Skip to content

Upgrade etcd from v3.5 to v3.6

Processes, checklists, and notes on upgrading etcd from v3.5 to v3.6

In the general case, upgrading from etcd v3.5 to v3.6 can be a zero-downtime, rolling upgrade:

  • one by one, stop the etcd v3.5 processes and replace them with etcd v3.6 processes
  • after running all v3.6 processes, new features in v3.6 are available to the cluster

Before starting an upgrade , read through the rest of this guide to prepare.

Upgrade checklists

Update 3.5

Important

Before upgrading to 3.6, make sure that all of your 3.5 members are updated to 3.5.32 or later . Patch releases 3.5.24 through 3.5.26 fix several potential upgrade blockers; 3.5.32 adds --v2-deprecation=write-only-skip-check and extends etcdutl check v2store to inspect WAL records as well as the v2 snapshot.

V2 Store

Note

If the --enable-v2 flag is not configured or is set to false, no further action is required.

If --enable-v2 is configured, run the command etcdutl check v2store to verify whether the v2store contains any non-membership (custom) data. If no custom data is present, the flag can be safely removed. Otherwise, refer to the v2 migration guide for more details.

Flags added

+etcd --discovery-token ''
+etcd --discovery-endpoints ''
+etcd --discovery-dial-timeout '2s'
+etcd --discovery-request-timeout '5s'
+etcd --discovery-keepalive-time '2s'
+etcd --discovery-keepalive-timeout '6s'
+etcd --discovery-insecure-transport 'true'
+etcd --discovery-insecure-skip-tls-verify 'false'
+etcd --discovery-cert ''
+etcd --discovery-key ''
+etcd --discovery-cacert ''
+etcd --discovery-user ''
+etcd --discovery-password ''
+etcd --feature-gates
+etcd --log-format

Flags removed

-etcd --enable-v2
-etcd --experimental-enable-v2v3
-etcd --proxy
-etcd --proxy-failure-wait
-etcd --proxy-refresh-interval
-etcd --proxy-dial-timeout
-etcd --proxy-write-timeout
-etcd --proxy-read-timeout

Flags deprecated

etcd --experimental-bootstrap-defrag-threshold-megabytes flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-bootstrap-defrag-threshold-megabytes

+etcd --bootstrap-defrag-threshold-megabytes

etcd --experimental-compaction-batch-limit flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-compaction-batch-limit

+etcd --compaction-batch-limit

etcd --experimental-compact-hash-check-time flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-compact-hash-check-time

+etcd --compact-hash-check-time

etcd --experimental-compaction-sleep-interval flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-compaction-sleep-interval

+etcd --compaction-sleep-interval

etcd --experimental-corrupt-check-time flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-corrupt-check-time

+etcd --corrupt-check-time

etcd --experimental-enable-distributed-tracing flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-enable-distributed-tracing

+etcd --enable-distributed-tracing

etcd --experimental-distributed-tracing-address flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-distributed-tracing-address

+etcd --distributed-tracing-address

etcd --experimental-distributed-tracing-instance-id flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-distributed-tracing-instance-id

+etcd --distributed-tracing-instance-id

etcd --experimental-distributed-tracing-sampling-rate flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-distributed-tracing-sampling-rate

+etcd --distributed-tracing-sampling-rate

etcd --experimental-distributed-tracing-service-name flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-distributed-tracing-service-name

+etcd --distributed-tracing-service-name

etcd --experimental-downgrade-check-time flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-downgrade-check-time

+etcd --downgrade-check-time

etcd --experimental-max-learners flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-max-learners

+etcd --max-learners

etcd --experimental-memory-mlock flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-memory-mlock

+etcd --memory-mlock

etcd --experimental-peer-skip-client-san-verification flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-peer-skip-client-san-verification

+etcd --peer-skip-client-san-verification

etcd --experimental-snapshot-catchup-entries flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-snapshot-catchup-entries

+etcd --snapshot-catchup-entries

etcd --experimental-warning-apply-duration flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-warning-apply-duration

+etcd --warning-apply-duration

etcd --experimental-warning-unary-request-duration flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-warning-unary-request-duration

+etcd --warning-unary-request-duration

etcd --experimental-watch-progress-notify-interval flag has been deprecated.


