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Alex Spinov
Alex Spinov

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Velero Has a Free API: Backup and Restore Kubernetes Clusters with Confidence

Why Velero

Velero by VMware backs up your entire Kubernetes cluster — resources, persistent volumes, namespaces. Migrate between clusters, recover from disasters, or snapshot before risky changes.

Install

brew install velero

# Install server-side with AWS backend
velero install \
  --provider aws \
  --plugins velero/velero-plugin-for-aws:v1.9.0 \
  --bucket my-velero-backups \
  --backup-location-config region=us-east-1 \
  --snapshot-location-config region=us-east-1 \
  --secret-file ./credentials-velero
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Create a Backup

# Backup entire cluster
velero backup create full-backup

# Backup specific namespace
velero backup create prod-backup --include-namespaces production

# Backup by label
velero backup create app-backup --selector app=myapp

# Check status
velero backup describe full-backup
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Restore

# Restore everything
velero restore create --from-backup full-backup

# Restore specific namespace
velero restore create --from-backup full-backup --include-namespaces production

# Restore to different namespace
velero restore create --from-backup full-backup \
  --namespace-mappings production:staging
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Scheduled Backups

# Daily backup at 2 AM
velero schedule create daily-backup --schedule="0 2 * * *"

# Weekly backup, keep 4
velero schedule create weekly-backup \
  --schedule="0 3 * * 0" \
  --ttl 672h
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Cluster Migration

# Source cluster: create backup
velero backup create migration-backup

# Target cluster: point to same storage
velero install --provider aws --bucket my-velero-backups ...

# Target cluster: restore
velero restore create --from-backup migration-backup
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Key Features

  • Full cluster backup — resources + persistent volumes
  • Scheduled backups — cron-based with TTL
  • Selective restore — namespace, label, resource type filters
  • Cluster migration — backup from one, restore to another
  • Hooks — pre/post backup commands in pods
  • Multi-cloud — AWS, GCP, Azure, MinIO

Resources


Need to extract backup data, cluster state, or migration metrics? Check out my Apify tools or email spinov001@gmail.com for custom solutions.

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