Auto-Start Harbor on Boot: Systemd Setup for Docker Compose Deployments

Why Harbor Needs Manual Startup

Harbor is deployed via Docker Compose, and Docker containers do not automatically start on boot unless configured with a restart policy. After a server reboot:

Docker service may start automatically (if enabled), but Harbor containers remain stopped.

If Docker itself is not enabled, the entire Docker environment and Harbor stay down.

Container dependency chains break: Harbor services use depends_on relationships; if a dependency fails to start, dependent services repeatedly restart and ultimately fail.

The core solution: ensure Docker starts on boot, then make Harbor containers follow.

Simulated Reboot Scenario

Normal running state shows all Harbor containers healthy.

Reboot command: reboot After reboot, some services fail to start, requiring manual intervention. Exception services include:

harbor-jobservice nginx registryctl harbor-portal

Solution: Manage Harbor with systemd

Using systemd integrates Harbor into the system startup flow, enabling auto-start, status checks, and log tracking.

Steps (CentOS Example)

Ensure Docker service is enabled on boot

# Check Docker status
systemctl status docker

# Enable auto-start if not already
systemctl enable docker --now

Create Harbor start/stop scripts

Assuming Harbor is installed at /data/harbor:

# Start script start.sh
cat > /data/harbor/start.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
cd /data/harbor
docker-compose up -d
EOF

# Stop script stop.sh
cat > /data/harbor/stop.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
cd /data/harbor
docker-compose down
EOF

# Make scripts executable
chmod +x /data/harbor/start.sh /data/harbor/stop.sh

Create systemd service file

Create /etc/systemd/system/harbor.service:

cat > /etc/systemd/system/harbor.service << 'EOF'
[Unit]
Description=Harbor Image Registry
# Ensure Docker starts before Harbor
After=docker.service
# Require Docker service; if Docker fails, Harbor won't start
Requires=docker.service

[Service]
# One-shot script execution
Type=oneshot
# Start command
ExecStart=/data/harbor/start.sh
# Stop command
ExecStop=/data/harbor/stop.sh
# Keep service shown as running after script exits
RemainAfterExit=yes

[Install]
# Activate in multi-user mode
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

Enable and verify

# Reload systemd configuration
systemctl daemon-reload

# Avoid SELinux blocking script execution
# Temporarily disable SELinux (current session)
setenforce 0
# Permanently disable SELinux
sed -i 's/enforcing/disabled/' /etc/selinux/config

# Enable Harbor auto-start
systemctl enable harbor.service

# Manual start test
systemctl start harbor.service

# Check status (should show active (exited))
systemctl status harbor.service

Verification

Reboot the server and run docker ps. If Harbor containers (e.g., harbor-core, registry, postgresql) are running, the configuration succeeds.