-etcd --experimental-watch-progress-notify-interval

+etcd --watch-progress-notify-interval

Equivalent flags of v3.5 feature gates

equivalent flag for feature gate etcd --experimental-compact-hash-check-enabled=true


-etcd --experimental-compact-hash-check-enabled=true

+etcd --feature-gates=CompactHashCheck=true

equivalent flag for feature gate etcd --experimental-initial-corrupt-check=true


-etcd --experimental-initial-corrupt-check=true

+etcd --feature-gates=InitialCorruptCheck=true

equivalent flag for feature gate etcd --experimental-enable-lease-checkpoint=true


-etcd --experimental-enable-lease-checkpoint=true

+etcd --feature-gates=LeaseCheckpoint=true

equivalent flag for feature gate etcd --experimental-enable-lease-checkpoint-persist=true


-etcd --experimental-enable-lease-checkpoint-persist=true

+etcd --feature-gates=LeaseCheckpointPersist=true

equivalent flag for feature gate etcd --experimental-stop-grpc-service-on-defrag=true


-etcd --experimental-stop-grpc-service-on-defrag=true

+etcd --feature-gates=StopGRPCServiceOnDefrag=true

equivalent flag for feature gate etcd --experimental-txn-mode-write-with-shared-buffer=false


-etcd --experimental-txn-mode-write-with-shared-buffer=false

+etcd --feature-gates=TxnModeWriteWithSharedBuffer=false

Flags with new defaults

Original default flag etcd --snapshot-count=100000


-etcd --snapshot-count=100000

+etcd --snapshot-count=10000

Original default flag etcd --v2-deprecation='not-yet'


-etcd --v2-deprecation='not-yet'

+etcd --v2-deprecation='write-only'

Original default flag etcd --discovery-fallback='proxy'


-etcd --discovery-fallback='proxy'

+etcd --discovery-fallback='exit'

Difference in Prometheus metrics

# metrics added in v3.6
+etcd_network_known_peers
+etcd_server_feature_enabled

Server upgrade checklists

Upgrade requirements

To upgrade an existing etcd deployment to v3.6, the running cluster must be v3.5 or greater. If it’s before v3.5, please upgrade to v3.5 before upgrading to v3.6.

Also, to ensure a smooth rolling upgrade, the running cluster must be healthy. Check the health of the cluster by using the etcdctl endpoint health command before proceeding.

Preparation

Before upgrading etcd, always test the services relying on etcd in a staging environment before deploying the upgrade to the production environment.

Before beginning, download the snapshot backup . Should something go wrong with the upgrade, it is possible to use this backup to rollback back to existing etcd version. Please note that the snapshot command only backs up the v3 data.

Mixed versions

While upgrading, an etcd cluster supports mixed versions of etcd members, and operates with the protocol of the lowest common version. The cluster is only considered upgraded once all of its members are upgraded to version v3.6. Internally, etcd members negotiate with each other to determine the overall cluster version, which controls the reported version and the supported features.

Rollback

Before upgrading your etcd cluster, please create and download a snapshot backup of your etcd cluster. This snapshot can be used to restore the cluster to its pre-upgrade state if needed. If users encounter issues during the upgrade, they should first identify and resolve the root cause. If the cluster is still in a mixed-version state—where at least one member remains on v3.5—they can either replace the binary or image with the old v3.5 version or restore the cluster directly using the snapshot. In this mixed state, the cluster continues to operate as a v3.5 cluster, allowing rollback without following a formal downgrade process.

However, once all members have been upgraded to v3.6, the cluster is considered fully upgraded and rollback using binaries is no longer possible. In that case, the only recovery option is to restore from the snapshot taken before the upgrade. If users wish to return to the original version after a full upgrade has completed, they should follow the official downgrade guide to ensure consistency and avoid data corruption.

Upgrade procedure

This example shows how to upgrade a 3-member v3.5 etcd cluster running on a local machine.

