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Use the Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) air-gapped Managed Harbor Service (MHS) to create a
Harbor registry instance in each project. A Harbor registry instance serves as a
central repository for storing and managing container images in a cloud-native
environment. It extends the capabilities of the open-source Docker distribution.
The following restrictions apply:
You can only create up to one instance in each project.
Instances are isolated and don't share any data or compute resources.
Before you begin
To create Harbor registry instances, you must have the necessary identity and access roles:
Harbor Instance Admin: grants read and write access to all Harbor resources.
Ask your Organization IAM Admin to grant you the Harbor Instance Admin
(harbor-instance-admin) role.
Create a Harbor registry instance
Follow these steps to create a Harbor registry instance in your project.
Console
In the GDC console, follow these steps:
Click the Harbor Container Registry link in the section CI/CD in
the navigation menu.
Click Create Instance.
Enter a name for the instance in Instance name.
Optional: In Projects, enable the Create a default project when creating this instance toggle to create a default project for this Harbor instance.
Enter a project name in Project Name.
Read the Harbor managed Terms of Service and enable the checkbox if you accept the terms.
The Status must show In progress, and the Name must show an external link containing the name of your newly created Harbor instance.
After the instance is created and the Status shows Ready, click the external link on the page to visit the web UI of the Harbor instance.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-29 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) air-gapped Managed Harbor Service (MHS) allows the creation of a Harbor registry instance in each project for storing and managing container images.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eOnly one Harbor instance can be created per project, and these instances are isolated without shared data or compute resources.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eTo create an instance, users require the Harbor Instance Admin role, which grants full read and write access to all Harbor resources.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eInstances can be created via the GDC console by navigating to the Harbor Container Registry and providing an instance name, or via the command line using the \u003ccode\u003egdcloud harbor instances create\u003c/code\u003e command, specifying the instance and project names.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWhen creating an instance, users can opt to have a default project created as well, and should the instance be successfully created, it will show up as ready in the console, and have an external link to access the web UI.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Create Harbor registry instances\n\nUse the Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) air-gapped Managed Harbor Service (MHS) to create a\nHarbor registry instance in each project. A Harbor registry instance serves as a\ncentral repository for storing and managing container images in a cloud-native\nenvironment. It extends the capabilities of the open-source Docker distribution.\nThe following restrictions apply:\n\n- You can only create up to one instance in each project.\n- Instances are isolated and don't share any data or compute resources.\n\nBefore you begin\n----------------\n\nTo create Harbor registry instances, you must have the necessary identity and access roles:\n\n- Harbor Instance Admin: grants read and write access to all Harbor resources. Ask your Organization IAM Admin to grant you the Harbor Instance Admin (`harbor-instance-admin`) role.\n\nCreate a Harbor registry instance\n---------------------------------\n\nFollow these steps to create a Harbor registry instance in your project. \n\n### Console\n\nIn the GDC console, follow these steps:\n\n1. Click the **Harbor Container Registry** link in the section **CI/CD** in the navigation menu.\n2. Click **Create Instance**.\n3. Enter a name for the instance in **Instance name**.\n4. Optional: In **Projects** , enable the **Create a default project when creating this instance** toggle to create a default project for this Harbor instance.\n\n 1. Enter a project name in **Project Name**.\n5. Read the **Harbor managed Terms of Service** and enable the checkbox if you accept the terms.\n\n6. The **Status** must show **In progress** , and the **Name** must show an external link containing the name of your newly created Harbor instance.\n\n7. After the instance is created and the **Status** shows **Ready**, click the external link on the page to visit the web UI of the Harbor instance.\n\n### CLI\n\nCreate the Harbor registry instance: \n\n gdcloud harbor instances create \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eINSTANCE\u003c/var\u003e \\\n --project=\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003ePROJECT\u003c/var\u003e\n\nReplace the following:\n\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eINSTANCE\u003c/var\u003e: the name of the instance.\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003ePROJECT\u003c/var\u003e: the name of the GDC project in which to create the instance."]]
