GKE Backup & Disaster Recovery

Protects stateful GKE workloads using Backup for GKE.

CLI Reference

# Enable GKE Backup addon (Slow cluster-level update)
gcloud container clusters update <CLUSTER_NAME> --enable-gke-backup --region <REGION> --quiet

# Create Backup Plan
gcloud container backup-restore backup-plans create <PLAN_NAME> \
  --cluster=<CLUSTER_NAME> --location=<REGION> \
  --retention-days=<DAYS> --cron-schedule="<CRON>" --all-namespaces --quiet

# Trigger Manual Backup
gcloud container backup-restore backups create <BACKUP_NAME> \
  --backup-plan=<PLAN_NAME> --location=<REGION> --quiet

# Create Restore Plan
gcloud container backup-restore restore-plans create <RESTORE_PLAN_NAME> \
  --cluster=<TARGET_CLUSTER_NAME> --location=<REGION> --backup-plan=<SOURCE_BACKUP_PLAN_NAME> \
  --cluster-resource-conflict-policy=USE_EXISTING_VERSION --namespaced-resource-restore-mode=FAIL_ON_CONFLICT --quiet

# Execute Restore
gcloud container backup-restore restores create <RESTORE_NAME> \
  --restore-plan=<RESTORE_PLAN_NAME> --backup=<BACKUP_NAME> --location=<REGION> --quiet

Best Practices

CMEK Encryption: Encrypt backup plans using Customer-Managed Encryption Keys: --backup-encryption-key=<KEY>.
Scope: Prefer backing up specific namespaces rather than the entire cluster: --included-namespaces=<ns1>,<ns2>.

Troubleshooting & Common Pitfalls (CRITICAL)

[!IMPORTANT] Slow Operations: Enabling GKE Backup (--enable-gke-backup) triggers a slow Google Cloud control plane cluster update that takes several minutes. * Rule: Do not run a terminal loop waiting for the GKE Backup addon to become active. * Action: Provide the command to enable the addon, explain that the operation will proceed in the background, and immediately proceed to write the backup plan configs. Do not block.

Files1

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Overall Score

72/100

Grade

B

Good

Safety

76

Quality

68

Clarity

78

Completeness

62

Summary

A reference guide for configuring GKE Backup Plans and disaster recovery workflows using `gcloud` commands. The skill provides CLI command templates for enabling the GKE Backup addon, creating backup and restore plans, and executing cluster restores. It includes best practices (CMEK encryption, namespace scoping) and critical guidance on handling slow cluster updates asynchronously.

Detected Capabilities

gcloud executionGKE cluster modificationbackup plan creationrestore workflow configuration

Trigger Keywords

Phrases that MCP clients use to match this skill to user intent.

gke backup configurationcluster disaster recoveryrestore from backupbackup plan setupcluster recovery workflow

Risk Signals

WARNING

gcloud container clusters update with --enable-gke-backup triggers slow cluster-level changes

CLI Reference section

INFO

No documented guardrails on cluster selection or restore conflict resolution policies

Restore Plan and Execute Restore commands

Referenced Domains

External domains referenced in skill content, detected by static analysis.

www.apache.org

Use Cases

/gke-backup-dr
Set up automated GKE cluster backups
Configure disaster recovery plans for Kubernetes workloads
Restore a GKE cluster from backup
Enable CMEK-encrypted backups for compliance
Create backup plans with namespace-level granularity

Quality Notes

Strengths: Clear CLI command reference with parameterized placeholders, explicit CRITICAL section warning about slow operations with actionable guidance (do not block).
Strengths: Best practices section addresses encryption and namespace scoping, two key operational concerns.
Weaknesses: No error handling guidance—what should the agent do if backup or restore fails? No validation checks before executing destructive restore operations.
Weaknesses: Limited scope documentation—skill does not clarify which cluster states are safe for restore, or what happens if restore conflicts occur (beyond mentioning the policy flag).
Weaknesses: No examples of actual command invocations or expected output, making it harder for agents to confirm success.
Weaknesses: Troubleshooting section only addresses one known issue (slow operations); missing guidance on common failure modes.

Model: claude-haiku-4-5-20251001Analyzed: Jun 24, 2026

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