Update docs for 2.3.0 release (#4491)

Updated some extraneous docs as well as part of the release process and testing.

Author: sjberman

.markdownlint-cli2.yaml

@@ -3,10 +3,12 @@
 config:
   ul-style:
     style: dash
+  ul-indent: false
   no-hard-tabs: false
   no-multiple-blanks: false
   line-length: false
   blanks-around-headers: false
+  blanks-around-lists: false
   no-duplicate-heading:
     siblings_only: true
   no-inline-html: false

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -4,6 +4,55 @@ This document includes a curated changelog for each release. We also publish a c
 a [GitHub release](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/releases), which, by contrast, is auto-generated
 and includes links to all PRs that went into the release.
 
+## Release 2.3.0
+
+_December 18, 2025_
+
+FEATURES:
+
+- Support Gateway API v1.4, moving BackendTLSPolicy from experimental to standard. [4166](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/pull/4166)
+- Add SupportedFeatures to GatewayClassStatus. [4236](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/pull/4236)
+- Add ability to configure access log format or turn logging off. [4102](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/pull/4102)
+- Added support for configuring backend TLS on Gateways to enable secure communication between the gateway and upstream. [3900](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/pull/3900)
+- Updated validation for pathType RegularExpression to support PCRE-style patterns while remaining RE2-friendly, improving compatibility with other projects. [4450](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/pull/4450)
+- Add support for multiple InferencePool backends on a Route. [4439](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/pull/4439)
+
+BUG FIXES:
+
+- Fix an issue where duplicate status entries could be written on routes. [4250](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/pull/4250)
+- Removed k8s API access from the NGINX data plane pod. [4368](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/pull/4368)
+- Fix an issue regarding configuring IPv6 DNS resolvers for ExternalName services. Thanks to [lucasl0st](https://github.com/lucasl0st). [4378](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/pull/4378)
+- Fix a bug where NGINX Service could not be created if the Gateway name was very long. [4387](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/pull/4387)
+- Fix an issue where NginxProxy config might not be honored if applied at the same time as the Gateway. [4399](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/pull/4399)
+- Fix issue where agent's Pod IP cannot be used to track the connecting data plane Pod. [4470](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/pull/4470)
+- Fix a bug to preserve external controller annotations for Deployment and DaemonSets to avoid constant updates. [4468](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/pull/4468)
+- Fix an issue where nginx pod could not connect to control plane when hostnetwork is enabled. [4481](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/pull/4481)
+
+HELM CHART:
+
+- The version of the Helm chart is now 2.3.0
+
+UPGRADE:
+
+- The Gateway API version has been updated to 1.4. This version of Gateway API must be installed before installing NGINX Gateway Fabric v2.3.0 [4166](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/pull/4166)
+- Remove deprecated v1alpha1 ObservabilityPolicy API. [4215](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/pull/4215)
+
+COMPATIBILITY:
+
+- Gateway API version: `1.4.1`
+- Gateway API Inference Extension version: `1.1.0`
+- NGINX version: `1.29.3`
+- NGINX Plus version: `R36`
+- NGINX Agent version: `v3.6.0`
+- Kubernetes version: `1.25+`
+
+CONTAINER IMAGES:
+
+- Control plane: `ghcr.io/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric:2.3.0`
+- Data plane: `ghcr.io/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/nginx:2.3.0`
+- Data plane with NGINX Plus: `private-registry.nginx.com/nginx-gateway-fabric/nginx-plus:2.3.0`
+- Operator: `ghcr.io/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/operator:1.1.0`
+
 ## Release 2.2.2
 
 _December 10, 2025_

README.md

@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ You can find the comprehensive NGINX Gateway Fabric user documentation on the [N
 We publish NGINX Gateway Fabric releases on GitHub. See
 our [releases page](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/releases).
 
-The latest release is [2.2.2](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/releases/tag/v2.2.2).
+The latest release is [2.3.0](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/releases/tag/v2.3.0).
 
 The edge version is useful for experimenting with new features that are not yet published in a release. To use, choose
 the _edge_ version built from the [latest commit](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/commits/main)
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ to the correct versions:
 
 | Version | Description | Installation Manifests | Documentation and Examples |
 | ------- | ----------- | ---------------------- | -------------------------- |
-| Latest release | For production use | [Manifests](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/tree/v2.2.2/deploy). | [Documentation](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx-gateway-fabric). [Examples](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/tree/v2.2.2/examples). |
+| Latest release | For production use | [Manifests](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/tree/v2.3.0/deploy). | [Documentation](https://docs.nginx.com/nginx-gateway-fabric). [Examples](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/tree/v2.3.0/examples). |
 | Edge | For experimental use and latest features | [Manifests](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/tree/main/deploy). | [Examples](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/tree/main/examples). |
 
