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GitLab Runner GitLab Runner

Stack

Dev Tools

A self-hosted GitLab Runner in shell mode: jobs run inside this container, your own compute, no CI-minute quota. Registers itself on first boot and persists registration on a volume.

Configuration

Type
Compose
Platform
linux
Volumes
/etc/gitlab-runner : runnerconfig/home/gitlab-runner : runnerhome
Env vars
CI_SERVER_URL=${CI_SERVER_URL:-https://gitlab.com}CI_SERVER_TOKEN=${CI_SERVER_TOKEN}
Restart
unless-stopped
Build
.
Source
Repo

Template by deployable-sh·Source

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Install on Portainer

Import all app templates into your Portainer instance, for easy 1-click deploys

  1. Ensure both Docker and Portainer are installed, and up-to-date
  2. Log into your Portainer web UI
  3. Under Settings → App Templates, paste the below URL
  4. Head to Home → App Templates, and the list of apps will show up
  5. Select GitLab Runner, fill in any config options, and hit Deploy

Template Import URL

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Lissy93/portainer-templates/main/templates.json
Show Me demo
Original stackfile

The compose file this template deploys, straight from its repo:

name: gitlab-runner

services:
  runner:
    build: .
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      CI_SERVER_URL: ${CI_SERVER_URL:-https://gitlab.com}
      CI_SERVER_TOKEN: ${CI_SERVER_TOKEN}
    volumes:
      - runnerconfig:/etc/gitlab-runner
      - runnerhome:/home/gitlab-runner

volumes:
  runnerconfig:
  runnerhome:

Or deploy it directly from the source:

git clone https://github.com/deployable-sh/stacks
cd stacks
docker compose -f gitlab-runner/compose.yaml up -d

More install options in our documentation.

Check the logs first

Nine times out of ten the logs tell you exactly what went wrong.

  • In Portainer, go to Containers, click the container, then Logs. Or run docker logs <container>
  • Exit codes help too: 137 means killed, usually out of memory. 126 or 127 means the command inside the image is broken.

Container keeps restarting

The unless-stopped restart policy relaunches the app after every crash, so the real error can scroll past.

  • Check the logs right after a restart, the last few lines before it died are the useful ones.
  • Get the exit code with docker inspect <container> --format '{{.State.ExitCode}}'
  • Still stuck? Redeploy once with the restart policy set to no so the failure stays visible.

Stack won't deploy

Compose stacks fail fast on small mistakes, and Portainer shows the reason just above the editor.

  • YAML only accepts spaces for indentation, a single tab breaks the whole file.

Raise an issue

Found something which isn't working as it should? Here's how to report it.

A Compose stack

GitLab Runner is a Compose stack, a set of containers defined in one file and brought up together by Portainer, then started and stopped as a single app.

Volumes

A volume is where GitLab Runner keeps its files so they survive an update or a restart. Without one, anything it saves would sit inside the container and vanish the moment it's recreated. This template mounts:

  • /etc/gitlab-runner kept in the runnerconfig volume Docker manages
  • /home/gitlab-runner kept in the runnerhome volume Docker manages

Environment variables

Environment variables are the settings you hand over when you deploy, things like a password or a timezone. GitLab Runner takes 2 of them, all with defaults you can leave alone or tweak:

  • CI_SERVER_URL, defaults to https://gitlab.com. Gitlab.com or your self-managed GitLab.
  • CI_SERVER_TOKEN, pulled from your own environment. Runner authentication token (glrt-...): create the runner in GitLab (Settings > CI/CD > Runners > New runner) - tags and run-untagged are set there, server-side

Restart policy

The restart policy here is unless-stopped, so Docker restarts GitLab Runner after a crash or reboot, but leaves it off when you stop it on purpose. You can change this on the deploy screen. The choices are no (never restart), on-failure (only after a crash), unless-stopped (restart unless you stop it), and always (bring it back no matter what).

Networking

Nothing custom is set, so GitLab Runner sits on Docker's default bridge network: its own private space that reaches the outside world only through the ports it publishes.

Container name

Once it's deployed, Portainer names the container runner. That's what you'll spot in the containers list and use in commands like docker logs runner.

Built from source

Instead of pulling a ready-made image, this one is built on the spot from .. The first deploy takes a bit longer while it compiles, and the build files need to be there for it to work.

Platform

The platform is linux, the kind of system the container is built to run on. Docker and Portainer handle this on a normal Linux server.

Portainer app templates

Zooming out, this whole page comes from a Portainer app template: a short recipe telling Portainer how to set GitLab Runner up. Add the template list to Portainer once, then deploying GitLab Runner is a click rather than a wall of config.