Backup and Recovery

Cluster backup strategies and BackupClasses are configured by cluster administrators. If your tenant does not have a BackupClass yet, ask your administrator to follow the Velero Backup Configuration guide to set up storage, strategies, and BackupClasses.

This guide is for tenant users: how to run one-off and scheduled backups using existing BackupClasses, check backup status, and where to look for restore options.

Cozystack uses Velero under the hood. Backups and restores run in the cozy-velero namespace (management cluster) or the equivalent namespace in your tenant cluster, depending on your setup.

Prerequisites

• The Velero add-on is enabled for your cluster (by an administrator).
• At least one BackupClass is available for your tenant or namespace (provided by an administrator).
• kubectl and kubeconfig for the cluster you are backing up.

1. List available BackupClasses

BackupClasses define where and how backups are stored. You can only use those that administrators have created and made available to you.

kubectl get backupclasses -n cozy-velero

Use the BackupClass name in the next steps when creating a BackupJob or BackupPlan.

2. Create a one-off backup (BackupJob)

Use a BackupJob when you want to run a backup once (for example, before a risky change).

Replace <BACKUPCLASS_NAME> with a name from the list above, and <API_VERSION> with the API version used in your cluster (e.g. backup.cozystack.io/v1alpha1). Check with:

kubectl get backupclass -n cozy-velero -o yaml

Example BackupJob:

apiVersion: <API_VERSION>   # e.g. backup.cozystack.io/v1alpha1
kind: BackupJob
metadata:
  name: my-manual-backup
  namespace: cozy-velero
spec:
  backupClassRef:
    name: <BACKUPCLASS_NAME>
  # Optional overrides (if supported by your CRD):
  # ttl: 168h0m0s
  # snapshotVolumes: true

Apply and check status:

kubectl apply -f backupjob.yaml
kubectl get backupjobs -n cozy-velero
kubectl describe backupjob my-manual-backup -n cozy-velero

Underlying Velero backups can be listed with:

kubectl get backups.velero.io -n cozy-velero

3. Create scheduled backups (BackupPlan)

Use a BackupPlan to run backups on a schedule (e.g. daily or every 6 hours).

Example (replace <BACKUPCLASS_NAME> and <API_VERSION> as above):

apiVersion: <API_VERSION>   # e.g. backup.cozystack.io/v1alpha1
kind: BackupPlan
metadata:
  name: my-backup-plan
  namespace: cozy-velero
spec:
  backupClassRef:
    name: <BACKUPCLASS_NAME>
  schedule: "0 */6 * * *"   # Every 6 hours (cron)
  # Optional: ttl: 720h0m0s

Apply and check:

kubectl apply -f backupplan.yaml
kubectl get backupplans -n cozy-velero
kubectl describe backupplan my-backup-plan -n cozy-velero
kubectl get backups.velero.io -n cozy-velero

4. Check backup status

• BackupJobs: kubectl get backupjobs -n cozy-velero and kubectl describe backupjob <name> -n cozy-velero
• BackupPlans: kubectl get backupplans -n cozy-velero and kubectl describe backupplan <name> -n cozy-velero
• Velero backups: kubectl get backups.velero.io -n cozy-velero
• Upload progress (snapshots): kubectl get datauploads.velero.io -n cozy-velero

If the [Velero CLI]]( https://velero.io/docs/v1.17/basic-install/#install-the-cli) is installed, you can also run:

velero -n cozy-velero backup get
velero -n cozy-velero schedule get

5. Restore from a backup

Restore is typically performed by cluster administrators or via the Velero API, because it can affect many resources and may require care (e.g. partial restore, namespace mapping).

• Full or partial restore using Velero: see the Velero Restore documentation and, in your environment, the Velero Backup Configuration guide for context on storage and namespaces.
• List existing backups: velero -n cozy-velero backup get or kubectl get backups.velero.io -n cozy-velero.
• Restore operations may create Restore resources in the cozy-velero namespace; check with kubectl get restores.velero.io -n cozy-velero and kubectl get datadownloads.velero.io -n cozy-velero for download progress.

If your platform exposes a higher-level restore API (e.g. a custom Restore CRD), use that as documented by your administrator.