Deprecated authentication plugin for Kubernetes clients
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In Kubernetes version 1.22, the Kubernetes project deprecated the built-in
authentication mechanism used by clients such as the kubectl command-line tool
to access the Kubernetes API server. The built-in authentication mechanism is
scheduled for removal in Kubernetes 1.26. For context, refer to
GitHub PR 102181.
The removal doesn't affect operators that are deployed in the cluster and use
Kubernetes service accounts to communicate with the API server.
What should you do?
GKE released an updated authentication plugin,
gke-gcloud-auth-plugin. This plugin uses the
client-go Credential Plugins
framework to provide authentication tokens to communicate with
GKE clusters.
You must install the plugin before you update your command-line clients
to version 1.26 and later. If you don't install the plugin, you'll notice an
error message similar to the following.
Unable to connect to the server: getting credentials: exec: executable gke-gcloud-auth-plugin not found
panic: no Auth Provider found for name gcp
Example error: Executable gke-cloud-auth-plugin not found
Unable to connect to the server: getting credentials: exec: executable gke-gcloud-auth-plugin not found
It looks like you are trying to use a client-go credential plugin that is not installed.
To learn more about this feature, consult the documentation available at:
https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/access-authn-authz/authentication/#client-go-credential-plugins
Install gke-gcloud-auth-plugin for use with kubectl by following \
https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/containers-kubernetes/kubectl-auth-changes-in-gke.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-29 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Deprecated authentication plugin for Kubernetes clients\n\n*** ** * ** ***\n\nIn Kubernetes version 1.22, the Kubernetes project deprecated the built-in\nauthentication mechanism used by clients such as the `kubectl` command-line tool\nto access the Kubernetes API server. The built-in authentication mechanism is\nscheduled for removal in Kubernetes 1.26. For context, refer to\n[GitHub PR 102181](https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/102181).\n\nThe removal doesn't affect operators that are deployed in the cluster and use\nKubernetes service accounts to communicate with the API server.\n\nWhat should you do?\n-------------------\n\nGKE released an updated authentication plugin,\n`gke-gcloud-auth-plugin`. This plugin uses the\n[client-go Credential Plugins](https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/access-authn-authz/authentication/#client-go-credential-plugins)\nframework to provide authentication tokens to communicate with\nGKE clusters.\n\nYou must install the plugin before you update your command-line clients\nto version 1.26 and later. If you don't install the plugin, you'll notice an\nerror message similar to the following.\n\nFor instructions, refer to\n[Install required plugins](/kubernetes-engine/docs/how-to/cluster-access-for-kubectl#install_plugin).\n\n### Example error: No auth provider found\n\n Unable to connect to the server: getting credentials: exec: executable gke-gcloud-auth-plugin not found\n\n panic: no Auth Provider found for name gcp\n\n### Example error: Executable gke-cloud-auth-plugin not found\n\n Unable to connect to the server: getting credentials: exec: executable gke-gcloud-auth-plugin not found\n\n It looks like you are trying to use a client-go credential plugin that is not installed.\n\n To learn more about this feature, consult the documentation available at:\n https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/access-authn-authz/authentication/#client-go-credential-plugins\n\n Install gke-gcloud-auth-plugin for use with kubectl by following \\\n https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/containers-kubernetes/kubectl-auth-changes-in-gke."]]