Step 1: check upgrade requirements

Is the cluster healthy and running v3.5.x?

etcdctl --endpoints=localhost:2379,localhost:22379,localhost:32379 endpoint health
<<COMMENT
localhost:2379 is healthy: successfully committed proposal: took = 2.555774ms
localhost:32379 is healthy: successfully committed proposal: took = 2.631133ms
localhost:22379 is healthy: successfully committed proposal: took = 3.020958ms
COMMENT

curl http://localhost:2379/version
<<COMMENT
{"etcdserver":"3.5.18","etcdcluster":"3.5.0"}
COMMENT

curl http://localhost:22379/version
<<COMMENT
{"etcdserver":"3.5.18","etcdcluster":"3.5.0"}
COMMENT

curl http://localhost:32379/version
<<COMMENT
{"etcdserver":"3.5.18","etcdcluster":"3.5.0"}
COMMENT

Step 2: download snapshot backup from leader

Download the snapshot backup to provide a downgrade path should any problems occur.

etcd leader is guaranteed to have the latest application data, thus fetch snapshot from leader:

curl -sL http://localhost:2379/metrics | grep etcd_server_is_leader
<<COMMENT
# HELP etcd_server_is_leader Whether or not this member is a leader. 1 if is, 0 otherwise.
# TYPE etcd_server_is_leader gauge
etcd_server_is_leader 1
COMMENT

curl -sL http://localhost:22379/metrics | grep etcd_server_is_leader
<<COMMENT
etcd_server_is_leader 0
COMMENT

curl -sL http://localhost:32379/metrics | grep etcd_server_is_leader
<<COMMENT
etcd_server_is_leader 0
COMMENT

etcdctl --endpoints=localhost:2379 snapshot save backup.db
<<COMMENT
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:34:10.336768+0530","caller":"snapshot/v3_snapshot.go:65","msg":"created temporary db file","path":"backup.db.part"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:34:10.342373+0530","logger":"client","caller":"v3@v3.5.18/maintenance.go:212","msg":"opened snapshot stream; downloading"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:34:10.342433+0530","caller":"snapshot/v3_snapshot.go:73","msg":"fetching snapshot","endpoint":"localhost:2379"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:34:10.346482+0530","logger":"client","caller":"v3@v3.5.18/maintenance.go:220","msg":"completed snapshot read; closing"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:34:10.348801+0530","caller":"snapshot/v3_snapshot.go:88","msg":"fetched snapshot","endpoint":"localhost:2379","size":"20 kB","took":"now"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:34:10.348933+0530","caller":"snapshot/v3_snapshot.go:97","msg":"saved","path":"backup.db"}
Snapshot saved at backup.db
COMMENT

Step 3: stop one existing etcd server

When each etcd process is stopped, expected errors will be logged by other cluster members. This is normal since a cluster member connection has been (temporarily) broken:

