k3s

Backup Commands

Create etcd snapshots, restore clusters, and manage k3s data backups for disaster recovery.

10 commands

Pro Tips

Schedule automatic etcd snapshots with --etcd-snapshot-schedule-cron

Common Mistakes

Test restores regularly to ensure backup validity

Commands

Create etcd snapshot

$ k3s etcd-snapshot save --name backup-$(date +%Y%m%d)

Create manual etcd snapshot.

List snapshots

$ k3s etcd-snapshot ls

List available etcd snapshots.

Restore from snapshot

$ k3s server --cluster-reset --cluster-reset-restore-path=/path/to/snapshot

Restore cluster from snapshot.

Delete snapshot

$ k3s etcd-snapshot delete backup-20240101

Delete an etcd snapshot.

Configure auto snapshots

$ curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | sh -s - --etcd-snapshot-schedule-cron '0 */6 * * *'

Enable automatic snapshots every 6 hours.

Set snapshot retention

$ curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | sh -s - --etcd-snapshot-schedule-cron '0 */12 * * *' --etcd-snapshot-retention 10

Configure scheduled snapshots with a retention count of 10.

Snapshot to S3

$ k3s etcd-snapshot save --name s3-backup --s3 --s3-bucket my-bucket --s3-region us-east-1 --s3-access-key <key> --s3-secret-key <secret>

Save an etcd snapshot directly to an S3-compatible bucket.

Restore from S3 snapshot

$ k3s server --cluster-reset --cluster-reset-restore-path=s3-backup --etcd-s3 --etcd-s3-bucket my-bucket --etcd-s3-region us-east-1

Restore cluster from an S3-stored etcd snapshot.

Set snapshot directory

$ curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | sh -s - --etcd-snapshot-dir /mnt/backups/k3s

Configure a custom directory for storing etcd snapshots.

Backup kubeconfig

$ sudo cp /etc/rancher/k3s/k3s.yaml ~/k3s-kubeconfig-backup.yaml

Create a backup copy of the kubeconfig file.

k3s