Identify clusters where etcd usage is approaching the limit
GKE provides insights and recommendations for the scenario where etcd usage is approaching the limit. You can find these insights and recommendations in the following ways:
Use the Google Cloud console. Go to the Kubernetes clusters page. In the Notifications column for specific clusters, check for the Free up space to reduce risk of cluster instability recommendation.
Use the gcloud CLI or Recommender API by specifying the
ETCD_DB_USAGE_APPROACHING_LIMIT recommender
subtype.
To query for this recommendation, run the following command:
To implement this recommendation, remove any unnecessary data from etcd to free up space. This might involve deleting old resources or moving large objects out of etcd. For more information, see Plan for large GKE clusters.
[[["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 2025-09-04 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Troubleshooting scalability in GKE\n\n[Autopilot](/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/autopilot-overview) [Standard](/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/choose-cluster-mode)\n\n*** ** * ** ***\n\nThis page shows you how to investigate and resolve GKE scalability\nrelated issues.\nIf you need additional assistance, reach out to [Cloud Customer Care](/kubernetes-engine/docs/getting-support).\n\nIdentify clusters where etcd usage is approaching the limit\n-----------------------------------------------------------\n\nGKE provides insights and recommendations for the scenario where etcd usage is approaching the limit. You can find these insights and recommendations in the following ways:\n\n- Use the Google Cloud console. Go to the [Kubernetes clusters](https://console.cloud.google.com/kubernetes/list) page. In the **Notifications** column for specific clusters, check for the **Free up space to reduce risk of cluster instability** recommendation.\n- Use the gcloud CLI or Recommender API by specifying the\n `ETCD_DB_USAGE_APPROACHING_LIMIT` recommender\n subtype.\n\n To query for this recommendation, run the following command: \n\n gcloud recommender recommendations list \\\n --recommender=google.container.DiagnosisRecommender \\\n --location \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eLOCATION\u003c/var\u003e \\\n --project \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003ePROJECT_ID\u003c/var\u003e \\\n --format yaml \\\n --filter=\"recommenderSubtype:ETCD_DB_USAGE_APPROACHING_LIMIT\"\n\n| **Note:** This recommendation might take up to 24 hours to appear. For detailed instructions, see how to [view insights and recommendations](/kubernetes-engine/docs/how-to/optimize-with-recommenders#view-insights-recs).\n\nTo implement this recommendation, remove any unnecessary data from etcd to free up space. This might involve deleting old resources or moving large objects out of etcd. For more information, see [Plan for large GKE clusters](/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/planning-large-clusters#limits-best-practices-large-scale-clusters).\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\nIf you need additional assistance, reach out to [Cloud Customer Care](/kubernetes-engine/docs/getting-support)."]]