Sonobuoy

After building or changing a cluster, operators may need evidence about how it behaves rather than just a list of healthy pods. Sonobuoy runs selected diagnostic plugins, including Kubernetes conformance tests, and gathers their output for inspection. It makes the scope and results of those checks easier to collect and compare. Choose tests and images appropriate to the cluster version: a quick smoke run checks the test setup, while a full conformance run answers a broader but still limited question.

Current guidance

The historical Heptio name now leads to the Sonobuoy project’s own documentation. Sonobuoy aggregates plugin execution and result bundles, including Kubernetes end-to-end and conformance tests. The old page’s Kubernetes 1.10–1.12 list is historical; use a current Sonobuoy release and a test image appropriate to the actual cluster version.

The documented quick mode runs a single test to check the setup. It should not be described as a complete conformance assessment, nor does passing conformance validate application recovery, security policy or production performance. Review plugin requirements and the permissions granted to the runner, particularly on a shared or restricted cluster.

Before a run, choose the namespace, test selection, image sources and artifact retention policy. Result bundles can contain cluster resource details, logs and node information, so handle them as operational data. Retrieve and inspect plugin results rather than relying only on process exit, then remove the Sonobuoy namespace and cluster-scoped resources with the documented cleanup. Preserve the cluster version, plugin versions and flags alongside the bundle so a future comparison has a reproducible scope.