Harbor is a popular, open-source container image registry that secures images with role-based access control, supports image replication, and integrates with external authentication systems. Like any registry, it’s critical to regularly back up your Harbor instance<\/strong>, including the database, image storage, configuration, and SSL certificates. This guide provides step-by-step instructions to automate Harbor backups and restore them when needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before proceeding, ensure the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your Harbour instance should be accessible via a valid domain (e.g., Your backup process should include the following components:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can design a backup script that performs the following actions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n To restore a Harbor instance from backup:<\/p>\n\n\n\nPrerequisites<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\/root\/harbor<\/code>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n\/data<\/strong><\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\nDNS Configuration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
dockerhub.<yourdomain>.com<\/code>) and DNS A record should point to your server’s public IP.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBackup Strategy Overview<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Harbor stores metadata and configuration in its internal PostgreSQL database (harbor-db<\/code>). Dumping this database is critical for a full restore.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
These are typically stored under your Harbor installation directory (e.g., \/root\/harbor<\/code>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
All image layers and associated files are stored under \/data<\/code>. This folder must be archived during backup.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Include log directories and any SSL certificates stored within Harbor’s directories.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Create a custom script that compresses the above components into a single archive and optionally uploads it to a cloud storage bucket (e.g., S3).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Implement a mechanism to retain only the latest few backups (e.g., last 5 backups) to conserve disk space.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\nBackup Process \u2013 Key Steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\/opt\/harbor\/backups<\/code>)<\/li>\n\n\n\nharbor-db<\/code>) to a SQL file<\/li>\n\n\n\n\n
\/root\/harbor<\/code>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n\/data<\/code>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n\/var\/log\/harbor<\/code>) and SSL certs (if applicable)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\nRestore Process \u2013 Key Steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Unpack the desired backup archive in your backup directory (e.g., \/opt\/harbor\/backups<\/code>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n