> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.trilio.io/kubernetes/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.trilio.io/kubernetes/overview/release-notes.md).

# Version 5.4.X Release Highlights

### Version 5.4 of Trilio for Kubernetes introduces major new capabilities as follows <a href="#version-5.4-of-trilio-for-kubernetes-introduces-major-new-capabilities-as-follows" id="version-5.4-of-trilio-for-kubernetes-introduces-major-new-capabilities-as-follows"></a>

### **5.4.1**

#### :sparkles: **New Features**

* **Custom environment variables for backup and restore workloads.** You can pass your own environment variables to Trilio backup, restore, and continuous-restore Jobs by setting customJobEnvs on the Trilio manager. Use this when your storage or network setup needs extra settings on those workloads.

#### 🚀 Enhancements

* **Automatic backup of KubeVirt vTPM/EFI persistent state.** TrilioVault now automatically backs up and restores the KubeVirt backend-storage PVC that holds a VM's persistent TPM/EFI state, so restored VMs keep their TPM/NVRAM state instead of starting blank. To exclude a specific VM, add the annotation triliovault.trilio.io/skip-vm-persistent-state: "true" to it. Restoring this PVC works reliably on KubeVirt v1.6.0 or later.
* **Clearer upload failure messages.** When a backup failed while uploading data, the backup status often said only that the upload failed, with no reason. The status now includes the cause, such as the worker node restarting while the upload was running.
* **Updated license agreement.** The end user license agreement shown in the console is updated to the Trilio agreement dated 9 September 2026.
* **Backup and Snapshot Warnings Placement.** Warnings on a backup or snapshot are listed separately, each with a short explanation, instead of one combined message.
* **Persistent theme preference.** Dark mode was lost every time you signed out or your session timed out, and new users always started in light mode. Your theme choice is now remembered, and first-time users follow the light or dark setting of their device.

#### :lady\_beetle: Bug Fixes

* **Google Cloud Storage cleanup.** Cleanup of old backups on Google Cloud Storage could fail, so expired backup data was left in the bucket. Cleanup now deletes those objects whether or not the bucket has versioning turned on
* **Long-running container disk backups.** In some long-running container disk backups, the backup could end early or the finished disk image could show a consistency warning. Those backups now complete normally. A disk image from an earlier release that shows this warning can still be restored.
* **Slow backups of namespaces with many custom resources.** Backups of namespaces with a large number of custom resources could run for hours and fail with DeadlineExceeded during the Metasnapshot phase. The Metasnapshot phase now avoids repeated cluster and registry lookups during a backup run, which cuts backup time and the risk of registry rate-limit errors. Restore behavior is unchanged.
* **Backup file integrity check.** We have added a check at the end of every datamover which verifies our backup file integrity. If that integrity check fails we mark that backup as Failed.
* **Transient Kubernetes API errors.** A brief loss of contact with the Kubernetes API could fail an otherwise healthy backup. Trilio now retries those short connection errors instead of failing the backup immediately.
* **External Grafana integration.** A configuration issue could prevent Trilio from integrating correctly with an external Grafana instance. This is now fixed, and Grafana v13 and later are now supported.
* **Stale manager status after upgrade on OpenShift.** On OpenShift, upgrading to 5.4.0 could leave the Trilio manager showing a stale status. The manager status now updates correctly after an upgrade to 5.4.1

### **5.4.0**

#### ​ :sparkles: New Features <a href="#new-features" id="new-features"></a>

* [**Streaming QCOW2**](/kubernetes/appendix/performance/s3-as-backup-target/streaming-qcow2.md) **backups and S3 deduplication for block volumes:** For block volumes stored on S3-compatible storage, Trilio now writes backup data directly to the target. This is used automatically and typically makes backups faster, uses less memory, and stores sparse disks more efficiently by skipping unused space.\
  After you upgrade, the first backup of each affected BackupPlan is a full backup. Backups taken before the upgrade can still be restored.\
  On S3 targets that have object locking enabled, Trilio can also avoid storing the same data more than once across backups. This is turned on by default for those targets. Deduplication is not available for NFS, Azure, or S3 buckets that do not use object locking. Encrypted volumes still back up and restore as expected, but they provide limited deduplication capabilities.
* **OpenShift Lightspeed integration:** TrilioVault for Kubernetes integrates with OpenShift Lightspeed so you can ask TVK questions in the OpenShift console and receive answers grounded in Trilio documentation. Automatic integration requires the Lightspeed operator, an `OLSConfig` with `spec.ols.byokRAGOnly: true` and an active TVM with `spec.ingressConfig.ingressEnabled: true`.

  When these prerequisites are met, installing the TVK operator injects the TVK RAG entry automatically. See [OpenShift Lightspeed Integration](/kubernetes/appendix/integrations/openshift-lightspeed-integration.md) for setup and verification. Documentation is bundled with the operator release so answers match that TVK version, including in disconnected environments. Administrators can disable automatic Lightspeed wiring on the `TrilioVaultManager` custom resource if they prefer to manage the integration themselves. Lightspeed is optional; TVK continues to operate normally on clusters that do not have it installed.
* **Advanced session management:** The TVK UI now keeps you signed in more reliably. Your session is checked and renewed in the background as you use the product, which improves security and reduces unexpected logouts.
* **Gateway API support and F5 NGINX Ingress Controller:** Following the deprecation of ingress-nginx, Trilio now uses the F5 NGINX Ingress Controller as the default ingress controller. This release also adds [Gateway API and HTTPRoute support](/kubernetes/configuration/management-console/accessing-the-ui.md#accessing-the-ui-via-gateway-api) for exposing Trilio services. You can run in either of these modes:
  * TVK-provisioned: Trilio deploys the Gateway controller, Gateway, and HTTPRoutes.
  * Bring your own (BYO) controller: Trilio uses an existing Gateway controller. If a Gateway is already present, Trilio creates only HTTPRoutes. If no Gateway exists, Trilio creates both the Gateway and HTTPRoutes.
* **Faster filesystem PVC restore from object storage:** Restore performance for filesystem-mode PVCs has been improved when restoring from an object storage target.

#### :lady\_beetle: Bug fixes <a href="#bug-fixes" id="bug-fixes"></a>

* **Backup Plan UI retains included resources when editing:** When you edit a BackupPlan, the Include Resources step now preserves applications and VMs already assigned to the plan. You can add resources without reselecting the existing set. This is especially useful for large VM estates and for growing BackupPlans over time.
* **FileRecoveryVM LVM detection and mount:** FileRecoveryVM now automatically detects, activates, and mounts LVM volumes so files on LVM-managed disks can be recovered without additional manual steps.
* **FileRecoveryVM per-disk LUKS decryption:** FileRecoveryVM now supports [per-disk LUKS decryption](/kubernetes/concepts/file-level-recovery-for-virtual-machines/file-level-recovery-for-virtualmachine-backups.md), so you can unlock encrypted guest disks without restoring the full VM.
* **Operator BackupPlan creation no longer clears selected objects:** When creating a BackupPlan in the operator UI, adding additional application resource objects from the same resource no longer clears objects you have already selected.
* **Backup mount on object stores that reject leading slashes:** Backup mount no longer fails on object stores that reject object names with a leading `/` (for example, Quobyte). Lookups that fail for this reason are retried automatically without the leading slash.

#### ​ :warning: Known limitations <a href="#known-limitations" id="known-limitations"></a>

* **OpenShift Console plugin compatibility:** The TVK OpenShift Console plugin is not currently supported on OpenShift Container Platform 4.22.