379 lines
15 KiB
Markdown
379 lines
15 KiB
Markdown
# Configuring GitLab Runners
|
|
|
|
In GitLab CI, Runners run the code defined in [`.gitlab-ci.yml`](../yaml/README.md).
|
|
They are isolated (virtual) machines that pick up jobs through the coordinator
|
|
API of GitLab CI.
|
|
|
|
A Runner can be specific to a certain project or serve any project
|
|
in GitLab CI. A Runner that serves all projects is called a shared Runner.
|
|
|
|
Ideally, the GitLab Runner should not be installed on the same machine as GitLab.
|
|
Read the [requirements documentation](../../install/requirements.md#gitlab-runner)
|
|
for more information.
|
|
|
|
## Shared, specific and group Runners
|
|
|
|
After [installing the Runner][install], you can either register it as shared or
|
|
specific. You can only register a shared Runner if you have admin access to
|
|
the GitLab instance. The main differences between a shared and a specific Runner
|
|
are:
|
|
|
|
- **Shared Runners** are useful for jobs that have similar requirements,
|
|
between multiple projects. Rather than having multiple Runners idling for
|
|
many projects, you can have a single or a small number of Runners that handle
|
|
multiple projects. This makes it easier to maintain and update them.
|
|
Shared Runners process jobs using a [fair usage queue](#how-shared-runners-pick-jobs).
|
|
In contrast to specific Runners that use a FIFO queue, this prevents
|
|
cases where projects create hundreds of jobs which can lead to eating all
|
|
available shared Runners resources.
|
|
- **Specific Runners** are useful for jobs that have special requirements or for
|
|
projects with a specific demand. If a job has certain requirements, you can set
|
|
up the specific Runner with this in mind, while not having to do this for all
|
|
Runners. For example, if you want to deploy a certain project, you can set up
|
|
a specific Runner to have the right credentials for this. The [usage of tags](#using-tags)
|
|
may be useful in this case. Specific Runners process jobs using a [FIFO] queue.
|
|
- **Group Runners** are useful when you have multiple projects under one group
|
|
and would like all projects to have access to a set of Runners. Group Runners
|
|
process jobs using a [FIFO] queue.
|
|
|
|
A Runner that is specific only runs for the specified project(s). A shared Runner
|
|
can run jobs for every project that has enabled the option **Allow shared Runners**
|
|
under **Settings > CI/CD**.
|
|
|
|
Projects with high demand of CI activity can also benefit from using specific
|
|
Runners. By having dedicated Runners you are guaranteed that the Runner is not
|
|
being held up by another project's jobs.
|
|
|
|
You can set up a specific Runner to be used by multiple projects. The difference
|
|
with a shared Runner is that you have to enable each project explicitly for
|
|
the Runner to be able to run its jobs.
|
|
|
|
Specific Runners do not get shared with forked projects automatically.
|
|
A fork does copy the CI settings (jobs, allow shared, etc) of the cloned
|
|
repository.
|
|
|
|
## Registering a shared Runner
|
|
|
|
You can only register a shared Runner if you are an admin of the GitLab instance.
|
|
|
|
1. Grab the shared-Runner token on the `admin/runners` page
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1. [Register the Runner][register]
|
|
|
|
Shared Runners are enabled by default as of GitLab 8.2, but can be disabled
|
|
with the **Disable shared Runners** button which is present under each project's
|
|
**Settings ➔ CI/CD** page. Previous versions of GitLab defaulted shared
|
|
Runners to disabled.
|
|
|
|
## Registering a specific Runner
|
|
|
|
Registering a specific Runner can be done in two ways:
|
|
|
|
1. Creating a Runner with the project registration token
|
|
1. Converting a shared Runner into a specific Runner (one-way, admin only)
|
|
|
|
### Registering a specific Runner with a project registration token
|
|
|
|
To create a specific Runner without having admin rights to the GitLab instance,
|
|
visit the project you want to make the Runner work for in GitLab:
|
|
|
|
1. Go to **Settings > CI/CD** to obtain the token
|
|
1. [Register the Runner][register]
|
|
|
|
## Registering a group Runner
|
|
|
|
Creating a group Runner requires Maintainer permissions for the group. To create a
|
|
group Runner visit the group you want to make the Runner work for in GitLab:
|
|
|
|
1. Go to **Settings > CI/CD** to obtain the token
|
|
1. [Register the Runner][register]
|
|
|
|
### Making an existing shared Runner specific
|
|
|
|
If you are an admin on your GitLab instance, you can turn any shared Runner into
|
|
a specific one, but not the other way around. Keep in mind that this is a one
|
|
way transition.
