Kubernetes Skills

Kubernetes backup and restore with Velero. Use when creating backups, restoring applications, managing disaster recovery, or migrating workloads between clusters.

Security Scan

The instructions match a Velero-based Kubernetes backup/restore workflow, but the skill omits explicit declarations for required cluster access and tooling (kubectl/velero/kubeconfig), which is an important mismatch you should understand before installing.

Purpose & Capability

The name/description (Velero backups/restores) align with the SKILL.md examples calling velero_* and kubectl_apply. However, the skill does not declare obvious dependencies it needs in practice (kubectl, velero CLI or provider tools, or access to a kubeconfig/context). That omission is inconsistent with the stated purpose because interacting with clusters requires credentials and tooling.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md provides concrete backup/create/list/restore/schedule operations and only references Velero and kubectl operations. It does not instruct the agent to read unrelated files, exfiltrate data, or call external unknown endpoints. It does include actions that would operate on secrets and cluster resources (expected for a backup/restore tool).

Install Mechanism

This is instruction-only (no install spec, no code written to disk). That is the lowest-risk install pattern — nothing is downloaded or installed by the skill itself.

Credentials

The skill requests no environment variables or config paths, but in practice Velero and kubectl require cluster credentials (kubeconfig) and installed binaries. Not declaring kubeconfig or cluster-access requirements is a proportionality mismatch: the skill will need access to potentially sensitive cluster credentials to do its job, yet the registry metadata doesn't signal that.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill is not always-enabled and does not request persistent or cross-skill privileges. It doesn't declare actions that modify other skills or system-wide agent settings.

What to consider before installing

This skill appears to be a straightforward Velero backup/restore guide, but it omits explicit requirements for kubectl/velero and access to your kubeconfig or cluster credentials. Before installing or using it: 1) Confirm where the velero_* and kubectl_apply tools come from in your agent environment and whether they will run commands with your kubeconfig. 2) Limit the agent's Kubernetes credentials to a least-privilege service account or a non-production cluster for testing. 3) Verify Velero is installed and test workflows on a sandbox cluster first, since restores can overwrite resources (including Secrets). 4) Prefer skills with a known source/homepage; provenance is unknown here. These steps will reduce the chance of unintended changes or credential exposure.

Kubernetes Backup with Velero

Manage backups and restores using kubectl-mcp-server's Velero tools.

Check Velero Installation

# Detect Velero
velero_detect_tool()

# List backup locations
velero_backup_locations_list_tool()

Create Backups

# Backup entire namespace
velero_backup_create_tool(
    name="my-backup",
    namespaces=["default", "app-namespace"]
)

# Backup with label selector
velero_backup_create_tool(
    name="app-backup",
    namespaces=["default"],
    label_selector="app=my-app"
)

# Backup excluding resources
velero_backup_create_tool(
    name="config-backup",
    namespaces=["default"],
    exclude_resources=["pods", "replicasets"]
)

# Backup with TTL
velero_backup_create_tool(
    name="daily-backup",
    namespaces=["production"],
    ttl="720h"  # 30 days
)

List and Describe Backups

# List all backups
velero_backups_list_tool()

# Get backup details
velero_backup_get_tool(name="my-backup")

# Check backup status
# - New: Backup request created
# - InProgress: Backup running
# - Completed: Backup successful
# - Failed: Backup failed
# - PartiallyFailed: Some items failed

Restore from Backup

# Full restore
velero_restore_create_tool(
    name="my-restore",
    backup_name="my-backup"
)

# Restore to different namespace
velero_restore_create_tool(
    name="my-restore",
    backup_name="my-backup",
    namespace_mappings={"old-ns": "new-ns"}
)

# Restore specific resources
velero_restore_create_tool(
    name="config-restore",
    backup_name="my-backup",
    include_resources=["configmaps", "secrets"]
)

# Restore excluding resources
velero_restore_create_tool(
    name="partial-restore",
    backup_name="my-backup",
    exclude_resources=["persistentvolumeclaims"]
)

List and Monitor Restores

# List restores
velero_restores_list_tool()

# Get restore details
velero_restore_get_tool(name="my-restore")

Scheduled Backups

# List schedules
velero_schedules_list_tool()

# Get schedule details
velero_schedule_get_tool(name="daily-backup")

# Create schedule (via kubectl)
kubectl_apply(manifest="""
apiVersion: velero.io/v1
kind: Schedule
metadata:
  name: daily-backup
  namespace: velero
spec:
  schedule: "0 2 * * *"  # 2 AM daily
  template:
    includedNamespaces:
    - production
    ttl: 720h
""")

Disaster Recovery Workflow

Create DR Backup

1. velero_backup_create_tool(
       name="dr-backup-$(date)",
       namespaces=["production"]
   )
2. velero_backup_get_tool(name="dr-backup-...")  # Wait for completion

Restore to New Cluster

1. velero_detect_tool()  # Verify Velero installed
2. velero_backups_list_tool()  # Find backup
3. velero_restore_create_tool(
       name="dr-restore",
       backup_name="dr-backup-..."
   )
4. velero_restore_get_tool(name="dr-restore")  # Monitor

Related Skills

• k8s-multicluster - Multi-cluster operations
• k8s-incident - Incident response