diff --git a/source/plugins/ruby/CustomMetricsUtils.rb b/source/plugins/ruby/CustomMetricsUtils.rb
index eb5470056..fb981041d 100644
--- a/source/plugins/ruby/CustomMetricsUtils.rb
+++ b/source/plugins/ruby/CustomMetricsUtils.rb
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ def check_custom_metrics_availability
                 return true
             end
 
-            if enable_custom_metrics.nil? || enable_custom_metrics.to_s.downcase == 'false'
+            if enable_custom_metrics.nil? || enable_custom_metrics.to_s.empty? || enable_custom_metrics.to_s.downcase == 'false'
                 return false
             end
 
diff --git a/source/plugins/ruby/KubernetesApiClient.rb b/source/plugins/ruby/KubernetesApiClient.rb
index 38f373fd6..dccfd4c85 100644
--- a/source/plugins/ruby/KubernetesApiClient.rb
+++ b/source/plugins/ruby/KubernetesApiClient.rb
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ class KubernetesApiClient
   require "time"
   require "ipaddress"
   require "jwt"
+  require "zlib"
+  require "stringio"
+  require 'yajl'
 
   require_relative "oms_common"
   require_relative "constants"
@@ -864,18 +867,187 @@ def getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2(uri, api_group: nil)
       resourceInventory = nil
       responseCode = nil
       begin
-        @Log.info "KubernetesApiClient::getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2 : Getting resources from Kube API using url: #{uri} @ #{Time.now.utc.iso8601}"
-        responseCode, resourceInfo = getKubeResourceInfoV2(uri, api_group: api_group)
-        @Log.info "KubernetesApiClient::getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2 : Done getting resources from Kube API using url: #{uri} @ #{Time.now.utc.iso8601}"
-        if !responseCode.nil? && responseCode == "200" && !resourceInfo.nil?
-          @Log.info "KubernetesApiClient::getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2:Start:Parsing data for #{uri} using JSON @ #{Time.now.utc.iso8601}"
-          resourceInventory = JSON.parse(resourceInfo.body)
-          @Log.info "KubernetesApiClient::getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2:End:Parsing data for #{uri} using JSON @ #{Time.now.utc.iso8601}"
-          resourceInfo = nil
+        resource_path = getResourceUri(uri, api_group)
+        if resource_path.nil?
+          @Log.warn "KubernetesApiClient::getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2: resource path nil for #{uri}"
+          return continuationToken, resourceInventory, responseCode
         end
-        if (!resourceInventory.nil? && !resourceInventory["metadata"].nil?)
-          continuationToken = resourceInventory["metadata"]["continue"]
+        parsed_items = []
+        metadata_continue = nil
+        resource_version = nil
+        parse_mode = "stream"
+        total_uncompressed_bytes = 0
+        total_compressed_bytes = 0
+        started_at = Time.now.utc
+
+        begin
+          parsed_uri = URI.parse(resource_path)
+          if !File.exist?(@@CaFile)
+            raise "#{@@CaFile} doesnt exist"
+          end
+
+          Net::HTTP.start(parsed_uri.host, parsed_uri.port, :use_ssl => true, :ca_file => @@CaFile, :verify_mode => OpenSSL::SSL::VERIFY_PEER, :open_timeout => 20, :read_timeout => 40) do |http|
+            kubeApiRequest = Net::HTTP::Get.new(parsed_uri.request_uri)
+            kubeApiRequest['Authorization'] = 'Bearer ' + getTokenStr
+            kubeApiRequest['User-Agent'] = getUserAgent()
+            kubeApiRequest['Accept-Encoding'] = 'gzip'
+            kubeApiRequest['Accept'] = 'application/json'
+
+            @Log.info "KubernetesApiClient::getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2(stream): Requesting #{uri} (api_group=#{api_group}) @ #{started_at.iso8601}"
+
+            http.request(kubeApiRequest) do |response|
+              responseCode = response.code
+              unless responseCode == '200'
+                parse_mode = 'error'
+                @Log.warn "KubernetesApiClient::getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2: Non-success code #{responseCode} for #{uri}"
+                # Send telemetry for non-success response codes
+                @@K8sApiResponseTelemetryTimeTracker = ApplicationInsightsUtility.sendAPIResponseTelemetry(responseCode, uri, "K8sAPIStatus", @@K8sApiResponseCodeHash, @@K8sApiResponseTelemetryTimeTracker)
+                break
+              end
+
