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Get Started with Catalog

For IDP 2.0 Customers

If you're using Harness IDP 2.0, please ensure you have reviewed the IDP 2.0 Overview guide and are familiar with the key steps for upgrading to IDP 2.0. To enable IDP 2.0, you must raise a support ticket to activate the IDP_2_0 feature flag for your account.

The Software Catalog is a centralized registry of all your software assets — including components, services, websites, libraries, data pipelines, and more. Think of it as a curated directory of your entities, helping you efficiently track ownership, metadata, and dependencies across your software ecosystem.

This guide walks you through the key changes introduced in IDP 2.0 and explains how to navigate the Catalog by creating and managing entities.

What’s New in IDP 2.0?​

Harness IDP 2.0 introduces a major upgrade to the Software Catalog. Built on a Harness-native data model, it is designed to support enterprise-scale needs with robust access control. Key improvements include:

  • Harness-native Platform Hierarchy: Entities now support Account, Org, and Project scopes with fine-grained RBAC controls.
  • No YAML Required: Entities can be created and managed entirely via the UI—no manual YAML editing or GitOps needed.
  • Revamped UI: A modern interface featuring updated Catalog tables, advanced filtering, smooth navigation, and inline entity creation.

Prerequisites (IDP 2.0)​

Before using the Software Catalog in IDP 2.0, ensure:

Create an Entity (IDP 2.0)​

In IDP 2.0, entity creation is simplified with full UI support and optional YAML-based creation. Entities are now “inline,” which means their entire lifecycle can be managed through the UI or API, without Git integration.

There are two ways to add and create a new entity in your catalog:

  • Create an entity via the Harness IDP UI: Use the Harness UI to create entities directly—no YAML required. This method offers a streamlined, code-free experience for adding entities.
  • Create an entity using your catalog YAML: You can still create entities using your existing catalog YAML files. Harness will automatically convert legacy Backstage YAML into the new Harness Catalog Entity Model and register the corresponding entity.

Let’s walk through both methods using a Component entity as an example:

To create a Component via the UI:

  1. Navigate to the Harness IDP portal and click “Create” in the sidebar.
  2. Select Component from the available options.
  3. You’ll enter the Visual View, where you can fill out entity details interactively.
  4. Specify the Entity Scope (Account, Org, or Project). For this example, choose Account scope. Read more about Catalog RBAC.
  5. Click “Review YAML” to view the synchronized YAML. Changes in the Visual View reflect live in the YAML View.
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Note: YAML validation is performed to ensure compatibility with the Harness-native Catalog YAML model. Any errors will be shown in the Validation logs.

  1. If applicable, configure a plugin by referring to its documentation and adding the necessary annotations in the Catalog YAML.

  1. Once completed, click “Create Component” to finalize and register the entity.

Delete an Entity (IDP 2.0)​

You can remove any entity from the Catalog using the steps below:

  1. Open the Software Catalog and locate the entity to delete.
  2. Click the three-dot menu on the entity card or details view.
  3. Select Delete from the dropdown. The entity will be permanently removed.

Next Steps (IDP 2.0)​

Now that you've learned how to create, populate, and delete Catalog entities, here’s what to explore next:

  1. Deep dive into the Catalog Data Model to understand entity types and relationships.
  2. Learn the structure of Catalog YAML and how to author compliant definitions.
  3. Customize and manage a custom Catalog UI for tailored workflows.
  4. Learn how to configure RBAC for Catalog entities.