{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:31:50.654520+0530","caller":"etcdserver/server.go:2676","msg":"cluster version is updated","cluster-version":"3.5"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:34:10.345927+0530","caller":"v3rpc/maintenance.go:130","msg":"sending database snapshot to client","total-bytes":20480,"size":"20 kB"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:34:10.346094+0530","caller":"v3rpc/maintenance.go:170","msg":"sending database sha256 checksum to client","total-bytes":20480,"checksum-size":32}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:34:10.346108+0530","caller":"v3rpc/maintenance.go:179","msg":"successfully sent database snapshot to client","total-bytes":20480,"size":"20 kB","took":"now"}
^C
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.443045+0530","caller":"osutil/interrupt_unix.go:64","msg":"received signal; shutting down","signal":"interrupt"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.443088+0530","caller":"embed/etcd.go:408","msg":"closing etcd server","name":"node1","data-dir":"/tmp/etcd-node1","advertise-peer-urls":["http://127.0.0.1:2380"],"advertise-client-urls":["http://127.0.0.1:2379"]}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.443417+0530","caller":"etcdserver/server.go:1503","msg":"leadership transfer starting","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","current-leader-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","transferee-member-id":"91bc3c398fb3c146"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.443441+0530","logger":"raft","caller":"etcdserver/zap_raft.go:77","msg":"bf9071f4639c75cc [term 2] starts to transfer leadership to 91bc3c398fb3c146"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.443455+0530","logger":"raft","caller":"etcdserver/zap_raft.go:77","msg":"bf9071f4639c75cc sends MsgTimeoutNow to 91bc3c398fb3c146 immediately as 91bc3c398fb3c146 already has up-to-date log"}
{"level":"warn","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.443517+0530","caller":"embed/serve.go:179","msg":"stopping insecure grpc server due to error","error":"accept tcp 127.0.0.1:2379: use of closed network connection"}
{"level":"warn","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.443548+0530","caller":"embed/serve.go:181","msg":"stopped insecure grpc server due to error","error":"accept tcp 127.0.0.1:2379: use of closed network connection"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.445536+0530","logger":"raft","caller":"etcdserver/zap_raft.go:77","msg":"bf9071f4639c75cc [term: 2] received a MsgVote message with higher term from 91bc3c398fb3c146 [term: 3]"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.445556+0530","logger":"raft","caller":"etcdserver/zap_raft.go:77","msg":"bf9071f4639c75cc became follower at term 3"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.445565+0530","logger":"raft","caller":"etcdserver/zap_raft.go:77","msg":"bf9071f4639c75cc [logterm: 2, index: 12, vote: 0] cast MsgVote for 91bc3c398fb3c146 [logterm: 2, index: 12] at term 3"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.445572+0530","logger":"raft","caller":"etcdserver/zap_raft.go:77","msg":"raft.node: bf9071f4639c75cc lost leader bf9071f4639c75cc at term 3"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.446773+0530","logger":"raft","caller":"etcdserver/zap_raft.go:77","msg":"raft.node: bf9071f4639c75cc elected leader 91bc3c398fb3c146 at term 3"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.544062+0530","caller":"etcdserver/server.go:1520","msg":"leadership transfer finished","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","old-leader-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","new-leader-member-id":"91bc3c398fb3c146","took":"100.640374ms"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.544160+0530","caller":"rafthttp/peer.go:330","msg":"stopping remote peer","remote-peer-id":"91bc3c398fb3c146"}
{"level":"warn","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.544956+0530","caller":"rafthttp/stream.go:286","msg":"closed TCP streaming connection with remote peer","stream-writer-type":"stream MsgApp v2","remote-peer-id":"91bc3c398fb3c146"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.544984+0530","caller":"rafthttp/stream.go:294","msg":"stopped TCP streaming connection with remote peer","stream-writer-type":"stream MsgApp v2","remote-peer-id":"91bc3c398fb3c146"}
{"level":"warn","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545050+0530","caller":"rafthttp/stream.go:286","msg":"closed TCP streaming connection with remote peer","stream-writer-type":"stream Message","remote-peer-id":"91bc3c398fb3c146"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545065+0530","caller":"rafthttp/stream.go:294","msg":"stopped TCP streaming connection with remote peer","stream-writer-type":"stream Message","remote-peer-id":"91bc3c398fb3c146"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545099+0530","caller":"rafthttp/pipeline.go:85","msg":"stopped HTTP pipelining with remote peer","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id":"91bc3c398fb3c146"}
{"level":"warn","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545156+0530","caller":"rafthttp/stream.go:421","msg":"lost TCP streaming connection with remote peer","stream-reader-type":"stream MsgApp v2","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id":"91bc3c398fb3c146","error":"context canceled"}
{"level":"warn","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545178+0530","caller":"rafthttp/peer_status.go:66","msg":"peer became inactive (message send to peer failed)","peer-id":"91bc3c398fb3c146","error":"failed to read 91bc3c398fb3c146 on stream MsgApp v2 (context canceled)"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545199+0530","caller":"rafthttp/stream.go:442","msg":"stopped stream reader with remote peer","stream-reader-type":"stream MsgApp v2","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id":"91bc3c398fb3c146"}