 ### Versioning
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ The following table lists the software versions NGINX Gateway Fabric supports.
 | NGINX Gateway Fabric | Gateway API | Kubernetes | NGINX OSS | NGINX Plus | NGINX Agent |
 |----------------------|-------------|------------|-----------|------------|-------------|
 | Edge                 | 1.4.1       | 1.25+      | 1.29.3    | R36        | v3.6.0      |
+| 2.3.0                | 1.4.1       | 1.25+      | 1.29.3    | R36        | v3.6.0      |
 | 2.2.2                | 1.3.0       | 1.25+      | 1.29.2    | R35        | v3.6.0      |
 | 2.2.1                | 1.3.0       | 1.25+      | 1.29.2    | R35        | v3.5.0      |
 | 2.2.0                | 1.3.0       | 1.25+      | 1.29.2    | R35        | v3.3.2      |

charts/nginx-gateway-fabric/Chart.yaml

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ apiVersion: v2
 name: nginx-gateway-fabric
 description: NGINX Gateway Fabric
 type: application
-version: 2.2.2
+version: 2.3.0
 appVersion: "edge"
 kubeVersion: ">= 1.25.0-0"
 home: https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric

charts/nginx-gateway-fabric/README.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 
 # NGINX Gateway Fabric Helm Chart
 
-![Version: 2.2.2](https://img.shields.io/badge/Version-2.2.2-informational?style=flat-square) ![AppVersion: edge](https://img.shields.io/badge/AppVersion-edge-informational?style=flat-square)
+![Version: 2.3.0](https://img.shields.io/badge/Version-2.3.0-informational?style=flat-square) ![AppVersion: edge](https://img.shields.io/badge/AppVersion-edge-informational?style=flat-square)
 
 - [NGINX Gateway Fabric Helm Chart](#nginx-gateway-fabric-helm-chart)
   - [Introduction](#introduction)

docs/api/pkg.tpl

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 {{ define "packages" }}
 ---
-title: "API reference"
+title: API reference
 weight: 100
-type: reference
-product: NGF
-docs: DOCS-000
+nd-content-type: reference
+nd-product: FABRIC
+nd-docs: DOCS-1855
 ---
 
 ## Overview

docs/developer/release-process.md

@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ To create a new release, follow these steps:
 3. Create a release branch following the `release-X.Y` naming convention.
     - Once the release branch is created, reach out to the infra team to get it added to the runner permissions.
 4. Once the release branch pipeline completes, run tests using the `release-X.X-rc` images that are pushed to Github (for example, `release-1.3-rc`).
-   1. Kick off the [longevity tests](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/blob/main/tests/README.md#longevity-testing) for both OSS and Plus. You'll need to create two clusters and VMs for this. Before running, update your `vars.env` file with the proper image tag and prefixes. NGF and nginx images will be available from `ghcr.io`, and nginx plus will be available in GCP (`us-docker.pkg.dev/<GCP_PROJECT_ID>/nginx-gateway-fabric/nginx-plus`). These tests need to run for 4 days before releasing. The results should be committed to the main branch and then cherry-picked to the release branch.
+   1. Kick off the [longevity tests](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/blob/main/tests/README.md#longevity-testing) for both OSS and Plus. You'll need to create two clusters and VMs for this. Before running, update your `vars.env` file with the proper image tag and prefixes. NGF and nginx images will be available from `ghcr.io`, and nginx plus will be available in GCP (`us-docker.pkg.dev/<GCP_PROJECT_ID>/nginx-gateway-fabric/nginx-plus`). These tests need to run for 4 days before releasing. The results can be added to the NFR results that are collected in the next step.
    2. Kick off the [NFR workflow](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/actions/workflows/nfr.yml) in the browser. For `image_tag`, use `release-X.X-rc`, and for `version`, use the upcoming `X.Y.Z` NGF version. Run the workflow on the new release branch. This will run all of the NFR tests which are automated and open a PR with the results files when it is complete. Review this PR and make any necessary changes before merging. Once merged, be sure to cherry-pick the commit to the main branch as well (the original PR targets the release branch).
    3. Run the IPv6 tests using the `make ipv6-tests` target. This must be run from within the `tests` directory. An example of running this script for release 2.1.0 would look like this: `make ipv6-test TAG=release-2.1-rc`
 5. Run the [Release PR](https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/actions/workflows/release-pr.yml) workflow to update the repo files for the release. Then there are a few manual steps to complete:
@@ -89,6 +89,8 @@ To create a new release, follow these steps:
     - Name the file based on the requirements of the [README](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/gateway-api/blob/main/conformance/reports/README.md). Update the README in the ngf directory and update the site source if necessary (see following example).
     - Open a PR. [Example](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/gateway-api/pull/3149)
       If it's your first time submitting a PR, you will need to sign a CLA using F5, Inc. as the organization.
+13. Follow the same steps to upload the `conformance-profile-inference.yaml` to the [Inference Extension repo](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/gateway-api-inference-extension/tree/main/conformance/reports).
+   - You also may need to update other docs for NGF in that repo to ensure that they reference the correct version that we just updated to.
 
