> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://atomoh.gitbook.io/kubernetes/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://atomoh.gitbook.io/kubernetes/en/amazon-eks/eks-auto-mode.md).

# EKS Auto Mode

> **Supported Versions**: EKS 1.29+, EKS Auto Mode GA **Last Updated**: February 23, 2026

Amazon EKS Auto Mode is a feature that fully automates Kubernetes node management, automatically provisioning and optimizing nodes based on workload requirements. This guide covers the concepts of EKS Auto Mode, configuration methods, and best practices for production environments.

## Table of Contents

1. [Getting Started with Auto Mode](/kubernetes/en/amazon-eks/eks-auto-mode/01-getting-started.md) - Cluster creation and enabling Auto Mode
2. [NodePool Configuration and Optimization](/kubernetes/en/amazon-eks/eks-auto-mode/02-nodepool-configuration.md) - Default and custom NodePools
3. [Understanding Scaling Behavior](/kubernetes/en/amazon-eks/eks-auto-mode/03-scaling-behavior.md) - Provisioning, consolidation, drift detection
4. [Spot Instance Utilization Strategies](/kubernetes/en/amazon-eks/eks-auto-mode/04-spot-strategies.md) - Mixed capacity and interrupt handling
5. [Operations and Management](/kubernetes/en/amazon-eks/eks-auto-mode/05-operations.md) - Disruption budgets, rolling replacement, monitoring
6. [Cost Management and Optimization](/kubernetes/en/amazon-eks/eks-auto-mode/06-cost-management.md) - Cost analysis, Spot savings, right-sizing
7. [Node Lifecycle Management](/kubernetes/en/amazon-eks/eks-auto-mode/07-node-lifecycle.md) - Expiration, AMI management, freshness policies
8. [Workload-Specific Optimization](/kubernetes/en/amazon-eks/eks-auto-mode/08-workload-optimization.md) - Web, batch, GPU, AI/ML workloads
9. [Migrating from Managed Node Groups](/kubernetes/en/amazon-eks/eks-auto-mode/09-migration-guide.md) - Migration steps and coexistence

***

## Introduction to EKS Auto Mode

### What is Auto Mode?

EKS Auto Mode is a fully automated node management solution managed by AWS. It is based on Karpenter internally, and AWS manages everything without users needing to install or configure separate node management components.

```
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                           EKS Auto Mode Architecture                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                                              |
|  +---------------------------------------------------------------------+    |
|  |                    EKS Control Plane (AWS Managed)                   |    |
|  |  +------------+  +------------+  +------------+  +------------+    |    |
|  |  | API Server |  |   etcd     |  | Controller |  |  Karpenter |    |    |
|  |  |            |  |            |  |  Manager   |  | Controller |    |    |
|  |  +------------+  +------------+  +------------+  +------------+    |    |
|  +---------------------------------------------------------------------+    |
|                                    |                                         |
|                                    v                                         |
|  +---------------------------------------------------------------------+    |
|  |                        NodePool Resources                            |    |
|  |  +------------------+  +------------------+  +------------------+  |    |
|  |  |  general-purpose |  |      system      |  |   custom-pool    |  |    |
|  |  | (Default Provided)|  | (Default Provided)|  |  (User Defined)  |  |    |
|  |  +------------------+  +------------------+  +------------------+  |    |
|  +---------------------------------------------------------------------+    |
|                                    |                                         |
|                                    v                                         |
|  +---------------------------------------------------------------------+    |
|  |                     EC2 Instances (Auto Managed)                     |    |
|  |  +--------------+  +--------------+  +--------------+              |    |
|  |  |   m6i.2xl    |  |   c7g.xl     |  |   r6i.4xl    |   ...        |    |
|  |  |  (On-Demand) |  |   (Spot)     |  |  (On-Demand) |              |    |
|  |  +--------------+  +--------------+  +--------------+              |    |
|  +---------------------------------------------------------------------+    |
|                                                                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
```

