k6 v2.0.0, released on 2026-05-11 by Grafana Labs, marks a significant major update for performance and security testing. This version completes the cleanup of deprecated APIs, old commands, and obsolete configuration options, streamlining the tool for future development.

Key Changes

Go Module Path Update: The Go module path has changed to go.k6.io/k6/v2. This is a critical breaking change for extension developers, who must update all import paths to maintain compatibility. For example:

// Before
import "go.k6.io/k6/js/modules"

// After
import "go.k6.io/k6/v2/js/modules"

CLI and Executor Streamlining: Several long-deprecated CLI commands and flags have been removed, including k6 login, k6 pause, k6 resume, k6 scale, k6 status, --no-summary, and --upload-only. The externally-controlled executor, which these commands relied on, has also been removed. Users should migrate to standard executors like ramping-vus or constant-vus.

k6 Cloud Enhancements and Changes:

  • The positional form k6 cloud script.js is fully removed; use k6 cloud run script.js instead.
  • A stack is now required for all k6 cloud commands.
  • A new k6 cloud project list command is available to list Grafana Cloud k6 projects.
  • Cloud secrets are now automatically available in k6 cloud run --local-execution.

Internal Updates: easyjson has been dropped in favor of the standard library encoding/json. The k6 HTTP API server no longer starts by default, requiring --address to enable it. The k6/experimental/redis module has also been removed.

Impact for QA Teams

QA engineers tracking tool updates must review their existing k6 scripts, CI/CD pipelines, and custom extensions. The Go module path change is particularly important for extension compatibility. The removal of deprecated commands and executors aims to simplify workflows, though it requires script migration. For those new to k6, our k6 load testing tutorial can help you get started with modern performance testing practices. Refer to the official k6 release notes for full details on migration steps.

FAQ

  • Q: What is the most critical breaking change for k6 extensions? A: The Go module path changed to go.k6.io/k6/v2, requiring all extensions to update their import paths.
  • Q: Do my existing k6 scripts need updates? A: Yes, if they use deprecated CLI commands (e.g., k6 login, k6 pause) or the externally-controlled executor.
  • Q: How does k6 v2.0.0 affect k6 Cloud users? A: The k6 cloud script.js positional form is removed; use k6 cloud run script.js. A stack is now required for all k6 cloud commands, and cloud secrets are automatically available for local execution.