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Telemetry
Kubernetes reliability

kubernetes_workload_observed event schema

A periodic workload snapshot with normalized Kubernetes coordinates and aggregate state. Pod logs, environment variables, secret names, and annotations are excluded.

Reviewed by the Telemetry product team on . We checked what each event represents, which service sends it, field types, sensitive data, the example, and validation steps. Who reviews this page

Question this event answers

Which workloads, clusters, and releases are restarting, unavailable, or resource constrained?

Fields
8
Required
8
Send and check an event

Record and query kubernetes_workload_observed

Document what each kubernetes_workload_observed row represents and which service sends it. Send test events to check the fields, then verify that the query answers your question.

  1. 1

    Outcome becomes final

    Cluster collector or deployment health controller emits only on a documented interval and immediately after a reviewed workload-state transition.

  2. 2

    Choose the fields

    8 required fields preserve the declared grain: One workload snapshot per cluster, namespace, and interval.

  3. 3

    Check the test event

    Check types, UTC time, alternate outcomes, idempotency, and every pseudonymous or review-classified field.

  4. 4

    Query the result

    Which workloads, clusters, and releases are restarting, unavailable, or resource constrained?

Grain

One workload snapshot per cluster, namespace, and interval.

Owner

Cluster collector or deployment health controller

Emit when

On a documented interval and immediately after a reviewed workload-state transition.

Field contract

Field types and data to exclude

Keep field names and types stable once production queries depend on them. Document optional fields and add them only when they answer a specific question.

FieldTypeRequiredPrivacyMeaning
timestamp_utctimestampyesnon-sensitiveUTC time when the operation finishes.
event_idstringyesnon-sensitiveStable unique identifier used for deduplication.
releasestringyesnon-sensitiveApplication or service version that emitted the event.
clusterstringyesreviewApproved stable cluster identifier.
namespacestringyesreviewApproved namespace label without tenant-derived values.
workloadstringyesnon-sensitiveStable Deployment, StatefulSet, or DaemonSet name.
ready_replicasnumberyesnon-sensitiveReady replica count at observation time.
restart_countnumberyesnon-sensitiveCumulative restarts for the measured workload scope.

Synthetic JSON event

{
  "timestamp_utc": "2026-07-29T09:25:00Z",
  "event_id": "evt_k8s_01",
  "release": "collector-2026.07.3",
  "cluster": "production-us-west",
  "namespace": "telemetry",
  "workload": "query-api",
  "ready_replicas": 4,
  "restart_count": 1
}

Privacy review

Review identifiers before ingestion

This example uses synthetic identifiers. Pseudonymous values can still be personal data, and review fields can expose business or provider context. Apply your own consent, retention, access, residency, and deletion requirements.

  • cluster: review
  • namespace: review

Validation checklist

Test the schema before building a dashboard

  • Send one known kubernetes_workload_observed fixture after the documented outcome boundary.
  • Verify all 8 required fields arrive with the documented types.
  • Retry the same event identifier and confirm the chosen deduplication behavior.
  • Send a controlled failure or alternate outcome when the workflow supports one.
  • Run the related SQL over a fixed window and reconcile the result to the fixture.

Common mistakes

Record one result per row

  • Emitting kubernetes_workload_observed before cluster collector or deployment health controller knows the final outcome.
  • Mixing different kinds of results in one table, which makes counts and rates ambiguous.
  • Replacing controlled categories with raw URLs, payloads, prompts, or error text.
  • Changing a field type in place after saved queries and dashboards depend on it.
  • Adding identifiers without a documented investigation, access, and retention need.

Use the contract

Query the event and set up monitoring

Related contracts

Send a test event before production traffic

Create a free API key, send the synthetic event, and inspect the inferred table before connecting a live workflow.

Test this schema