### Comparison with Existing Management Methods

| Feature                 | Managed Node Groups  | Fargate                  | Auto Mode         |
| ----------------------- | -------------------- | ------------------------ | ----------------- |
| Node Management         | User (ASG-based)     | Fully AWS Managed        | Fully AWS Managed |
| Scaling Method          | Cluster Autoscaler   | Per-Pod                  | Karpenter-based   |
| Scaling Speed           | Minutes              | Immediate (Pod schedule) | Tens of seconds   |
| Instance Type Selection | Pre-defined          | Automatic                | Auto-optimized    |
| Spot Support            | Manual configuration | Not supported            | Auto-managed      |
| GPU Workloads           | Supported            | Limited                  | Fully supported   |
| DaemonSet Support       | Supported            | Not supported            | Supported         |
| Cost Optimization       | Manual               | Medium                   | Automatic         |
| Complexity              | High                 | Low                      | Low               |
| Customization           | High                 | Low                      | Medium            |

### Internal Architecture and Operating Principles

EKS Auto Mode operates based on Karpenter, but runs within the AWS-managed control plane.

```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
    participant User as User
    participant API as EKS API Server
    participant Karpenter as Auto Mode Controller
    participant EC2 as EC2 Fleet
    participant Node as New Node

    User->>API: Pod creation request
    API->>API: Pod Pending state
    Karpenter->>API: Detect Pending Pod
    Karpenter->>Karpenter: NodePool matching
    Karpenter->>Karpenter: Determine optimal instance type
    Karpenter->>EC2: Instance launch request
    EC2->>Node: Instance provisioning
    Node->>API: Node registration (kubelet)
    API->>Node: Pod scheduling
    Node->>API: Pod Running
```

### Supported Regions and Limitations

#### Supported Regions (as of February 2025)

EKS Auto Mode is available in the following regions:

* **Americas**: us-east-1, us-east-2, us-west-1, us-west-2
* **Europe**: eu-west-1, eu-west-2, eu-central-1, eu-north-1
* **Asia Pacific**: ap-northeast-1, ap-northeast-2, ap-southeast-1, ap-southeast-2, ap-south-1

#### Limitations

| Item                          | Limit                |
| ----------------------------- | -------------------- |
| Maximum NodePools per cluster | 100                  |
| Maximum nodes per NodePool    | 1000                 |
| Maximum nodes per cluster     | 5000                 |
| Minimum EKS version           | 1.29                 |
| Supported AMI families        | AL2023, Bottlerocket |
| Windows nodes                 | Not supported        |

***

## Next Steps

After successfully configuring EKS Auto Mode, we recommend learning the following topics:

1. [**EKS Cost Optimization**](/kubernetes/en/amazon-eks/07-eks-cost-optimization.md): Spot, Savings Plans, resource optimization
2. [**EKS Monitoring and Logging**](/kubernetes/en/amazon-eks/06-eks-monitoring-logging.md): CloudWatch, Prometheus, Grafana
3. [**EKS Security**](/kubernetes/en/amazon-eks/05-eks-security.md): IAM, network policies, Pod security
4. [**Karpenter Deep Dive**](/kubernetes/en/autoscaling/02-karpenter.md): Direct Karpenter installation and advanced features

## Related Quiz

To test your learning, try the [EKS Auto Mode Quiz](/kubernetes/en/quiz-collection/eks-auto-mode/01-getting-started-quiz.md).

***

## References

* [AWS EKS Auto Mode Official Documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/automode.html)
* [Karpenter Official Documentation](https://karpenter.sh/)
* [EKS Best Practices Guide](https://aws.github.io/aws-eks-best-practices/)
* [AWS Cost Optimization Guide](https://aws.amazon.com/pricing/cost-optimization/)
* [New EKS Auto Mode features for enhanced security, network control, and performance (AWS Containers Blog, 2025-10-16)](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/containers/new-amazon-eks-auto-mode-features-for-enhanced-security-network-control-and-performance/)
* [Migrate from self-managed Karpenter to EKS Auto Mode](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/auto-migrate-karpenter.html)

***

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