// Module included in the following assemblies:
//
// * disconnected/installing-mirroring-installation-images.adoc

:_mod-docs-content-type: REFERENCE
[id="olm-mirror-catalog-prerequisites_{context}"]
= Prerequisites for mirroring Operator catalogs

[role="_abstract"]
You must meet several prerequisites before you can mirror Operator catalogs for use with disconnected clusters.

Mirroring Operator catalogs for use with disconnected clusters has several prerequisites.

The following prerequisites must be met:

* Workstation with unrestricted network access.
* `podman` version 1.9.3 or later.
* If you want to filter, or _prune_, an existing catalog and selectively mirror only a subset of Operators, see the following sections:
** xref:../cli_reference/opm/cli-opm-install.adoc#cli-opm-install[Installing the opm CLI]
** xref:../operators/admin/olm-managing-custom-catalogs.adoc#olm-filtering-fbc_olm-managing-custom-catalogs[Updating or filtering a file-based catalog image]
ifndef::openshift-origin[]
* If you want to mirror a Red Hat-provided catalog, run the following command on your workstation with unrestricted network access to authenticate with `registry.redhat.io`:
+
[source,terminal]
----
$ podman login registry.redhat.io
----
endif::[]
* Access to a mirror registry that supports link:https://docs.docker.com/registry/spec/manifest-v2-2/[Docker v2-2].
* On your mirror registry, decide which repository, or namespace, to use for storing mirrored Operator content. For example, you might create an `olm-mirror` repository.
* If your mirror registry does not have internet access, connect removable media to your workstation with unrestricted network access.
* If you are working with private registries, including `registry.redhat.io`, set the `REG_CREDS` environment variable to the file path of your registry credentials for use in later steps. For example, for the `podman` CLI:
+
[source,terminal]
----
$ REG_CREDS=${XDG_RUNTIME_DIR}/containers/auth.json
----
