nuget-quickstart

Last updated on Oct 27, 2025

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Prerequisites

• Ensure you have the NuGet CLI (nuget) installed on your local machine.
• Access to a Harness account with appropriate permissions to create registries and connectors.

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Create a NuGet artifact registry

Interactive Guide

Step-by-Step

1. Navigate to the Artifact Registry module in your Harness project.
2. Click on New Artifact Registry.
3. In the Registry Type dropdown, select NuGet Registry.
4. Provide a Registry Name.

registry name criteria

Your registry name must start with a letter and can include lowercase alphanumerics, _, . and -.

5. Optionally, add a Description and Labels for better organization.
6. Choose visibility between Public and Private.
7. Click Create Registry to finalize.

private registry

This registry will serve as your private NuGet registry within Harness.

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Configure an Upstream Proxy (Optional)

An upstream proxy allows your registry to fetch NuGet packages from external sources if they are not available locally.

Interactive Guides

Create an upstream proxy

Configure the upstream proxy in your registry

Step-by-Step

Create an upstream proxy

1. In the Artifact Registry module, click the dropdown next to New Artifact Registry and select Upstream Proxy.
2. Choose Nuget Registry as the proxy type.
3. Click Create Proxy to establish the connection.

Configure the upstream proxy in your registry

1. In the Artifact Registry module, select an existing Artifact Registry.
2. Select the Configuration tab.
3. Under Advanced (Optional), select Configure Upstream.
4. Select from the list of compatible proxies to add them to your registry.
5. Click Save to save the configuration.

upstream proxy caching

If a NuGet package isn’t found in your Harness registry, the upstream proxy can fetch it from an external source like NuGet.org, helping to reduce duplication and ensure reliable access to public packages.

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Install and Use NuGet Packages

Nuget

Configure Authentication

Step 1

Add the Harness Registry as a package source:

nuget sources add -Name harness -Source https://pkg.harness.io/pkg/<account-id>/<nuget-registry-name>/nuget/index.json -Username john.doe@harness.io -Password <TOKEN>

nuget setapikey <TOKEN> -Source harness

info

Note: For Nuget V2 Client, use this url: https://pkg.harness.io/pkg/<account-id>/<nuget-registry-name>/nuget/

Step 2

Generate an identity token for authentication

Install Package

Install a package using nuget:

nuget install <ARTIFACT_NAME> -Version <VERSION> -Source harness

Publish Package

Publish your package:

nuget push <PACKAGE_FILE> -Source harness

info

Note: To publish your package with nested directory, refer below command

nuget push <PACKAGE_FILE> -Source https://pkg.harness.io/pkg/<account-id>/<nuget-registry-name>/nuget/<SUB_DIRECTORY> -ApiKey <TOKEN>

Dotnet

Configure Authentication

Step 1

Add the Harness Registry as a package source:

dotnet nuget add source https://pkg.harness.io/pkg/<account-id>/<nuget-registry-name>/nuget/index.json --name harness --username john.doe@harness.io --password <TOKEN> --store-password-in-clear-text

info

Note: For Nuget V2 Client, use this url: https://pkg.harness.io/pkg/<account-id>/<nuget-registry-name>/nuget/

Step 2

Generate an identity token for authentication

Install Package

Add a package using dotnet:

dotnet package add <ARTIFACT_NAME> --version <VERSION> --source harness

Publish Package

Publish your package:

dotnet nuget push <PACKAGE_FILE> --api-key <TOKEN> --source harness

info

Note: To publish your package with nested directory, refer below command

dotnet nuget push <PACKAGE_FILE> --source https://pkg.harness.io/pkg/<account-id>/<nuget-registry-name>/nuget/<SUB_DIRECTORY> --api-key <TOKEN>

Visual Studio

Configure Nuget Package Source in Visual Studio

Step 1

Open your project in Visual Studio, then navigate to the NuGet Package Manager settings:

1. Click on Tools in the top menu
2. Select NuGet Package Manager
3. Click on Package Manager Settings

Step 2

In the Options window that appears, click on Package Sources in the left panel.

You will see the location of your NuGet.Config file displayed at the top of this window. Take note of this location as you can also directly edit this file if needed.

Step 3

In the Package Sources window:

1. Click the + button to add a new package source
2. Set the Name to harness
3. Set the Source to https://pkg.harness.io/pkg/<account-id>/<nuget-registry-name>/nuget/index.json
4. Click Update and then OK

Step 4

Locate and open your NuGet.Config file (shown at the top of the Package Sources window) and ensure it contains the following configuration:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
 <packageSources>
     <clear />
     <add key="harness" value="https://pkg.harness.io/pkg/<account-id>/<nuget-registry-name>/nuget/index.json" />
 </packageSources>
 <packageSourceCredentials>
     <harness>
         <add key="Username" value="john.doe@harness.io" />
         <add key="ClearTextPassword" value="<TOKEN>" />
     </harness>
 </packageSourceCredentials>
</configuration>

info

You can get this configuration from your Harness client setup details.

Step 5

Generate an identity token for authentication in the Harness platform and replace <TOKEN> in the configuration with your actual token.