{"level":"warn","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545246+0530","caller":"rafthttp/stream.go:421","msg":"lost TCP streaming connection with remote peer","stream-reader-type":"stream Message","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id":"91bc3c398fb3c146","error":"context canceled"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545263+0530","caller":"rafthttp/stream.go:442","msg":"stopped stream reader with remote peer","stream-reader-type":"stream Message","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id":"91bc3c398fb3c146"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545272+0530","caller":"rafthttp/peer.go:335","msg":"stopped remote peer","remote-peer-id":"91bc3c398fb3c146"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545282+0530","caller":"rafthttp/peer.go:330","msg":"stopping remote peer","remote-peer-id":"fd422379fda50e48"}
{"level":"warn","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545307+0530","caller":"rafthttp/stream.go:286","msg":"closed TCP streaming connection with remote peer","stream-writer-type":"stream MsgApp v2","remote-peer-id":"fd422379fda50e48"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545328+0530","caller":"rafthttp/stream.go:294","msg":"stopped TCP streaming connection with remote peer","stream-writer-type":"stream MsgApp v2","remote-peer-id":"fd422379fda50e48"}
{"level":"warn","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545359+0530","caller":"rafthttp/stream.go:286","msg":"closed TCP streaming connection with remote peer","stream-writer-type":"stream Message","remote-peer-id":"fd422379fda50e48"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545379+0530","caller":"rafthttp/stream.go:294","msg":"stopped TCP streaming connection with remote peer","stream-writer-type":"stream Message","remote-peer-id":"fd422379fda50e48"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545410+0530","caller":"rafthttp/pipeline.go:85","msg":"stopped HTTP pipelining with remote peer","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id":"fd422379fda50e48"}
{"level":"warn","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545467+0530","caller":"rafthttp/stream.go:421","msg":"lost TCP streaming connection with remote peer","stream-reader-type":"stream MsgApp v2","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id":"fd422379fda50e48","error":"context canceled"}
{"level":"warn","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545485+0530","caller":"rafthttp/peer_status.go:66","msg":"peer became inactive (message send to peer failed)","peer-id":"fd422379fda50e48","error":"failed to read fd422379fda50e48 on stream MsgApp v2 (context canceled)"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545504+0530","caller":"rafthttp/stream.go:442","msg":"stopped stream reader with remote peer","stream-reader-type":"stream MsgApp v2","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id":"fd422379fda50e48"}
{"level":"warn","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545560+0530","caller":"rafthttp/stream.go:421","msg":"lost TCP streaming connection with remote peer","stream-reader-type":"stream Message","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id":"fd422379fda50e48","error":"context canceled"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545577+0530","caller":"rafthttp/stream.go:442","msg":"stopped stream reader with remote peer","stream-reader-type":"stream Message","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id":"fd422379fda50e48"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545592+0530","caller":"rafthttp/peer.go:335","msg":"stopped remote peer","remote-peer-id":"fd422379fda50e48"}
{"level":"warn","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545669+0530","caller":"rafthttp/http.go:413","msg":"failed to find remote peer in cluster","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id-stream-handler":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id-from":"91bc3c398fb3c146","cluster-id":"59a05384c9b79ee"}
{"level":"warn","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545698+0530","caller":"rafthttp/http.go:413","msg":"failed to find remote peer in cluster","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id-stream-handler":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id-from":"fd422379fda50e48","cluster-id":"59a05384c9b79ee"}
{"level":"warn","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545732+0530","caller":"rafthttp/http.go:413","msg":"failed to find remote peer in cluster","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id-stream-handler":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id-from":"91bc3c398fb3c146","cluster-id":"59a05384c9b79ee"}
{"level":"warn","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.545765+0530","caller":"rafthttp/http.go:413","msg":"failed to find remote peer in cluster","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id-stream-handler":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-peer-id-from":"fd422379fda50e48","cluster-id":"59a05384c9b79ee"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:01.549658+0530","caller":"embed/etcd.go:613","msg":"stopping serving peer traffic","address":"127.0.0.1:2380"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:02.550532+0530","caller":"embed/etcd.go:618","msg":"stopped serving peer traffic","address":"127.0.0.1:2380"}
{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:35:02.550561+0530","caller":"embed/etcd.go:410","msg":"closed etcd server","name":"node1","data-dir":"/tmp/etcd-node1","advertise-peer-urls":["http://127.0.0.1:2380"],"advertise-client-urls":["http://127.0.0.1:2379"]}

