The Problem
After upgrading Gateway API CRDs to v1.6.1, Traefik was still running but stopped processing every Gateway API resource. Existing non-Gateway providers continued working, which made the failure look like an HTTPRoute configuration problem.
kubectl get pods -n traefik
# traefik-... 1/1 Running
kubectl get gateway,httproute -A
# Resources exist, but status is not updated as expectedWhat Happened
The cluster was running Traefik v3.7 with the Kubernetes Gateway provider and experimentalChannel enabled. Gateway API v1.6 graduated TCPRoute to the Standard channel and serves it as gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1.
Traefik v3.7 still expected the older v1alpha2 TCPRoute API when experimental support was enabled. After installing only the v1.6 Standard CRDs, that API was no longer served. The provider could not complete startup, even though the Traefik process itself remained healthy.
kubectl api-resources | grep -E 'tcproute|httproute|gatewayclass'
kubectl logs -n traefik deploy/traefik | grep -i gatewayThe Fix
For Traefik v3.7, install the Gateway API v1.6.1 experimental CRDs when experimentalChannel is enabled:
kubectl apply -f \
https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/gateway-api/releases/download/v1.6.1/experimental-install.yaml
kubectl rollout restart deployment/traefik -n traefik
kubectl rollout status deployment/traefik -n traefikThen verify that the provider is processing resources again:
kubectl get gatewayclass
kubectl get gateway,httproute -A
kubectl describe httproute <route> -n <namespace>Longer term, plan the Traefik v3.8 upgrade, where the documented Gateway API v1.6 compatibility changes remove this specific v3.7 transition requirement.
Root Cause
The Gateway API CRDs and controller version were upgraded independently. Traefik was alive, but its Gateway provider expected a resource version that the newly installed Standard CRDs did not serve.
Always verify this compatibility set together:
Traefik version
Gateway API CRD version
Standard vs Experimental channel
kubernetesGateway.experimentalChannel setting