> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/harbor-framework/harbor/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# harbor cache
> Manage Harbor cache and clean up resources
The `harbor cache` command group provides utilities for managing Harbor's cache, including downloaded datasets, Docker images, and temporary files.
## Commands
### harbor cache clean
Clean Harbor cache by removing Docker images and the cache directory.
```bash theme={null}
harbor cache clean [OPTIONS]
```
#### Options
Skip confirmation prompt and clean immediately. Default: `false`
Show what would be cleaned without actually cleaning. Default: `false`
Skip Docker image cleanup. Default: `false`
Skip cache directory cleanup. Default: `false`
#### Examples
Clean cache with confirmation:
```bash theme={null}
harbor cache clean
```
Clean without confirmation:
```bash theme={null}
harbor cache clean --force
```
Dry run to see what would be cleaned:
```bash theme={null}
harbor cache clean --dry
```
Clean only Docker images:
```bash theme={null}
harbor cache clean --no-cache-dir
```
Clean only cache directory:
```bash theme={null}
harbor cache clean --no-docker
```
## What Gets Cleaned
### Cache Directory
**Location**: `~/.cache/harbor/`
Contains:
* **tasks/**: Downloaded datasets and tasks
* **jobs/**: Job results (only if inside cache)
* **registry/**: Cached registry metadata
* **environments/**: Environment build caches
Example structure:
```
~/.cache/harbor/
├── tasks/
│ ├── terminal-bench@2.0/
│ ├── swe-bench@lite/
│ └── ...
├── jobs/
│ ├── my-job-20260303-120000/
│ └── ...
└── registry/
└── cache.json
```
### Docker Images
The command removes Docker images matching these patterns:
* `alexgshaw/*` - Harbor base images
* `hb__*` - Harbor environment images (prefix: "harbor build")
* `sb__*` - Sandbox environment images (prefix: "sandbox build")
Example images:
```
alexgshaw/harbor-base:latest
hb__task-001:latest
hb__terminal-bench-task-123:latest
sb__custom-env:latest
```
## Usage Examples
### Basic Cleanup
Clean everything with confirmation:
```bash theme={null}
harbor cache clean
```
Output:
```
Harbor Cache Cleanup
Cache directory: /home/user/.cache/harbor
Cache size: 2048.50 MB
Docker images to remove: 15 image(s)
• alexgshaw/harbor-base:latest
• hb__task-001:latest
• hb__task-002:latest
...
Proceed with cleanup? (y/N): y
✓ Removed cache directory: /home/user/.cache/harbor
✓ Removed 15 Docker image(s)
✓ Cache cleanup completed
```
### Check Before Cleaning
Use dry run to see what would be removed:
```bash theme={null}
harbor cache clean --dry
```
Output:
```
Harbor Cache Cleanup
DRY RUN - No changes will be made
Cache directory: /home/user/.cache/harbor
Cache size: 2048.50 MB
Docker images to remove: 15 image(s)
• alexgshaw/harbor-base:latest
• hb__task-001:latest
...
✓ Dry run completed (no changes made)
```
### Automated Cleanup
Clean without prompts (useful for scripts):
```bash theme={null}
harbor cache clean --force
```
### Selective Cleanup
Clean only Docker images (preserve downloaded tasks):
```bash theme={null}
harbor cache clean --no-cache-dir
```
Clean only cache directory (preserve Docker images):
```bash theme={null}
harbor cache clean --no-docker
```
## When to Clean Cache
### Free Up Disk Space
Docker images and cached tasks can consume significant storage:
```bash theme={null}
# Check disk usage
du -sh ~/.cache/harbor
docker images | grep -E "alexgshaw|hb__|sb__" | wc -l
# Clean up
harbor cache clean
```
### After Evaluations
Clean up after completing evaluations:
```bash theme={null}
# Run evaluation
harbor run --dataset terminal-bench@2.0 --agent claude-code
# Clean up (keep results)
mv ~/.cache/harbor/jobs/my-job-20260303-120000 ./results/
harbor cache clean
```
### Before Major Updates
Clean cache before updating Harbor:
```bash theme={null}
# Clean old cache
harbor cache clean --force
# Update Harbor
uv tool upgrade harbor
# Re-download needed datasets
harbor datasets download terminal-bench@2.0
```
### Development Workflow
Clean frequently during development:
```bash theme={null}
# After testing
harbor cache clean --force
# Or just Docker images
harbor cache clean --no-cache-dir --force
```
## Advanced Usage
### Preserve Specific Jobs
Move important job results before cleaning:
```bash theme={null}
# Move important results
mkdir -p ./important-results
cp -r ~/.cache/harbor/jobs/critical-eval-* ./important-results/
# Clean cache
harbor cache clean --force
# Results preserved in ./important-results
```
### Scheduled Cleanup
Automate cache cleanup with cron:
```bash theme={null}
# Add to crontab (clean weekly on Sunday at 2am)
0 2 * * 0 /usr/local/bin/harbor cache clean --force
```
### Selective Docker Cleanup
Clean only old Docker images:
```bash theme={null}
# Remove images older than 7 days
docker image prune --all --filter "until=168h" --filter "label=harbor=true"
# Or use Harbor's cleanup
harbor cache clean --no-cache-dir
```
### Monitor Cache Size
Check cache size before and after:
```bash theme={null}
# Before
du -sh ~/.cache/harbor
docker images | grep -E "alexgshaw|hb__|sb__"
# Clean
harbor cache clean --dry
# After
du -sh ~/.cache/harbor
docker images | grep -E "alexgshaw|hb__|sb__"
```
## Troubleshooting
### Docker Cleanup Fails
If Docker cleanup fails:
```bash theme={null}
# Check Docker is running
docker ps
# Manually remove images
docker rmi $(docker images | grep -E "alexgshaw|hb__|sb__" | awk '{print $3}')
# Or force remove
docker rmi -f $(docker images | grep -E "alexgshaw|hb__|sb__" | awk '{print $3}')
```
### Permission Issues
If cache directory cleanup fails:
```bash theme={null}
# Check permissions
ls -la ~/.cache/harbor
# Fix permissions
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER ~/.cache/harbor
# Try again
harbor cache clean
```
### Partial Cleanup
If cleanup is interrupted:
```bash theme={null}
# Check what remains
ls -la ~/.cache/harbor
docker images | grep -E "alexgshaw|hb__|sb__"
# Clean again
harbor cache clean --force
```
## Best Practices
### Regular Cleanup
Clean cache periodically:
```bash theme={null}
# Weekly cleanup (keep important results)
harbor cache clean --force
```
### Before Long-Running Jobs
Clean cache to ensure enough disk space:
```bash theme={null}
# Check available space
df -h
# Clean if needed
harbor cache clean --force
# Run job
harbor run --dataset large-benchmark --agent claude-code
```
### Development Iterations
Clean frequently during development:
```bash theme={null}
# After each test iteration
harbor cache clean --no-cache-dir --force # Keep datasets
```
### CI/CD Integration
Clean cache in CI/CD pipelines:
```yaml theme={null}
# .github/workflows/test.yml
steps:
- name: Clean Harbor cache
run: harbor cache clean --force
- name: Run tests
run: harbor run --config test-config.yaml
```
## See Also
* [harbor datasets](/cli/datasets) - Download datasets
* [harbor run](/cli/run) - Run evaluations
* [harbor jobs](/cli/jobs) - Manage jobs