Read the 1.16 release blog here ↗
To celebrate the release of Dapr 1.16, the Diagrid team shares demos, feature deep-dives, and improvement overviews. Here’s a quick overview of what was covered.
Dapr 1.16 is a release focused on performance, security, and usability. With stronger workflows, federated identity, expanded SDK support, and better tooling, the project continues to mature as a reliable building block for cloud-native applications.
Workflows: Faster, More Reliable, and More Flexible
Yaron Schneider highlighted the Workflow performance improvements in 1.16: reduced latency, fewer errors, and greater reliability thanks to enhancements in the runtime and scheduler. Another big milestone is multi-app workflows (also called remote execution). This lets developers separate workflow orchestration from activity execution—ideal for scenarios like running AI model inference on GPU nodes while keeping orchestration lightweight elsewhere.
Federated Identity
Security also received attention. The release introduces federated identity, extending authentication to external components using SPIFFE and OIDC (OpenID Connect). This simplifies secure communication in multi-cloud and hybrid environments.
SDK Enhancements: Java and Python
Developers working in Java can now enjoy tighter integration with Spring Boot, streamlining the experience for enterprise teams.
On the Python side, updates to the SDK and support for Dapr agents make it easier to build AI- and workflow-driven apps, especially in agent-based environments.
Connectivity and Resilience
Dapr 1.16 brings HTTP streaming support for external service invocation, including compatibility with MCP servers. This upgrade means developers get authentication workflows, retries, circuit breakers, tracing, and telemetry—all built in, out of the box.
Improved Developer Experience
Beyond the big features, the team has invested in the developer journey:
- Updated quickstarts and documentation.
- New templates for agent workloads.
- Enhancements to Diagrid Catalyst, a managed platform for building and running Dapr applications with workflows, discovery, and Pub/Sub.
Looking Ahead: Dapr Day
Join us for Dapr Day, a free virtual conference happening on November 5. It’s an opportunity to hear production stories, dive into workflows and AI agents, and connect with other practitioners. The call for sessions is still open—developers are encouraged to submit their talks.
👉 Want to get involved?
- Try out the new features by upgrading to 1.16.
- Join the community at the November 2025Dapr Day.
- Share your feedback and experiences in the Dapr GitHub repo and community calls.
