Freedom251 › GPU Cluster Management Software
Kueue
What Kueue is
Kueue is a free, open-source Kubernetes project for managing quotas and job resource use. It determines when workloads wait, start, or are preempted, and installs on a vanilla Kubernetes cluster without replacing existing Kubernetes components. Its scheduling features include priority queues, fair sharing, quota borrowing between teams, resource flavor fungibility, preemption policies, and all-or-nothing scheduling. Built-in integrations cover Kubernetes Jobs and Pods, Kubeflow training jobs, Ray jobs and clusters, JobSet, AppWrapper, Deployments, StatefulSets, and LeaderWorkerSet. MultiKueue can look for available capacity and dispatch jobs across clusters. Topology-aware scheduling takes data-center layout into account to improve communication throughput among pods. For monitoring, Kueue provides Prometheus metrics and an endpoint for viewing pending workloads. The project installs batch administrator and batch user ClusterRoles, with resource-specific roles that can be combined into custom roles. The webhook server has internal certificate management. Installation instructions cover kubectl, Helm, and building from source. The guide recommends Kubernetes 1.34 or newer; only those versions are officially supported and tested.
Who it suits
Kueue suits Kubernetes administrators and teams managing queued or batch workloads who need quota controls and scheduling across tenants or clusters.
What it does well
- Free, open-source Kubernetes project
- Supports quota borrowing and fair sharing
- MultiKueue dispatches jobs across clusters
- Provides Prometheus metrics and pending-workload visibility
What to know first
- Official support and testing cover Kubernetes 1.34 or newer
Limits
Kueue is free. The installation guide recommends Kubernetes 1.34 or newer and says only those versions are officially supported and tested.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Kueue | Open-source Kubernetes project | Free |
As kueue.sigs.k8s.io lists them, read 3 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Getting started
- Open the Kueue website and installation guide.
- Use a Kubernetes 1.34-or-newer cluster, the version range recommended by the guide.
- Choose an installation route: kubectl, Helm, or build from source.
- Install Kueue on the cluster.
- Configure workload queues, quotas, and scheduling policies for your workloads.
Verdict
Kueue provides quota management and job scheduling for Kubernetes, with integrations for several workload types and multi-cluster dispatch. Check the Kubernetes version requirement before installation.
Questions
How much does Kueue cost?
Kueue is free and open source.
What platforms does Kueue support?
It is an API and self-hosted project that installs on a Kubernetes cluster.
Which Kubernetes versions are supported?
The installation guide recommends Kubernetes 1.34 or newer and says only those versions are officially supported and tested.
Which workloads can Kueue integrate with?
Built-in integrations include Kubernetes Batch Jobs, Pods, Deployments, StatefulSets, Kubeflow training jobs, Ray jobs and clusters, JobSet, AppWrapper, and LeaderWorkerSet.
How can Kueue be installed?
The documented methods include kubectl, Helm, and building from source.
Can Kueue schedule work across clusters?
Yes. MultiKueue can search for capacity and dispatch jobs across clusters.
Facts from Kueue's own pages
- Access control
- Kueue installs batch administrator and batch user ClusterRoles and supports composing custom roles from resource-specific editor and viewer roles. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 3 Oct 2026
- Cluster fit
- Kueue installs on a vanilla Kubernetes cluster and does not replace existing Kubernetes components. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 3 Oct 2026
- Community support
- The project directs users to Kubernetes Slack, GitHub for bugs and contributions, and a mailing list for announcements. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 3 Oct 2026
- Installation methods
- The documentation provides installation instructions using kubectl, Helm, or a source build. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 2 Oct 2026
- Installation requirement
- The installation guide recommends Kubernetes 1.34 or newer, stating that only those versions are officially supported and tested. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 3 Oct 2026
- Install methods
- The maker documents installation with kubectl or Helm, building from source, and installing a development version. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 3 Oct 2026
- Monitoring
- Kueue exposes Prometheus metrics for system health and ClusterQueue and LocalQueue status, with Grafana query guidance in its docs. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 3 Oct 2026
- Multi-cluster
- MultiKueue can search for capacity and dispatch workloads across multiple clusters. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 3 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Kueue manages quotas and job resource consumption in Kubernetes, deciding when jobs wait, start, or are preempted. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 3 Oct 2026
- Queueing and resource management
- Features include priority-based job queueing, resource flavor fungibility, fair sharing, cohorts, and preemption policies. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 2 Oct 2026
- Quota sharing
- Kueue supports tenant quotas and fair sharing, including shared resource pools and quota borrowing between teams. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 3 Oct 2026
- Scheduling
- Kueue supports priority-based queueing, resource flavor fungibility, preemption, and all-or-nothing scheduling. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 3 Oct 2026
- Security operations
- Kueue's webhook server uses internal certificate management, and its installation guide also links instructions for using cert-manager. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 3 Oct 2026
- Topology
- Topology-aware scheduling places distributed workloads with data-center topology in mind to improve pod-to-pod communication throughput. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 3 Oct 2026
- Topology-aware scheduling
- Kueue can schedule with data center topology in mind to optimize pod-to-pod communication throughput. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 2 Oct 2026
- What it does
- Kueue manages quotas and job resource consumption, deciding when jobs wait, start, or are preempted. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 2 Oct 2026
- Where it runs
- Kueue can be installed on a vanilla Kubernetes cluster and does not replace existing Kubernetes components. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 2 Oct 2026
- Workload integrations
- Built-in integrations include Kubernetes Batch Jobs, Kubeflow training jobs, Ray jobs and clusters, JobSet, AppWrapper, plain Pods, and Pod groups. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 2 Oct 2026
- Workload support
- Built-in integrations include Kubernetes Jobs, Kubeflow training jobs, Ray jobs and clusters, JobSet, AppWrapper, Pods, Deployments, StatefulSets, and LeaderWorkerSet. · kueue.sigs.k8s.io, 3 Oct 2026
Where Kueue stands on Freedom251
- GPU Cluster Management Software#9 of 21