EDB is proud to announce that CloudNativePG has officially been accepted into the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) Sandbox. This incredible milestone marks a pivotal moment for the PostgreSQL project and its community, reaffirming PostgreSQL’s growing influence in the world of cloud-native technologies. As the CNCF continues to shape the future of cloud computing, the inclusion of CloudNativePG underscores its importance as a cutting-edge solution for managing PostgreSQL in Kubernetes environments.
Building the cloud-native ecosystem together
The CNCF Sandbox serves as an incubator for innovative, early-stage projects that demonstrate the potential to become integral parts of the cloud-native ecosystem. Being accepted into the CNCF Sandbox is more than just an endorsement; it represents a vote of confidence from the CNCF Technical Oversight Committee (TOC) and positions CloudNativePG as a key player in the future of cloud-native database management.
This achievement is groundbreaking not only for EDB but for the entire PostgreSQL community. For the first time, PostgreSQL—the 2024 Database of the Year—has officially entered the CNCF, setting a new benchmark for database technologies in the Kubernetes era.
In May 2022, EDB contributed its proprietary operator, previously known as Cloud Native Postgres, to a newly established open-source community under the name CloudNativePG, driven by a long-term vision and commitment to becoming a CNCF project.
The power of the open source community
In just two years since its open-source launch, CloudNativePG has climbed past early leaders like Zalando and CrunchyData, racking up more than 5,000 stars on GitHub to become the world’s most popular PostgreSQL operator.
CloudNativePG is an open-source Kubernetes operator designed to simplify and automate the lifecycle management of PostgreSQL clusters in cloud-native environments. It brings a comprehensive, security-focused, and highly available PostgreSQL solution to Kubernetes users, enabling seamless integration into modern infrastructure workflows.
Key features of CloudNativePG include:
- Lifecycle Automation: Deployment, scaling, backups, failovers, and maintenance are all automated.
- High Availability and Disaster Recovery: Ensures resilience and fault tolerance for critical workloads.
- Security by Default: Incorporates robust security measures out of the box.
- Observability: Provides Prometheus metrics and Grafana dashboards for real-time monitoring.
- Extensibility: Supports custom workflows and third-party plugins through the CNPG-I framework.
By adhering to Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles, CloudNativePG empowers DevOps teams to declaratively manage PostgreSQL clusters while meeting the demands of modern, data-intensive applications like AI, ML, and advanced analytics.
The Rise of CloudNativePG
EDB VP and Chief Architect Gabriele Bartolini, one of the founders of CloudNativePG, has been instrumental in fostering innovation within the cloud-native space. Gabriele and the entire CloudNativePG team have worked tirelessly to build a platform that simplifies the complexity of managing PostgreSQL in cloud environments and aligns with the CNCF’s mission to make cloud-native computing ubiquitous and accessible.
When sharing the announcement of CloudNativePG being officially accepted into the CNCF Sandbox, Gabriele said, “It’s a proud moment for our community and a step forward in shaping the future of PostgreSQL for the years to come. Thank you to everyone who believed in this project and contributed along the way—we couldn't have done it without you!”
CloudNativePG represents the vision of combining PostgreSQL’s robustness with the scalability, flexibility, and breadth of Kubernetes to achieve cloud neutrality. Gabriele’s dedication to advancing PostgreSQL and fostering innovation within the cloud-native space has been pivotal to the success of every milestone for CloudNativePG, from becoming the world’s #1 PostgreSQL operator for Kubernetes based on GitHub stars, to its acceptance into the CNCF Sandbox.
What’s Next for CloudNativePG
As a CNCF Sandbox project, CloudNativePG is poised to grow even further with the support of the CNCF community. “At EDB, we are improving both Kubernetes and PostgreSQL as we are pushing the boundaries of these technologies with our customers. By helping to build CloudNativePG and Postgres to support the AI workloads of the future, we’re continually unlocking new possibilities for open source solutions” Gabriele explains.
This milestone opens doors for increased collaboration, contributions, and visibility within the broader cloud-native ecosystem. We encourage developers, operators, and organizations to explore CloudNativePG, contribute to its development, and help shape its future. With support from dozens of adopters, including all major cloud providers, the maintainers are already preparing to apply for CNCF Incubation maturity level —a critical step that will demonstrate whether CloudNativePG has successfully crossed the chasm.
At EDB, we remain committed to supporting and advancing CloudNativePG as part of our broader mission to unlock the full potential of PostgreSQL. EDB is proud to be a silver member of the CNCF, a platinum member of Data on Kubernetes, and a top sponsor of global KubeCon events in 2025. As more enterprises are leveraging AI to get the most out of their data, Kubernetes and cloud native technologies remain a key part of EDB’s strategy for products and solutions to help businesses accelerate digital transformation. With its inclusion in the CNCF Sandbox, the future looks brighter than ever for cloud-native PostgreSQL solutions.