|
|
|
|
1. Go to the Runners in the admin area **Overview > Runners** (`/admin/runners`)
|
|
and find your Runner
|
|
1. Enable any projects under **Restrict projects for this Runner** to be used
|
|
with the Runner
|
|
|
|
From now on, the shared Runner will be specific to those projects.
|
|
|
|
## Locking a specific Runner from being enabled for other projects
|
|
|
|
You can configure a Runner to assign it exclusively to a project. When a
|
|
Runner is locked this way, it can no longer be enabled for other projects.
|
|
This setting can be enabled the first time you [register a Runner][register] and
|
|
can be changed afterwards under each Runner's settings.
|
|
|
|
To lock/unlock a Runner:
|
|
|
|
1. Visit your project's **Settings > CI/CD**
|
|
1. Find the Runner you wish to lock/unlock and make sure it's enabled
|
|
1. Click the pencil button
|
|
1. Check the **Lock to current projects** option
|
|
1. Click **Save changes** for the changes to take effect
|
|
|
|
## Assigning a Runner to another project
|
|
|
|
If you are Maintainer on a project where a specific Runner is assigned to, and the
|
|
Runner is not [locked only to that project](#locking-a-specific-runner-from-being-enabled-for-other-projects),
|
|
you can enable the Runner also on any other project where you have Maintainer permissions.
|
|
|
|
To enable/disable a Runner in your project:
|
|
|
|
1. Visit your project's **Settings > CI/CD**
|
|
1. Find the Runner you wish to enable/disable
|
|
1. Click **Enable for this project** or **Disable for this project**
|
|
|
|
> **Note**:
|
|
Consider that if you don't lock your specific Runner to a specific project, any
|
|
user with Maintainer role in you project can assign your Runner to another arbitrary
|
|
project without requiring your authorization, so use it with caution.
|
|
|
|
CAUTION: **Caution:**
|
|
Never add a private Runner that you're using in your private projects to a
|
|
project that you share with other people.
|
|
|
|
CAUTION: **Caution:**
|
|
Never use a Runner from a project which has multiple maintainers in your
|
|
private project.
|
|
|
|
An admin can enable/disable a specific Runner for projects:
|
|
|
|
1. Navigate to **Admin > Runners**
|
|
1. Find the Runner you wish to enable/disable
|
|
1. Click edit on the Runner
|
|
1. Click **Enable** or **Disable** on the project
|
|
|
|
## Protected Runners
|
|
|
|
> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/merge_requests/13194)
|
|
> in GitLab 10.0.
|
|
|
|
You can protect Runners from revealing sensitive information.
|
|
Whenever a Runner is protected, the Runner picks only jobs created on
|
|
[protected branches] or [protected tags], and ignores other jobs.
|
|
|
|
To protect/unprotect Runners:
|
|
|
|
1. Visit your project's **Settings > CI/CD**
|
|
1. Find a Runner you want to protect/unprotect and make sure it's enabled
|
|
1. Click the pencil button besides the Runner name
|
|
1. Check the **Protected** option
|
|
1. Click **Save changes** for the changes to take effect
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
## Manually clearing the Runners cache
|
|
|
|
Read [clearing the cache](../caching/index.md#clearing-the-cache).
|
|
|
|
## How shared Runners pick jobs
|
|
|
|
Shared Runners abide to a process queue we call fair usage. The fair usage
|
|
algorithm tries to assign jobs to shared Runners from projects that have the
|
|
lowest number of jobs currently running on shared Runners.
