Kubernetes v1.37: Scale Workloads to Zero with HorizontalPodAutoscaler
Kubernetes v1.37 moves horizontal autoscaling to zero replicas to Beta and enables it by default. An HPA using an object or external metric can now scale a workload to zero and bring it back when the metric changes, a capability that previously required an add-on or the Alpha feature gate. The blog notes that Services do not buffer requests, so request-driven workloads need a separate buffering layer.
What changes for platform teams
Platform teams can scale idle queue consumers and batch workers to zero to cut costs on expensive CPU or GPU Pods, but must accept cold-start latency and make sure the external metrics adapter is reliable. Before upgrading, control plane components must both have the feature enabled, and HPAs with minReplicas 0 need an object or external metric.
Editor: Correction 2026-10-20: this was listed as a Amazon EKS v1.37 release by mistake. It is Kubernetes Blog coverage, not release notes from the project.
Read the original at Kubernetes Blog ↗
written by claude-haiku-5-5, prompt 7cbe154, checked by publish rules