What’s New in the Redpanda Operator

This topic includes new content and significant changes in the Redpanda Operator. For a complete list of all updates, see the Redpanda Operator changelog.

See also:

Redpanda Operator v25.2.x

Changelog

Cluster scope by default

Starting in v25.2, the Redpanda Operator defaults to cluster scope instead of namespace scope. This change provides several benefits:

  • Simplified management: A single operator instance can manage multiple Redpanda clusters across different namespaces.

  • Reduced resource overhead: No need to deploy separate operator instances for each namespace.

  • Centralized upgrades: Upgrade the operator once to benefit all managed Redpanda clusters.

  • Cross-namespace management: Deploy the operator in a dedicated namespace (such as redpanda-system) while managing clusters in application namespaces.

  • Simplified RBAC for debug bundles: The Redpanda Operator now provides all required permissions for rpk debug bundle collection by default. The rbac.createRPKBundleCRs flag is no longer needed.

Migration considerations

If you’re upgrading from a previous version that used namespace-scoped operators:

  • No manual steps required: The Redpanda Operator automatically reconciles existing Redpanda clusters across namespaces.

  • New deployments default to cluster scope: Regardless of which namespace you deploy the Redpanda Operator to (including default).

  • Delete extra Redpanda Operator deployments: After upgrading, ensure only one Redpanda Operator remains in the cluster (the one running in cluster scope). Use helm uninstall to remove any other Redpanda Operator deployments from previous namespace-scoped installations.

To maintain namespace scope, use the --set 'additionalCmdFlags=["--namespace=<namespace>"]' flag when installing or upgrading the Redpanda Operator. The --namespace flag in the helm command only specifies which namespace to deploy the Redpanda Operator into and does not affect its operational scope.

Do not run multiple Redpanda Operators in different scopes (cluster and namespace scope) in the same cluster as this can cause resource conflicts.

RBAC requirements

Important RBAC considerations for v25.2+:

  • ClusterRole permissions always required: Regardless of whether you use cluster or namespace scope, the Redpanda Operator always needs ClusterRole permissions.

  • Automatic configuration: These permissions are automatically configured when you install the Redpanda Operator.

Declarative role management

Redpanda Operator v25.2.x now includes a RedpandaRole custom resource. The RedpandaRole resource allows you to declaratively manage Redpanda roles and permissions in Kubernetes, making it easier to control access and automate security policies for your Redpanda clusters. See the RedpandaRole documentation for details.

Redpanda Console v3 support (Console CRD)

Redpanda Operator v25.2.x introduces support for Redpanda Console v3 through the new Console resource. This allows you to deploy and manage Redpanda Console v3 instances directly from the Redpanda Operator.

The console stanza in the Redpanda resource is deprecated and will be removed in a future release.

Existing deployments that use the console stanza in the Redpanda resource will be automatically migrated to the Console resource. The migration happens automatically when you upgrade to v25.2.x.

If you manage your resources in version control, you should:

  1. Fetch and commit the migrated Console CR after the migration completes.

  2. Remove the console stanza from your Redpanda resource after the Console CR is committed to avoid configuration conflicts. Removing the stanza will not affect the migrated Console CR.

The Redpanda Operator handles the migration process from version 2 of Redpanda Console to version 3. If any configurations cannot be migrated, the Redpanda Operator displays warnings in the warnings field of the Console resource. If you need to manually migrate any configurations, refer to the migration guide.

All configuration and management of Redpanda Console should be done through the Console CR. See Configure Redpanda Console.