Step 4: restart the etcd server with same configuration

Restart the etcd server with same configuration but with the new etcd binary.

-etcd-old --name ${name} \
+etcd-new --name ${name} \
  --data-dir /path/to/${name}.etcd \
  --listen-client-urls http://localhost:2379 \
  --advertise-client-urls http://localhost:2379 \
  --listen-peer-urls http://localhost:2380 \
  --initial-advertise-peer-urls http://localhost:2380 \
  --initial-cluster s1=http://localhost:2380,s2=http://localhost:22380,s3=http://localhost:32380 \
  --initial-cluster-token tkn \
  --initial-cluster-state new

The new v3.6 etcd will publish its information to the cluster. At this point, cluster still operates as v3.5 protocol, which is the lowest common version.

{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:40:36.828+0530","caller":"api/capability.go:76","msg":"enabled capabilities for version","cluster-version":"3.5"}

{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:40:36.889+0530","caller":"membership/cluster.go:539","msg":"updated cluster version","cluster-id":"59a05384c9b79ee","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","from":"3.0","to":"3.5"}

{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:40:36.828+0530","caller":"api/capability.go:76","msg":"enabled capabilities for version","cluster-version":"3.5"}

{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:40:36.894+0530","caller":"etcdserver/server.go:1686","msg":"published local member to cluster through raft","local-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","local-member-attributes":"{Name:node1 ClientURLs:[http://127.0.0.1:2379]}","cluster-id":"59a05384c9b79ee","publish-timeout":"7s"}

Verify that each member, and then the entire cluster, becomes healthy with the new v3.6 etcd binary:

etcdctl endpoint health --endpoints=localhost:2379,localhost:22379,localhost:32379
<<COMMENT
localhost:2379 is healthy: successfully committed proposal: took = 1.704998ms
localhost:22379 is healthy: successfully committed proposal: took = 2.331754ms
localhost:32379 is healthy: successfully committed proposal: took = 2.490705ms
COMMENT

Un-upgraded members will log warnings like the following until the entire cluster is upgraded.

This is expected and will cease after all etcd cluster members are upgraded to v3.6:

{"level":"warn","ts":"2025-03-01T04:40:37.545960+0530","caller":"etcdserver/cluster_util.go:189","msg":"leader found higher-versioned member","local-member-version":"3.5.18","remote-member-id":"bf9071f4639c75cc","remote-member-version":"3.6.0-alpha.0"}

Step 5: repeat step 3 and step 4 for rest of the members

When all members are upgraded, the cluster will report upgrading to v3.6 successfully:

Member 1:

{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:58:32.375+0530","caller":"etcdserver/server.go:2149","msg":"updating cluster version using v3 API","from":"3.5","to":"3.6"} {"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:58:32.377+0530","caller":"etcdserver/server.go:2164","msg":"cluster version is updated","cluster-version":"3.6"}

Member 2:

{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:58:32.377+0530","caller":"membership/cluster.go:539","msg":"updated cluster version","cluster-id":"59a05384c9b79ee","local-member-id":"91bc3c398fb3c146","from":"3.5","to":"3.6"}

Member 3:

{"level":"info","ts":"2025-03-01T04:58:32.377+0530","caller":"membership/cluster.go:539","msg":"updated cluster version","cluster-id":"59a05384c9b79ee","local-member-id":"fd422379fda50e48","from":"3.5","to":"3.6"}

endpoint health --endpoints=localhost:2379,localhost:22379,localhost:32379
<<COMMENT
localhost:2379 is healthy: successfully committed proposal: took = 492.834µs
localhost:22379 is healthy: successfully committed proposal: took = 1.015025ms
localhost:32379 is healthy: successfully committed proposal: took = 1.853077ms
COMMENT

curl http://localhost:2379/version
<<COMMENT
{"etcdserver":"3.6.0-alpha.0","etcdcluster":"3.6.0"}
COMMENT

curl http://localhost:22379/version
<<COMMENT
{"etcdserver":"3.6.0-alpha.0","etcdcluster":"3.6.0"}
COMMENT

curl http://localhost:32379/version
<<COMMENT
{"etcdserver":"3.6.0-alpha.0","etcdcluster":"3.6.0"}
COMMENT
Last modified September 8, 2026 · refactor(docs): move component documentation under /docs (f643529)
Adapted from etcd v3.7 documentation (v3.7, commit 8245979), Copyright 2013-present etcd Authors, under CC BY 4.0. See attribution and change history.