Observed Signal · May 15, 2026 · Technical Guide · Source: DEV Community · Impact: 1/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Run k3s Kubernetes on Hetzner for ~€10
This developer guide shows how to build a very low-cost, single-node k3s Kubernetes cluster on Hetzner using hetzner-k3s, with automated init/delete/restore workflows driven by an included init_cluster.sh script. The tutorial installs Traefik (Gateway API mode), kube-prometheus-stack (Prometheus + Grafana), an nginx reverse proxy, and Velero backups configured to an Azure Blob Storage container for disaster recovery. The flow supports powering the environment off (delete) and restoring it from Velero backups, minimizing running costs (example: a Hetzner cpx22 master ≈ €7.99/month plus small volume charges). The post includes concrete configuration files (.env, cluster.yml, Helm values), CLI install commands (hcloud, kubectl, Helm, Velero), version pins, and a costs report script to enumerate hourly/monthly charges for servers and volumes.
Practical, targeted how-to for self-hosted Kubernetes that can save infrastructure costs for operators; limited broader industry impact beyond infrastructure practitioners.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Provides an init_cluster.sh script to create, delete, restore, and report costs for a hetzner-k3s single-node k3s cluster.
- Uses Velero (v1.18.0) with the Microsoft Azure plugin (VER_PLUGIN_AZURE set to v1.14.0) to back up cluster state to an Azure Blob Storage container.
- Installs Traefik (Gateway API mode), kube-prometheus-stack (Prometheus + Grafana), and an nginx reverse proxy via Helm charts and custom values files.
- Example configuration uses k3s version v1.35.3+k3s1 and a Hetzner cpx22 server type; example cost output lists cpx22 at €7.99/month and sample PVC volumes at €0.44–€0.88/month.
- The workflow supports 'delete' to remove servers while retaining PVs and creating a Velero backup, and 'restore' to recreate the cluster and restore from the latest Velero backup.
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