|
|
|
|
**Example 1**
|
|
|
|
We have following jobs in queue:
|
|
|
|
- Job 1 for Project 1
|
|
- Job 2 for Project 1
|
|
- Job 3 for Project 1
|
|
- Job 4 for Project 2
|
|
- Job 5 for Project 2
|
|
- Job 6 for Project 3
|
|
|
|
With the fair usage algorithm jobs are assigned in following order:
|
|
|
|
1. Job 1 is chosen first, because it has the lowest job number from projects with no running jobs (i.e. all projects)
|
|
1. Job 4 is next, because 4 is now the lowest job number from projects with no running jobs (Project 1 has a job running)
|
|
1. Job 6 is next, because 6 is now the lowest job number from projects with no running jobs (Projects 1 and 2 have jobs running)
|
|
1. Job 2 is next, because, of projects with the lowest number of jobs running (each has 1), it is the lowest job number
|
|
1. Job 5 is next, because Project 1 now has 2 jobs running, and between Projects 2 and 3, Job 5 is the lowest remaining job number
|
|
1. Lastly we choose Job 3... because it's the only job left
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
**Example 2**
|
|
|
|
We have following jobs in queue:
|
|
|
|
- Job 1 for project 1
|
|
- Job 2 for project 1
|
|
- Job 3 for project 1
|
|
- Job 4 for project 2
|
|
- Job 5 for project 2
|
|
- Job 6 for project 3
|
|
|
|
With the fair usage algorithm jobs are assigned in following order:
|
|
|
|
1. Job 1 is chosen first, because it has the lowest job number from projects with no running jobs (i.e. all projects)
|
|
1. We finish job 1
|
|
1. Job 2 is next, because, having finished Job 1, all projects have 0 jobs running again, and 2 is the lowest available job number
|
|
1. Job 4 is next, because with Project 1 running a job, 4 is the lowest number from projects running no jobs (Projects 2 and 3)
|
|
1. We finish job 4
|
|
1. Job 5 is next, because having finished Job 4, Project 2 has no jobs running again
|
|
1. Job 6 is next, because Project 3 is the only project left with no running jobs
|
|
1. Lastly we choose Job 3... because, again, it's the only job left (who says 1 is the loneliest number?)
|
|
|
|
## Using shared Runners effectively
|
|
|
|
If you are planning to use shared Runners, there are several things you
|
|
should keep in mind.
|
|
|
|
### Using tags
|
|
|
|
You must set up a Runner to be able to run all the different types of jobs
|
|
that it may encounter on the projects it's shared over. This would be
|
|
problematic for large amounts of projects, if it wasn't for tags.
|
|
|
|
By tagging a Runner for the types of jobs it can handle, you can make sure
|
|
shared Runners will [only run the jobs they are equipped to run](../yaml/README.md#tags).
|
|
|
|
For instance, at GitLab we have Runners tagged with "rails" if they contain
|
|
the appropriate dependencies to run Rails test suites.
|
|
|
|
### Preventing Runners with tags from picking jobs without tags
|
|
|
|
You can configure a Runner to prevent it from picking
|
|
[jobs with tags](../yaml/README.md#tags) when the Runner does not have tags
|
|
assigned. This setting can be enabled the first
|
|
time you [register a Runner][register] and can be changed afterwards under
|
|
each Runner's settings.
|
|
|
|
To make a Runner pick tagged/untagged jobs:
|
|
|
|
1. Visit your project's **Settings ➔ CI/CD**
|
|
1. Find the Runner you wish and make sure it's enabled
|
|
1. Click the pencil button
|
|
1. Check the **Run untagged jobs** option
|
|
1. Click **Save changes** for the changes to take effect
|
|
|
|
### Setting maximum job timeout for a Runner
|
|
|
|
For each Runner you can specify a _maximum job timeout_. Such timeout,
|
|
if smaller than [project defined timeout], will take the precedence. This
|
|
feature can be used to prevent Shared Runner from being appropriated
|
|
by a project by setting a ridiculous big timeout (e.g. one week).
|
|
|
|
When not configured, Runner will not override project timeout.