+              # Decide whether to stream or fallback to full parse based on Content-Length (if small, cheaper to full-parse)
+              content_length = nil
+              begin
+                content_length = Integer(response['Content-Length']) if response['Content-Length']
+              rescue; end
+              small_threshold = 256 * 1024 # 256KB
+
+              if content_length && content_length <= small_threshold
+                # Read whole (possibly compressed) body then use faster parser for small payloads
+                body_buf = +"" # mutable string
+                response.read_body { |c| body_buf << c }
+                total_compressed_bytes = body_buf.bytesize
+                if response['Content-Encoding'] == 'gzip'
+                  begin
+                    body_buf = Zlib::GzipReader.new(StringIO.new(body_buf)).read
+                    parse_mode = 'full_gzip'
+                  rescue => gzerr
+                    @Log.warn "KubernetesApiClient::getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2: gzip decompress(small) failed: #{gzerr}; using compressed body (parse will likely fail)"
+                  end
+                else
+                  parse_mode = 'full_plain'
+                end
+                total_uncompressed_bytes = body_buf.bytesize
+                resourceInventory = JSON.parse(body_buf)
+              else
+                # Streaming path - CRITICAL: Create parser ONCE outside the read_body loop
+                parse_mode = 'stream'
+                is_gzip = (response['Content-Encoding'] == 'gzip')
+                inflater = nil
+                yajl_parser = nil
+                begin
+                  if is_gzip
+                    # Use Inflate with gzip window bits for streaming
+                    inflater = Zlib::Inflate.new(Zlib::MAX_WBITS + 32)
+                    parse_mode = 'stream_gzip'
+                  end
+
+                  # Create Yajl parser ONCE and reuse for all chunks
+                  yajl_parser = Yajl::Parser.new
+
+                  # Set up the parser callback to extract items and continuation token
+                  yajl_parser.on_parse_complete = lambda do |obj|
+                    if obj.is_a?(Hash)
+                      if obj.key?('items') && obj['items'].is_a?(Array)
+                        # Force deep copy via JSON round-trip to avoid Yajl object reference issues
+                        begin
+                          serialized_items = JSON.generate(obj['items'])
+                          deep_copied_items = JSON.parse(serialized_items)
+                          parsed_items.concat(deep_copied_items)
+                        rescue => json_err
+                          @Log.warn "KubernetesApiClient::getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2: JSON round-trip failed: #{json_err}, using shallow copy"
+                          parsed_items.concat(obj['items'])
+                        end
+                      end
+                      if obj.key?('metadata') && obj['metadata'].is_a?(Hash)
+                        metadata_continue = obj['metadata']['continue'] if obj['metadata'].key?('continue')
+                        resource_version = obj['metadata']['resourceVersion'] if obj['metadata'].key?('resourceVersion')
+                      end
+                    end
+                  end
+
+                  # Stream and parse chunks
+                  chunk_count = 0
+                  response.read_body do |compressed_chunk|
+                    chunk_count += 1
+                    total_compressed_bytes += compressed_chunk.bytesize
+
+                    decompressed = if is_gzip
+                      begin
+                        inflater.inflate(compressed_chunk)
+                      rescue Zlib::Error => zerr
+                        @Log.warn "KubernetesApiClient::getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2: gzip inflate failed at chunk #{chunk_count}: #{zerr}"
+                        raise
+                      end
+                    else
+                      compressed_chunk
+                    end
+
+                    total_uncompressed_bytes += decompressed.bytesize
+
+                    # Feed decompressed chunk to the parser
+                    # Yajl can handle incomplete JSON and will buffer internally
+                    begin
+                      yajl_parser << decompressed
+                    rescue Yajl::ParseError => perr
