Install machine runner 3.0 on Linux

3 months ago5 min read
Last updated • Read time
Cloud
This document is applicable to CircleCI Cloud
Server v4.4+
This document is applicable to CircleCI Server v4.4+

This page describes how to install CircleCI’s machine runner 3.0 on Linux.

Prerequisites

To install machine runners and run jobs, you will need to have root access, and have the following utilities and tools installed on your system:

Self-hosted runner terms agreement

Before you can install self-hosted runners through the web app, you will need to agree to the CircleCI Runner Terms. To be able to gain access to the Self-Hosted Runners section of the CircleCI web app or your CircleCI server app, an admin in your organization needs to navigate to Organization Settings  Self-Hosted Runners, and agree to the terms.

Runner terms and conditions

Once the terms have been accepted, Self-Hosted Runners will appear permanently in the side navigation.

Your role within your org is determined differently depending on how you integrate with your code, as follows:

  • If your code is integrated with CircleCI via the GitHub OAuth App or Bitbucket Cloud, CircleCI mirrors VCS permissions for organizations. If you are an admin on your organization’s VCS, you are an admin on CircleCI. If you are unsure, check the admin permissions on your VCS.

  • If your code is integrated with CircleCI via the GitHub App, GitLab, or Bitbucket Data Center, you can check roles by navigating to Organization Settings  People. Full details on roles and permissions are available in the Roles and permissions overview.

1. Create namespace and resource class

In order to install self-hosted runners, you will need to create a namespace and resource class token. To create resource classes and tokens, you need to be an organization admin in the VCS provider. You can read about namespaces and resource classes on the Concepts page.

You can view your installed runners on the inventory page, by clicking Self-Hosted Runners on the left navigation.

  1. On the CircleCI web app, navigate to Self-Hosted Runners and select Create Resource Class.

    Runner set up
  2. Next, you will create a custom resource class to use when configuring jobs to use your self-hosted runners. If this is your organization’s first time using self-hosted runners. You will need to create or enter a namespace. If your organization already creates orbs, do not create a new namespace, but instead enter the namespace your organization uses for orbs here too. Enter aname for your self-hosted runner resource class.

    Runner set up
  3. Copy and save the resource class token. Self-hosted runners use this token to claim work for the associated resource class.

    Runner set up
  4. Select the Machine tab and progress on to the platform-specific instructions in the next section of this installation guide.

2. Install CircleCI runner

The easiest way to install runner on a Debian or Ubuntu system is to use CircleCI’s pre-built packages.

  1. On the target machine, install the CircleCI registry. This script will automatically run apt-get update:

    curl -s https://packagecloud.io/install/repositories/circleci/runner/script.deb.sh?any=true | sudo bash
  2. Next, install the circleci-runner package:

    sudo apt-get install -y circleci-runner
  3. Replace << AUTH_TOKEN >> with the token generated in the steps above. You may use your text editor to do this, or edit and run the following commands to replace the token automatically:

    export RUNNER_AUTH_TOKEN="your-runner-auth-token-here"
    sudo sed -i "s/<< AUTH_TOKEN >>/$RUNNER_AUTH_TOKEN/g" /etc/circleci-runner/circleci-runner-config.yaml
  4. If you are using CircleCI server you will need to provide the url for your install. You can do this by either setting the CIRCLECI_RUNNER_API_URL environment variable:

    export CIRCLECI_RUNNER_API_URL="your server domain"

    Or by adding the url to /etc/circleci-runner/circleci-runner-config.yaml using text editor of your choice.

    api:
      auth_token: << AUTH_TOKEN >>
      # On server, set url to the hostname of your server installation.
      url: https://your.domain.here
  5. Start the circleci-runner service, and check that it is currently running:

    sudo systemctl enable circleci-runner && sudo systemctl start circleci-runner
    
    # Check status
    sudo systemctl status circleci-runner

Machine runner configuration example

Once you have installed configuration runner, select Continue in the CircleCI web app and you will be presented with an example configuration snippet showing a job configured to use your new self-hosted runner resource class.

Runner set up

The fields you must set for a specific job to run using your machine runners are:

  • machine: true

  • resource_class: <namespace>/<resource-class>

Simple example of how you could set up a job:

version: 2.1

workflows:
  build-workflow:
    jobs:
      - runner
jobs:
  runner:
    machine: true
    resource_class: <namespace>/<resource-class>
    steps:
      - run: echo "Hi I'm on Runners!"

The job will then execute using your self-hosted runner when you push the .circleci/config.yml to your VCS provider.

Troubleshooting

Refer to the Troubleshoot Machine Runner section of the Troubleshoot Self-hosted Runner guide if you encounter issues installing or running machine runner on Linux.