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9.1 Talos & Kubernetes Upgrades

This section covers the day-2 upgrade procedures for Talos Linux and Kubernetes using Talhelper. All upgrades follow the same pattern: update the version in talconfig.yaml, regenerate configs, and apply.

Upgrade Talos Linux

To upgrade Talos Linux to a new version:

  1. Update the talosVersion field in talconfig.yaml.
  2. Regenerate the machine configs and upgrade commands.
talhelper genconfig
talhelper gencommand upgrade

Run the generated talosctl upgrade commands to upgrade each node. Control plane nodes are upgraded first, followed by workers.

Warning

Always upgrade one node at a time and verify it rejoins the cluster in a healthy state before proceeding to the next node.

Note

Ensure talosctl is on the same minor version as the target talosVersion. Mismatched versions can cause unexpected behaviour during the upgrade.

Upgrade Kubernetes

To upgrade the Kubernetes version running on your Talos cluster:

  1. Update the kubernetesVersion field in talconfig.yaml.
  2. Regenerate configs and run the upgrade command.
talhelper genconfig
talhelper gencommand upgrade-k8s

The generated talosctl upgrade-k8s command handles the rolling upgrade of the Kubernetes control plane and kubelet across all nodes.

Tip

Check the Talos support matrix to confirm your desired Kubernetes version is compatible with your Talos version before upgrading.

Reset Nodes

To reset one or more nodes back to a clean Talos installation (erasing all data and configuration):

talhelper gencommand reset

Warning

Resetting a node is destructive — it wipes the node's disk and removes it from the cluster. Only use this when decommissioning a node or performing a full cluster rebuild.

Generate Installer Images

Generate URLs for Talos installer images, useful for PXE boot or creating installation media:

# Installer image URL (for PXE / network boot)
talhelper genurl installer

# ISO image URL (for USB / CD boot)
talhelper genurl iso

Further Reading