_version variable:

inputs.hcl
cluster_endpoint   = "192.0.2.100"
kubernetes_version = "v1.37.1"
talos_version      = "v1.14.2"
talos_version      = "v1.14.3"

Run the deployment targeting individual cluster nodes with the -target option. Before moving on to the next node, wait for Kubernetes to stabilize — once all nodes are Ready, continue.

terragrunt apply -target 'talos_machine.this["talos-dev-cp-node-1"]'
terragrunt apply -target 'talos_machine.this["talos-dev-cp-node-2"]'
terragrunt apply -target 'talos_machine.this["talos-dev-cp-node-3"]'
terragrunt apply -target 'talos_machine.this["talos-dev-worker-node-1"]'
terragrunt apply -target 'talos_machine.this["talos-dev-worker-node-2"]'
terragrunt apply -target 'talos_machine.this["talos-dev-worker-node-3"]'
terragrunt plan

The last command verifies that all resources have been deployed correctly. Expected result: No changes. The final step is to merge the change into the repository through the standard CI/CD path. The No changes status guarantees that the deployment is complete and that running the pipeline will not disrupt the cluster.

Upgrading Kubernetes CI/CD full

Kubernetes can be upgraded through the standard CI/CD path. The deployment itself is quick — Talos takes over the rest of the work and performs it without blocking Terraform.

inputs.hcl
cluster_endpoint   = "192.0.2.100"
kubernetes_version = "v1.36.5"
kubernetes_version = "v1.37.1"
talos_version      = "v1.14.3"

During the Kubernetes upgrade, brief connectivity issues with the control plane are possible.