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How to Recycle a Node Pool Instance in a Vultr Kubernetes Engine Cluster

Updated on 10 August, 2026

A feature that allows you to restart your Vultr instance while preserving its data and configuration.

Recycling a Node Pool instance in a Vultr Kubernetes Engine (VKE) cluster replaces a specific node with a fresh instance of the same configuration, which resolves node-level issues, applies updates, or recovers from resource constraints without disrupting the entire Node Pool. Recycle performs a surge replacement. VKE provisions the replacement node and waits for it to join the cluster before draining and removing the target node, so the Node Pool temporarily runs one node above its configured size.

Warning
Recycling a node deletes the target instance after the replacement joins the cluster. Any ephemeral data, logs, or local configurations on that instance are lost. Draining reschedules workloads onto the replacement node or other available nodes. Linked resources remain attached, but if the node was part of a Load Balancer backend, brief downtime can occur while the new node registers. To prevent data loss, store important data in Persistent Volumes or external storage, or back it up before recycling.

Follow this guide to recycle a Node in a Vultr Kubernetes Engine cluster on your Vultr account using the Vultr Console, API, or CLI.

  • Vultr Console
  • Vultr API
  • Vultr CLI
  1. Log in to the Vultr Console.
  2. Navigate to Compute and click Kubernetes.
  3. Click your target VKE cluster in the Name column to open its management page.
  4. Click the Nodes tab.
  5. Locate your target Node Pool and click the + button to expand it and view the attached nodes.
  6. Locate your target node and click the Replace Node icon in its row.
  7. Verify that the Replace Node? dialog shows the correct node name.
  8. Select the Yes, replace this node. checkbox, then click Replace Node.

  1. Send a GET request to the List all Kubernetes Clusters endpoint and note the target VKE cluster's ID.

    console 
    $ curl "https://api.vultr.com/v2/kubernetes/clusters" \
    -X GET \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer ${VULTR_API_KEY}"

  2. Send a GET request to the List NodePools endpoint to view all Node Pools and note the target Node Pool's ID.

    console 
    $ curl "https://api.vultr.com/v2/kubernetes/clusters/{cluster-id}/node-pools" \
    -X GET \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer ${VULTR_API_KEY}"

  3. Send a GET request to the Get NodePool endpoint and note the target Node's ID.

    console 
    $ curl "https://api.vultr.com/v2/kubernetes/clusters/{cluster-id}/node-pools/{nodepool-id}" \
    -X GET \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer ${VULTR_API_KEY}"

  4. Send a POST request to the Recycle a NodePool Instance endpoint to replace the target Node with a new one.

    console 
    $ curl "https://api.vultr.com/v2/kubernetes/clusters/{cluster-id}/node-pools/{nodepool-id}/nodes/{node-id}/recycle" \
    -X POST \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer ${VULTR_API_KEY}"

  1. List the available VKE clusters in your Vultr account and note the target VKE cluster's ID.

    console 
    $ vultr-cli kubernetes list --summarize

  2. List all the available Node Pools in the VKE cluster and note the target Node Pool's ID.

    console 
    $ vultr-cli kubernetes node-pool list {cluster-id} --summarize

  3. List the attached instances of the target Node Pool and note the target Node's ID.

    console 
    $ vultr-cli kubernetes node-pool get {cluster-id} {nodepool-id}

  4. Recycle the target Node by replacing it with a new one.

    console 
    $ vultr-cli kubernetes node-pool node recycle {cluster-id} {nodepool-id} {node-id}

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