[![FOSSA Status][fossa-badge]][fossa]

Welcome to the CloudNativePG Project!
CloudNativePG (CNPG) is an open-source platform designed to seamlessly
manage PostgreSQL databases in Kubernetes
environments. It covers the entire operational lifecycle—from deployment to
ongoing maintenance—through its core component, the CloudNativePG operator.
Table of Contents
Getting Started
The best way to get started is the Quickstart Guide.
Scope
Mission
CloudNativePG aims to increase PostgreSQL adoption within Kubernetes by making
it an integral part of the development process and GitOps-driven CI/CD
automation.
Core Principles & Features
Designed by PostgreSQL experts for Kubernetes administrators, CloudNativePG
follows a Kubernetes-native approach to PostgreSQL primary/standby cluster
management. Instead of relying on external high-availability tools (like
Patroni, repmgr, or Stolon), it integrates directly with the Kubernetes API to
automate database operations that a skilled DBA would perform manually.
Key design decisions include:
- Direct integration with Kubernetes API: The PostgreSQL cluster’s status is
available directly in the
Cluster resource, allowing users to inspect it
via the Kubernetes API.
- Operator pattern: The operator ensures that the desired PostgreSQL state is
reconciled automatically, following Kubernetes best practices.
- Immutable application containers: Updates follow an immutable infrastructure
model, as explained in
"Why EDB Chose Immutable Application Containers".
How CloudNativePG Works
The operator continuously monitors and updates the PostgreSQL cluster state.
Examples of automated actions include:
- Failover management: If the primary instance fails, the operator elects a new
primary, updates the cluster status, and orchestrates the transition.
- Scaling read replicas: When the number of desired replicas changes, the
operator provisions or removes resources such as persistent volumes, secrets,
and config maps while managing streaming replication.
- Service updates: Kubernetes remains the single source of truth, ensuring
that PostgreSQL service endpoints are always up to date.
- Rolling updates: When an image is updated, the operator follows a rolling
strategy—first updating replica pods before performing a controlled
switchover for the primary.
CloudNativePG manages additional Kubernetes resources to enhance PostgreSQL
management, including: Backup, ClusterImageCatalog, Database,
ImageCatalog, Pooler, Publication, ScheduledBackup, and Subscription.
Out of Scope
- Kubernetes only: CloudNativePG is dedicated to vanilla Kubernetes
maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation
(CNCF).
- PostgreSQL only: CloudNativePG is dedicated to vanilla PostgreSQL
maintained by the PostgreSQL Global Development Group
(PGDG).
- No support for forks: Features from PostgreSQL forks will only be
considered if they can be integrated as extensions or pluggable frameworks.
- Not a general-purpose database operator: CloudNativePG does not support
other databases (e.g., MariaDB).
CloudNativePG can be extended via the CNPG-I plugin interface.
Communications
Please refer to the Getting in touch
section on the GitHub organization page.
Community Meetings
Everyone is welcome, no invitation needed. For details, see the
Community Meetings
section on the GitHub organization page.
Resources
Adopters
A list of publicly known users of the CloudNativePG operator is in ADOPTERS.md.
Help us grow our community and CloudNativePG by adding yourself and your
organization to this list!
CloudNativePG at KubeCon
- March 25, 2026, KubeCon Europe 2026 in Amsterdam: "Cloud Native Theater / Data on Kubernetes Day: From VMs to Kubernetes in a Large Global Bank: A DBA's Journey" - Gabriele Bartolini, EDB & Laurent Parodi, HSBC
- March 23, 2026, Data on Kubernetes Day at KubeCon Europe 2026 in Amsterdam: "Beyond the DBaaS Trap: Achieving Data Sovereignty with Kubernetes and CloudNativePG" - Floor Drees & Gabriele Bartolini, EDB
- March 23, 2026, KubeCon Europe 2026 in Amsterdam: "Project Lightning Talk: Five Minutes by CloudNativePG River" - Gabriele Quaresima, Contributor
- November 10, 2025, KubeCon North America 2025 in Atlanta: "Project Lightning Talk: CloudNativePG: Running Postgres The Kubernetes Way" - Gabriele Bartolini, EDB
- November 11, 2025, KubeCon North America 2025 in Atlanta: "Modern PostgreSQL Authorization With Keycloak: Cloud Native Identity Meets Database Security" - Yoshiyuki Tabata, Hitachi, Ltd. & Gabriele Bartolini, EDB
- November 13, 2025, KubeCon North America 2025 in Atlanta: "Quorum-Based Consistency for Cluster Changes With CloudNativePG Operator" - Jeremy Schneider, GEICO Tech & Gabriele Bartolini, EDB
- April 4, 2025, KubeCon Europe in London: "Consistent Volume Group Snapshots, Unraveling the Magic" - Leonardo Cecchi (EDB) and Xing Yang (VMware)
- November 11, 2024, Cloud Native Rejekts NA 2024: "Maximising Microservice Databases with Kubernetes, Postgres, and CloudNativePG" - Gabriele Bartolini (EDB) and Leonardo Cecchi (EDB)
- March 21, 2024, KubeCon Europe 2024 in Paris: "Scaling Heights: Mastering Postgres Database Vertical Scalability with Kubernetes Storage Magic" - Gari Singh, Google & Gabriele Bartolini, EDB
- March 19, 2024, Data on Kubernetes Day at KubeCon Europe 2024 in Paris: "From Zero to Hero: Scaling Postgres in Kubernetes Using the Power of CloudNativePG" - Gabriele Bartolini, EDB
- November 7, 2023, KubeCon North America 2023 in Chicago: "Disaster Recovery with Very Large Postgres Databases (in Kubernetes)" - Michelle Au, Google & Gabriele Bartolini, EDB
- October 27, 2022, KubeCon North America 2022 in Detroit: "Data On Kubernetes, Deploying And Running PostgreSQL And Patterns For Databases In a Kubernetes Cluster" - Chris Milsted, Ondat & Gabriele Bartolini, EDB
Useful links
We are a Cloud Native Computing Foundation Sandbox project.
<img align="center" src="https://github.com/cncf/artwork/blob/main/other/cncf/horizontal/color/cncf-color.svg?raw=true" alt="CNCF logo" width="50%"/>
CloudNativePG was originally built and sponsored by EDB.
<img align="center" src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cloudnative-pg/.github/main/logo/edb_landscape_color_grey.svg" alt="EDB logo" width="25%"/>
Postgres, PostgreSQL, and the Slonik Logo
are trademarks or registered trademarks of the PostgreSQL Community Association
of Canada, and used with their permission.