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Kubeshark

INFRA · APIS
Velocity0.0

Real-time network traffic analyzer for Kubernetes

kubeshark.co ↗

Kubeshark rebuilt its backend for V2 and is redrawing the free tier around it.

kubernetesnetwork-observabilitypacket-captureebpflicensingplatform-rewrite
◆Current state
Kubeshark is mid-transition from V1 to V2, announced for January 2026. The v52.11.0 release rewrote the backend entirely — V2 runs on the new implementation while V1 stays on the legacy one — and added cluster-wide L4 PCAP export plus L7-to-L4 mapping that ties API calls back to the TCP and UDP connections carrying them. Since then the releases have been smaller: connectivity map performance, per-flow PCAP files in snapshot archives, and a migration of every service domain from kubehq.com to kubeshark.com.
◆Where it's heading
The product is moving down the stack. It started as an API-level traffic viewer and the recent work is all about L4 — connectivity maps, raw PCAP export, mapping L7 calls onto the connections beneath them — which puts it closer to a cluster-wide packet capture tool than a service-mesh observability dashboard. The licensing is moving in the opposite direction of the feature set: an almost-unlimited complimentary licence through the end of 2025 was replaced by one capped at 100 nodes, so the free tier is being defined rather than left open. Two releases also mention agentic infrastructure being staged but not yet usable.
◆Prediction
Expect V2 to consolidate onto the new backend and the legacy V1 path to be dropped once the transition completes, since the release notes already describe V1 as being sunset. The staged agentic infrastructure is the most likely candidate for the next substantive feature, given it has been shipped inert twice.

◆Recent moves

  1. 6mo ago

    v52.12.0 moves every service domain to kubeshark.com

    Improves cluster-wide L4 connectivity map performance and adds individual PCAP files to snapshot archives, but the operationally significant change is migrating docs, demo, console, helm and api endpoints off kubehq.com. Existing installations need the Helm repository removed and re-added, which makes this a release that breaks silently if skipped.

    View source ↗
  2. 6mo ago

    Complimentary licence is redefined as free up to 100 nodes

    Replaces the almost-unlimited complimentary licence that expired at the end of 2025 with one bounded at 100 nodes. The free tier is now a defined size rather than an open-ended promotion, which matters more to prospective users than any feature in this release.

    View source ↗
  3. 7mo ago

    Backend fully rewritten for V2, with L7-to-L4 traffic mapping

    ⚡ SPARK

    The release that starts the V1-to-V2 transition and sets the direction everything since has followed: a rewritten backend, cluster-wide PCAP export, and L7 calls mapped onto the L4 connections underneath them. The subsequent releases are performance and packaging work on top of this foundation.

    View source ↗
  4. 8mo ago

    Near-unlimited complimentary licence bundled into the Helm chart

    Ships an almost-unlimited complimentary licence pre-included as a Helm value, valid through the end of 2025 — the open-ended offer that the 100-node cap later replaced. Also requires removing the previous Helm repository before installing, a pattern repeated in the domain migration two releases later.

    View source ↗