 ### Patch Release
 

tests/README.md

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ This directory contains the tests for NGINX Gateway Fabric. The tests are divide
 - [Common steps for all tests](#common-steps-for-all-tests)
   - [Step 1 - Create a Kubernetes cluster](#step-1---create-a-kubernetes-cluster)
   - [Step 2 - Build and Load Images](#step-2---build-and-load-images)
+    - [GKE](#gke)
 - [Conformance Testing](#conformance-testing)
   - [Step 1 - Install NGINX Gateway Fabric to configured kind cluster](#step-1---install-nginx-gateway-fabric-to-configured-kind-cluster)
     - [Option 1 - Build and install NGINX Gateway Fabric from local to configured kind cluster](#option-1---build-and-install-nginx-gateway-fabric-from-local-to-configured-kind-cluster)
@@ -58,7 +59,7 @@ All the commands below are executed from the `tests` directory. You can see all
 
 ### Step 1 - Create a Kubernetes cluster
 
-**Important**: Functional tests can only be run on a `kind` cluster. Conformance tests can be run on `kind` or OpenShift clusters (see [OPENSHIFT_CONFORMANCE.md](OPENSHIFT_CONFORMANCE.md) for OpenShift instructions). NFR tests can only be run on a GKE cluster.
+**Important**: Functional tests can only be run on a `kind` cluster. Conformance tests can be run on `kind` or OpenShift clusters (see [OPENSHIFT_CONFORMANCE.md](OPENSHIFT_CONFORMANCE.md) for OpenShift instructions). NFR and longevity tests can only be run on a GKE cluster.
 
 To create a local `kind` cluster:
 
@@ -102,8 +103,7 @@ make update-firewall-with-local-ip
 
 ### Step 2 - Build and Load Images
 
-Loading the images only applies to a `kind` cluster. If using GKE, you will need to tag and push
-your images to a registry that is accessible from GKE.
+Loading the images only applies to a `kind` cluster. If using GKE, see below
 
 ```makefile
 make build-images load-images TAG=$(whoami)
@@ -115,14 +115,25 @@ Or, to build NGF with NGINX Plus enabled (NGINX Plus cert and key must exist in
 make build-images-with-plus load-images-with-plus TAG=$(whoami)
 ```
 
-When building images to run on GKE, you'll need to specify `GOARCH=amd64` in the build command if your local system doesn't default to that architecture.
-
 For the telemetry test, which requires a OTel collector, build an image with the following variables set:
 
 ```makefile
 TELEMETRY_ENDPOINT=otel-collector-opentelemetry-collector.collector.svc.cluster.local:4317 TELEMETRY_ENDPOINT_INSECURE=true
 ```
 
+#### GKE
+
+If running tests on GKE, you will need to tag and push your images to a registry that is accessible from GKE. When building images to run on GKE, you'll need to specify `GOARCH=amd64` in the build command if your local system doesn't default to that architecture.
+
+If running the longevity tests for a release, you should use the `-rc` images that were pushed as part of the release branch pipeline instead. For example, in your `vars.env` file
+
+```text
+TAG=release-2.3-rc
+PREFIX=ghcr.io/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric
+NGINX_PREFIX=ghcr.io/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/nginx
+NGINX_PLUS_PREFIX=us-docker.pkg.dev/<GCP-PROJECT-ID>/nginx-gateway-fabric/nginx-plus
+```
+
 ## Conformance Testing
 
 ### Step 1 - Install NGINX Gateway Fabric to configured kind cluster
@@ -242,13 +253,13 @@ The system tests are meant to be run on a live Kubernetes environment to verify
 are similar to the existing conformance tests, but will verify things such as:
 
 - NGF-specific functionality
-- Non-Functional requirements (NFR) testing (such as performance, scale, etc.)
+- Non-Functional requirements (NFR) testing (such as performance, scale, longevity, etc.)
 
-When running locally, the tests create a port-forward from your NGF Pod to localhost using a port chosen by the
-test framework. Traffic is sent over this port. If running on a GCP VM targeting a GKE cluster, the tests will create an
+When running locally (functional tests), the tests create a port-forward from your NGF Pod to localhost using a port chosen by the
+test framework. Traffic is sent over this port. If running on a GCP VM targeting a GKE cluster (NFR/longevity), the tests will create an
 internal LoadBalancer service which will receive the test traffic.
 
-**Important**: Functional tests can only be run on a `kind` cluster. NFR tests can only be run on a GKE cluster.
+**Important**: Functional tests can only be run on a `kind` cluster. NFR/longevity tests can only be run on a GKE cluster.
 
 Directory structure is as follows: