velero: invalid configuration: no configuration has been provided

The velero CLI can not find any kubeconfig - it checks --kubeconfig, then $KUBECONFIG, then ~/.kube/config, and found nothing. This is the client failing before it ever talks to the cluster. Point it at a real config (export KUBECONFIG or --kubeconfig) and the command works.

The error

invalid configuration: no configuration has been provided

What to do

1. Check the resolution chain:

echo "KUBECONFIG=$KUBECONFIG"
ls -la ~/.kube/config

Expected: Shows nothing resolvable.

2. Point at the real config:

export KUBECONFIG=/path/to/config
velero backup get

Expected: Command works.

3. Or pass it per invocation:

velero --kubeconfig /path/to/config backup get

Expected: Same result without the env var.

When this applies

• the exact invalid configuration: no configuration has been provided message
• fresh machines, CI runners, containers without kubeconfig
• sudo dropping KUBECONFIG

When it does NOT apply

• NoCredentialProviders (server-side cloud credentials, different fix)
• backups stuck in New (server not running)

Works with

velero CLI 1.x

kubectl failing the same way on the same machine

Same missing file. Fix it once and both CLIs work.

Why it happens

The velero CLI is a Kubernetes client like kubectl and resolves its config the same way. With no file anywhere in the chain, client construction fails before any API call.

Edge cases

• In-cluster, the velero server uses a ServiceAccount, not a kubeconfig - this error is CLI-only.
• KUBECONFIG with a typo'd path fails the same way; the chain does not warn which entry was wrong.

Resolved from

gh:aliyuncontainerservice/velero (debugging-install) - https://github.com/aliyuncontainerservice/velero/blob/HEAD/site/docs/master/debugging-install.md