Install machine runner 3.0 on Linux
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 , and agree to the terms.
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:
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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.
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If your code is integrated with CircleCI via the GitHub App, GitLab, or Bitbucket Data Center, you can check roles by navigating to Roles and permissions overview.
. Full details on roles and permissions are available in the
To find out which GitHub integration you are using, head to the CircleCI web app, select your org, select Organization Home from the sidebar, and inspect the URL in your browser:
For more information about the differences, see the GitHub docs comparison page. |
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.
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On the CircleCI web app, navigate to Self-Hosted Runners and select Create Resource Class.
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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.
Each organization can only create a single namespace. While not required, we suggest using a lowercase representation of your CircleCI account name. CircleCI will populate your org name as the suggested namespace by default in the UI. -
Copy and save the resource class token. Self-hosted runners use this token to claim work for the associated resource class.
The token cannot be retrieved again, be sure to store it safely. -
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.
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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
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Next, install the
circleci-runner
package:sudo apt-get install -y circleci-runner
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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
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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
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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.
The fields you must set for a specific job to run using your machine runners are:
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machine: true
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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.