diff --git a/src/datasmith/harbor_adapter/template/tests/setup.sh b/src/datasmith/harbor_adapter/template/tests/setup.sh
index 9c3eb2c4..4f1f81c5 100644
--- a/src/datasmith/harbor_adapter/template/tests/setup.sh
+++ b/src/datasmith/harbor_adapter/template/tests/setup.sh
@@ -83,6 +83,11 @@ command -v snapshot-tool >/dev/null 2>&1 \
   || micromamba run -n "$ENV_NAME" bash -c 'command -v snapshot-tool >/dev/null 2>&1' \
   || { echo "[$(ts)] [setup] FATAL: snapshot-tool missing in '$ENV_NAME' — the correctness gate would be inert; rebuild the task image." >&2; exit 1; }
 
+SETUP_PHASE="asv_machine"
+# `asv run` without --machine looks up the hostname in ~/.asv-machine.json and stops if it is missing; results go to dockertest.
+python -c 'import socket; from asv.machine import Machine, MachineCollection; MachineCollection.save(socket.gethostname(), {**Machine.get_defaults(), "machine": "dockertest"})' \
+  || echo "[$(ts)] [setup] WARN: asv machine registration failed; agents must pass --machine." >&2
+
 SETUP_PHASE="extra_setup_commands"
 {{ extra_setup_commands }}