# What’s New in the Redpanda Operator

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/llms.txt). Component-specific: [streaming-full.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming-full.txt)

---
title: What’s New in the Redpanda Operator
latest-redpanda-tag: v25.3.11
latest-console-tag: v3.7.3
latest-operator-version: v26.1.4
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page-eol-date: November 19, 2026
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docname: release-notes/operator
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page-version: "25.3"
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page-component-title: Streaming
page-relative-src-path: release-notes/operator.adoc
page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/docs/edit/v/25.3/modules/get-started/pages/release-notes/operator.adoc
description: Summary of new features and updates in the Redpanda Operator.
page-git-created-date: "2025-04-07"
page-git-modified-date: "2026-01-06"
support-status: supported
---

<!-- Source: https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/25.3/get-started/release-notes/operator.md -->

This topic includes new content and significant changes in the Redpanda Operator. For a complete list of all updates, see the [Redpanda Operator changelog](https://github.com/redpanda-data/redpanda-operator/blob/v26.1.4/operator/CHANGELOG.md).

See also:

-   [What’s New in Redpanda](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/25.3/get-started/release-notes/redpanda/)

-   [Kubernetes Compatibility](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/25.3/upgrade/k-compatibility/)

-   [Upgrade Redpanda in Kubernetes](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/25.3/upgrade/k-rolling-upgrade/)


## [](#redpanda-operator-v25-3-x)Redpanda Operator v25.3.x

[Changelog](https://github.com/redpanda-data/redpanda-operator/blob/release/v25.3.x/operator/CHANGELOG.md)

### [](#shadowlink-resource-for-disaster-recovery)ShadowLink resource for disaster recovery

Redpanda Operator v25.3.x introduces the ShadowLink custom resource for managing shadow links in Kubernetes. The ShadowLink resource allows you to declaratively configure and manage disaster recovery replication between Redpanda clusters.

-   **Declarative configuration**: Define shadow links as Kubernetes resources with full lifecycle management.

-   **Status monitoring**: View shadow link health and replication status directly from Kubernetes.

-   **Integrated failover**: Delete the ShadowLink resource to fail over all topics.


See [Shadow Linking in Kubernetes](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/25.3/manage/kubernetes/shadowing/k-shadow-linking/) for setup and [monitoring](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/25.3/manage/kubernetes/shadowing/k-monitor-shadowing/) documentation.