[CNCF LFX Proposal] Headlamp Velero Plugin

### CNCF Project

Headlamp

### Term

2026 Term 3 (Sep-Nov)

### Program Name

Velero Backup Management Plugin

### Program Description

## Description

[Velero](https://velero.io) is the most widely adopted CNCF project for Kubernetes backup, restore, and disaster recovery. It manages cluster state and persistent volumes through a set of CRDs (Backups, Restores, Schedules, BackupStorageLocations, VolumeSnapshotLocations). Today, Velero has no graphical interface, operators rely entirely on the `velero` CLI and `kubectl` to manage backup operations, inspect failures, and monitor schedule health.

[Headlamp](https://headlamp.dev) provides an extensible Kubernetes UI with a growing plugin ecosystem for CNCF projects including Flux, KEDA, Knative, and Kubeflow. This project adds Velero to that ecosystem by building a Headlamp plugin that gives cluster operators a web UI for day-to-day backup management.

The mentee will develop a TypeScript/React plugin using the Headlamp plugin SDK that reads and interacts with Velero's CRDs via the Kubernetes API. The plugin will follow existing Headlamp plugin conventions (sidebar registration, list/detail views, status indicators) established by plugins like Flux and Knative.

## Expected outcomes

- A "Velero" sidebar section in Headlamp with sub-items for each resource type
- List views for Backups, Restores, and Schedules displaying name, status, timestamps, and included/excluded resources
- Detail views for each resource showing full spec, status conditions, phase progression, and related resources (e.g., a Backup's associated Restore objects)
- List and detail views for BackupStorageLocations and VolumeSnapshotLocations with availability status
- Ability to create on-demand Backups and Restores from the UI via Kubernetes API calls
- An overview dashboard summarizing backup health: recent backup status, schedule adherence, and storage location availability
- Unit tests and plugin documentation
- Plugin published to the headlamp-k8s/plugins repository
- A blog post on the Kubernetes blog showcasing the plugin
- Maps integration, Velero resources displayed on the Headlamp map view

### Technologies

TypeScript, React, Kubernetes, Headlamp Plugin SDK, Velero CRDs

### Skills same as Technologies?

- [ ] Yes, the required skills are the same as the technologies listed above.

### Required/Desirable Skills

TypeScript, React, Kubernetes fundamentals (CRDs, RBAC, API resources), UI/UX design basics

### Mentors

Rene Dudfield | @illume | renedudfield@microsoft.com | illume
Shubham Pampattiwar | @shubham-pampattiwar | spampatt@redhat.com | spampatt
Daniel Jiang | @reasonerjt| [daniel.jiang@broadcom.com](mailto:daniel.jiang@broadcom.com) | danieljt

### Upstream Issue URL

https://github.com/headlamp-k8s/plugins/issues/939

### Application Prerequisites

- [x] Resume
- [x] Cover Letter
- [ ] School Enrollment Verification
- [ ] Participation Permission from school or employer
- [ ] Coding Challenge
- [ ] Custom Prerequisite (fill in details below)

### Coding Challenge URL

_No response_

### Custom Prerequisite Name

_No response_

### Custom Prerequisite Description

_No response_

### Custom Prerequisite — File Upload

- [ ] Yes — completion of this task requires the mentee to submit a file.

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**LFX program:** [CNCF - Headlamp: Velero Backup Management Plugin (2026 Term 3)](https://mentorship.lfx.linuxfoundation.org/project/6ae7ef5c-c090-4c08-b4b8-f13d8f6aed9e)

Begin with upstream issue 939 and inspect the existing Flux and Knative plugins for Headlamp plugin conventions, including sidebar registration and list/detail views. Done means a published Velero plugin with the requested resource views, create actions, health dashboard, map integration, unit tests, documentation, and blog post.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.