Harbor

Harbor is a CNCF Graduated cloud native registry for managing container images and related artifacts with security and governance controls. It extends the OCI/Docker registry model with enterprise features like policy enforcement, vulnerability scanning, and image signing to support secure supply chains.

Key Features

• Stores and manages container images and other cloud native artifacts, including Helm charts
• Role-based access control using projects for multi-tenant repository management
• Policy-based replication between registries for hybrid and multi-cloud deployments
• Built-in vulnerability scanning with policies to block deployment of vulnerable artifacts
• Image signing support and validation for provenance and integrity (including Notary-based workflows)
• Authentication integrations including LDAP/AD and OpenID Connect for SSO
• Audit logs for repository and administrative operations
• REST API with Swagger/OpenAPI interface for automation and integrations

Use Cases

• Run a private, policy-controlled registry for Kubernetes and Docker environments
• Enforce artifact security (scan/sign) as part of CI/CD and release workflows
• Replicate images across regions or datacenters for performance and availability

Limitations and Considerations

• Full feature set and integrations typically require multiple supporting components (scanner, signing, auth provider) and careful operational configuration

Harbor is a strong fit for teams that need a secure, compliant artifact registry with enterprise access control and automation capabilities. It is widely adopted in cloud native environments and integrates well with Kubernetes-centric workflows.