+                      # Only log parse errors, don't break the stream - might be incomplete chunk
+                      @Log.warn "KubernetesApiClient::getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2: Yajl parse error at chunk #{chunk_count}: #{perr}"
+                    end
+
+                    # Yield control periodically to allow other threads to run (every 10 chunks)
+                    Thread.pass if chunk_count % 10 == 0
+                  end # read_body
+
+                  # Finalize the parsing - this triggers on_parse_complete callback
+                  yajl_parser.parse("")  rescue nil
+
+                  # Build minimal inventory structure
+                  resourceInventory = {
+                    'metadata' => { 'continue' => metadata_continue, 'resourceVersion' => resource_version },
+                    'items' => parsed_items
+                  }
+
+                  @Log.info "KubernetesApiClient::getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2: Successfully parsed #{parsed_items.length} items in #{chunk_count} chunks"
+
+                rescue => stream_err
+                  @Log.warn "KubernetesApiClient::getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2: Stream processing error: #{stream_err}"
+                  raise
+                ensure
+                  # Always clean up inflater resources, regardless of success or failure
+                  if inflater
+                    inflater.finish rescue nil
+                    inflater.close rescue nil
+                  end
+                end
+              end # streaming path
+            end # http.request
+          end # Net::HTTP.start
+        rescue => inner_err
+          @Log.warn "KubernetesApiClient::getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2: streaming fetch/parse failed for #{uri}: #{inner_err}; falling back to legacy getKubeResourceInfoV2"
+          parse_mode = 'fallback'
+          begin
+            # Fallback to legacy path
+            fallbackResponseCode, resourceInfo = getKubeResourceInfoV2(uri, api_group: api_group)
+            responseCode = fallbackResponseCode
+            if fallbackResponseCode == '200' && resourceInfo && resourceInfo.body && !resourceInfo.body.empty?
+              resourceInventory = JSON.parse(resourceInfo.body)
+              # Set continuationToken from fallback response
+              if resourceInventory && resourceInventory['metadata']
+                continuationToken = resourceInventory['metadata']['continue']
+              end
+            end
+          rescue => legacy_err
+            @Log.warn "KubernetesApiClient::getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2: legacy fallback also failed: #{legacy_err}"
+            ApplicationInsightsUtility.sendExceptionTelemetry(legacy_err)
+          end
+        end
+
+        # Derive continuation token if not already set
+        if continuationToken.nil? && resourceInventory && resourceInventory['metadata']
+          continuationToken = resourceInventory['metadata']['continue'] if resourceInventory['metadata'].key?('continue')
         end
+        duration_ms = ((Time.now.utc - started_at) * 1000).round(1)
+        @Log.info "KubernetesApiClient::getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2: mode=#{parse_mode} code=#{responseCode} items=#{resourceInventory && resourceInventory['items'] ? resourceInventory['items'].length : 'n/a'} cont=#{continuationToken.nil? ? 'nil' : continuationToken.empty? ? 'empty' : 'set'} compBytes=#{total_compressed_bytes} uncompBytes=#{total_uncompressed_bytes} ms=#{duration_ms} uri=#{uri}"
       rescue => errorStr
         @Log.warn "KubernetesApiClient::getResourcesAndContinuationTokenV2:Failed in get resources for #{uri} and continuation token: #{errorStr}"
         ApplicationInsightsUtility.sendExceptionTelemetry(errorStr)
diff --git a/source/plugins/ruby/in_kube_podinventory.rb b/source/plugins/ruby/in_kube_podinventory.rb
index 9ba02327c..c0091a46a 100644
--- a/source/plugins/ruby/in_kube_podinventory.rb
+++ b/source/plugins/ruby/in_kube_podinventory.rb
@@ -689,7 +689,9 @@ def getPodInventoryRecords(item, serviceRecords, batchTime = Time.utc.iso8601)
           records.push(record)
         end  #container status block end
 
-        @mdmPodRecordItems.push(mdmPodRecord.dup)
+        if CustomMetricsUtils.check_custom_metrics_availability
+            @mdmPodRecordItems.push(mdmPodRecord.dup)
+        end
 
         records.each do |record|
           if !record.nil?