Add runner 2 and 3 documentations (#488)

Reviewed-on: https://gitea.com/gitea/docs/pulls/488 Reviewed-by: silverwind <[email protected]>
2026-09-17 19:55:34 +00:00 · 2026-08-07 21:02:26 +00:00
parent 7629c02a9a
commit 0c62ec4893
57 changed files with 5215 additions and 37 deletions
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+---
+sidebar_position: 1
+---
+
+# Install from a binary
+
+The runner is a single static binary called `gitea-runner`. It has no dependencies apart from a Docker daemon for containerized jobs.
+
+## Download
+
+- released builds: [dl.gitea.com/gitea-runner](https://dl.gitea.com/gitea-runner/) or the [release page](https://gitea.com/gitea/runner/releases)
+- development builds of the `main` branch: [dl.gitea.com/gitea-runner/nightly](https://dl.gitea.com/gitea-runner/nightly/)
+
+Each file is published next to a `.sha256` checksum and an `.xz` compressed variant:
+
+```bash
+VERSION=nightly
+curl -sSLO "https://dl.gitea.com/gitea-runner/$VERSION/gitea-runner-$VERSION-linux-amd64"
+curl -sSLO "https://dl.gitea.com/gitea-runner/$VERSION/gitea-runner-$VERSION-linux-amd64.sha256"
+sha256sum -c "gitea-runner-$VERSION-linux-amd64.sha256"
+install -m 0755 "gitea-runner-$VERSION-linux-amd64" /usr/local/bin/gitea-runner
+```
+
+Check that the binary matches your platform:
+
+```bash
+gitea-runner --version
+```
+
+## Build from source
+
+Building requires the Go version declared in the repository's `go.mod`:
+
+```bash
+git clone https://gitea.com/gitea/runner.git
+cd runner
+make build
+```
+
+## First run
+
+```bash
+gitea-runner generate-config > config.yaml   # optional, defaults are safe
+gitea-runner -c config.yaml register         # see "Registering a runner"
+gitea-runner -c config.yaml daemon
+```
+
+The `daemon` command runs in the foreground. It reads the registration file (`runner.file`, `.runner` by default) relative to its working directory, so keep the working directory stable across restarts.
+
+## Run as a systemd service
+
+Create an unprivileged user, install the binary, and register the runner as that user so the `.runner` file ends up in the service's working directory:
+
+```bash
+sudo useradd --system --home-dir /var/lib/gitea-runner --create-home gitea-runner
+sudo install -d /etc/gitea-runner
+sudo -u gitea-runner gitea-runner generate-config | sudo tee /etc/gitea-runner/config.yaml >/dev/null
+cd /var/lib/gitea-runner
+sudo -u gitea-runner gitea-runner register -c /etc/gitea-runner/config.yaml
+```
+
+Then install the unit as `/etc/systemd/system/gitea-runner.service`:
+
+```ini
+[Unit]
+Description=Gitea Actions runner
+Documentation=https://gitea.com/gitea/runner
+After=network-online.target
+Wants=network-online.target
+# Uncomment when jobs use the local Docker daemon:
+# After=docker.service
+# Requires=docker.service
+
+[Service]
+Type=simple
+ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/gitea-runner daemon --config /etc/gitea-runner/config.yaml
+WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/gitea-runner
+User=gitea-runner
+Group=gitea-runner
+Restart=on-failure
+RestartSec=5s
+# Allow running jobs to finish before the runner is stopped. Keep this in sync
+# with runner.shutdown_timeout in the config.
+TimeoutStopSec=3h
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
+```
+
+```bash
+sudo systemctl daemon-reload
+sudo systemctl enable --now gitea-runner
+```
+
+If jobs use the host's Docker daemon, the `gitea-runner` user also needs access to the daemon socket. Adding it to the `docker` group grants that access and is [equivalent to root on the host](https://docs.docker.com/engine/security/#docker-daemon-attack-surface).
+
+Environment variables for the process — most importantly [proxy variables](../proxy.md) — belong in `Environment=` lines or a drop-in file, not in the runner config.
+
+## Run as a launchd daemon (macOS)
+
+macOS uses `launchd` instead of systemd. Daemons run as `root` by default; an unprivileged `_gitea-runner` user can be created with `dscl`. Install the following as `/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.gitea.runner.plist` and adjust the paths to your installation:
+
+```xml
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+<dict>
+    <key>Label</key>
+    <string>com.gitea.runner</string>
+    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
+    <array>
+        <string>/usr/local/bin/gitea-runner</string>
+        <string>daemon</string>
+        <string>--config</string>
+        <string>/etc/gitea-runner/config.yaml</string>
+    </array>
+    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
+    <true/>
+    <key>KeepAlive</key>
+    <true/>
+    <key>WorkingDirectory</key>
+    <string>/var/lib/gitea-runner</string>
+    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
+    <string>/var/lib/gitea-runner/runner.log</string>
+    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
+    <string>/var/lib/gitea-runner/runner.err</string>
+    <key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
+    <dict>
+        <key>PATH</key>
+        <string>/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin</string>
+        <key>HOME</key>
+        <string>/var/lib/gitea-runner</string>
+    </dict>
+    <key>UserName</key>
+    <string>_gitea-runner</string>
+</dict>
+</plist>
+```
+
+```bash
+sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.gitea.runner.plist
+```
+
+On macOS and Windows hosts, jobs usually run with [host labels](../labels.md) and the tools installed on the machine.
+
+## Windows
+
+Install the `windows-amd64` binary and register it as a service with any service wrapper (for example `sc.exe` plus a wrapper such as [WinSW](https://github.com/winsw/winsw), or a scheduled task at boot). The runner itself has no service-installer subcommand.
+
+Keep in mind for Windows hosts:
+
+- `runner.post_task_script` accepts `.exe`, `.bat` and `.cmd` paths; `.ps1` is not supported as the configured path.
+- host-mode jobs are terminated as a process tree, so tools that daemonize are not left behind.