Velero Has a Free API — Backup and Restore Kubernetes Clusters

Velero (formerly Heptio Ark) is the standard tool for backing up and restoring Kubernetes clusters . It handles cluster resources, persistent volumes, and can migrate workloads between clusters. Free, open source, VMware-backed. Used by companies like Plex, Mozilla, and GitLab. Why Use Velero? Full cluster backup — resources + persistent volumes to S3/GCS/Azure Blob Scheduled backups — cron-based automatic backups Disaster recovery — restore entire cluster from backup Migration — move workloads between clusters Selective restore — restore specific namespaces or resources Quick Setup 1. Install Velero # AWS S3 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 2. Create a Backup # Backup entire cluster velero backup create full-backup # Backup specific namespace velero backup create app-backup