|
|
|
|
How this feature will work:
|
|
|
|
**Example 1 - Runner timeout bigger than project timeout**
|
|
|
|
1. You set the _maximum job timeout_ for a Runner to 24 hours
|
|
1. You set the _CI/CD Timeout_ for a project to **2 hours**
|
|
1. You start a job
|
|
1. The job, if running longer, will be timeouted after **2 hours**
|
|
|
|
**Example 2 - Runner timeout not configured**
|
|
|
|
1. You remove the _maximum job timeout_ configuration from a Runner
|
|
1. You set the _CI/CD Timeout_ for a project to **2 hours**
|
|
1. You start a job
|
|
1. The job, if running longer, will be timeouted after **2 hours**
|
|
|
|
**Example 3 - Runner timeout smaller than project timeout**
|
|
|
|
1. You set the _maximum job timeout_ for a Runner to **30 minutes**
|
|
1. You set the _CI/CD Timeout_ for a project to 2 hours
|
|
1. You start a job
|
|
1. The job, if running longer, will be timeouted after **30 minutes**
|
|
|
|
### Be careful with sensitive information
|
|
|
|
With some [Runner Executors](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/executors/README.html),
|
|
if you can run a job on the Runner, you can get access to any code it runs
|
|
and get the token of the Runner. With shared Runners, this means that anyone
|
|
that runs jobs on the Runner, can access anyone else's code that runs on the
|
|
Runner.
|
|
|
|
In addition, because you can get access to the Runner token, it is possible
|
|
to create a clone of a Runner and submit false jobs, for example.
|
|
|
|
The above is easily avoided by restricting the usage of shared Runners
|
|
on large public GitLab instances, controlling access to your GitLab instance,
|
|
and using more secure [Runner Executors](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/executors/README.html).
|
|
|
|
### Forks
|
|
|
|
Whenever a project is forked, it copies the settings of the jobs that relate
|
|
to it. This means that if you have shared Runners set up for a project and
|
|
someone forks that project, the shared Runners will also serve jobs of this
|
|
project.
|
|
|
|
## Attack vectors in Runners
|
|
|
|
Mentioned briefly earlier, but the following things of Runners can be exploited.
|
|
We're always looking for contributions that can mitigate these
|
|
[Security Considerations](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/security/).
|
|
|
|
### Resetting the registration token for a Project
|
|
|
|
If you think that registration token for a Project was revealed, you should
|
|
reset them. It's recommended because such token can be used to register another
|
|
Runner to the Project. It may be next used to obtain the values of secret
|
|
variables or clone the project code, that normally may be unavailable for the
|
|
attacker.
|
|
|
|
To reset the token:
|
|
|
|
1. Go to **Settings > CI/CD** for a specified Project
|
|
1. Expand the **General pipelines settings** section
|
|
1. Find the **Runner token** form field and click the **Reveal value** button
|
|
1. Delete the value and save the form
|
|
1. After the page is refreshed, expand the **Runners settings** section
|
|
and check the registration token - it should be changed
|
|
|
|
From now on the old token is not valid anymore and will not allow to register
|
|
a new Runner to the project. If you are using any tools to provision and
|
|
register new Runners, you should now update the token that is used to the
|
|
new value.
|
|
|
|
## Determining the IP address of a Runner
|
|
|
|
> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/merge_requests/17286) in GitLab 10.6.
|
|
|
|
It may be useful to know the IP address of a Runner so you can troubleshoot
|
|
issues with that Runner. GitLab stores and displays the IP address by viewing
|
|
the source of the HTTP requests it makes to GitLab when polling for jobs. The
|
|
IP address is always kept up to date so if the Runner IP changes it will be
|
|
automatically updated in GitLab.
|
|
|
|
The IP address for shared Runners and specific Runners can be found in
|
|
different places.
|
|
|
|
### Shared Runners
|
|
|
|
To view the IP address of a shared Runner you must have admin access to
|
|
the GitLab instance. To determine this:
|
|
|
|
1. Visit **Admin area ➔ Overview ➔ Runners**
|
|
1. Look for the Runner in the table and you should see a column for "IP Address"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
### Specific Runners
|
|
|
|
You can find the IP address of a Runner for a specific project by:
|
|
|
|
1. Visit your project's **Settings ➔ CI/CD**
|
|
1. Find the Runner and click on it's ID which links you to the details page
|
|
1. On the details page you should see a row for "IP Address"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[install]: http://docs.gitlab.com/runner/install/
|
|
[fifo]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFO_(computing_and_electronics)
|
|
[register]: http://docs.gitlab.com/runner/register/
|
|
[protected branches]: ../../user/project/protected_branches.md
|
|
[protected tags]: ../../user/project/protected_tags.md
|
|
[project defined timeout]: ../../user/project/pipelines/settings.html#timeout
|