diff --git a/tools/populate/populate-images.sh b/tools/populate/populate-images.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..9f845e09e05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/populate/populate-images.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Populate an Oxide lab host running Omicron with images from server catacomb.
+
+set -eu
+CATACOMB_TUNNEL="[fd00:1122:3344:101::1]:8080"
+res=0
+echo "Populating debian"
+oxide api /images --method POST --input - <<EOF
+{
+  "name": "debian",
+  "description": "debian",
+  "block_size": 512,
+  "distribution": {
+    "name": "debian",
+    "version": "11"
+  },
+  "source": {
+      "type": "url",
+      "url": "http://${CATACOMB_TUNNEL}/media/debian/debian-11-nocloud-amd64-20220503-998.raw"
+  }
+}
+EOF
+
+echo "Populating focal"
+oxide api /images --method POST --input - <<EOF
+{
+  "name": "focal",
+  "description": "focal",
+  "block_size": 512,
+  "distribution": {
+    "name": "focal",
+    "version": "1"
+  },
+  "source": {
+      "type": "url",
+      "url": "http://${CATACOMB_TUNNEL}/media/cloud/focal-server-cloudimg-amd64.raw"
+  }
+}
+EOF
+
+echo "Populating ubuntu"
+oxide api /images --method POST --input - <<EOF
+{
+  "name": "ubuntu",
+  "description": "ubuntu",
+  "block_size": 512,
+  "distribution": {
+    "name": "ubuntu",
+    "version": "22.04"
+  },
+  "source": {
+      "type": "url",
+      "url": "http://${CATACOMB_TUNNEL}/media/ubuntu/ubuntu-22.04-live-server-amd64.iso"
+  }
+}
+EOF
+
+# A sanity check to see if access is working to catacomb
+curl_test=$(curl -w '%{http_code}\n' -s -o /dev/null http://${CATACOMB_TUNNEL}/media/test.txt)
+if [[ $curl_test -eq 200 ]]; then
+    echo "✔ Curl test to catacomb worked"
+else
+    echo "To use these images, you need to have network access"
+    echo "to the catacomb lab system at ${CATACOMB_TUNNEL}"
+    echo ""
+    echo "For example, I run this from the system \"sock\" to set up a tunnel:"
+    echo "ssh -L ${CATACOMB_TUNNEL}:catacomb:80 catacomb"
+    echo "Leave that running in a different window while access is required"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Test of curl to catacomb failed"
+    echo "curl http://${CATACOMB_TUNNEL}/media/test.txt"
+    res=1
+fi
+exit $res