Operational health snapshot for the jleechanorg self-hosted runner fleet. Use when user says "check runners", "are runners up", "is jeff-ubuntu down", "diagnose runner health", or before/after runner operations. Produces a structured Markdown report at /tmp/runner-health-<ts>.md with multi-method checks (GitHub API + local Docker + Lima VM + jeff-ubuntu ssh + optional hermes-pc cross-check). Works when jeff-ubuntu is unreachable (key insight: busy=true on runners is itself proof of liveness even when ssh fails).
Operational health snapshot for the jleechanorg self-hosted runner fleet. Use when user says "check runners", "are runners up", "is jeff-ubuntu down", "diagnose runner health", or before/after runner operations. Produces a structured Markdown report at /tmp/runner-health-<ts>.md with multi-method checks (GitHub API + local Docker + Lima VM + jeff-ubuntu ssh + optional hermes-pc cross-check). Works when jeff-ubuntu is unreachable (key insight: busy=true on runners is itself proof of liveness even when ssh fails).
["GitHub /actions/runners org endpoint shows status (online/offline) and busy (true/false) only — no last_active field. busy=true IS the live-heartbeat proof: a runner can only be busy if it actively polled GitHub and accepted a job.","Fleet is **ezgha-managed** (since 2026-07-06, replacing legacy org-runner): 16 Linux (`ez-runner-b-1..16` on jeff-ubuntu) + 6 mac (`ez-mac-runner-b-1..6` on local Mac) = 22 total expected. Ephemeral by design — each runner runs 1 job then exits, supervisor respawns. Online count fluctuates 19-22 normally; 22/22 steady state is impossible.","When user is on a different wifi than jeff-ubuntu, ssh/ping from local host to jeff-ubuntu fails (different L3 subnet) but the runners themselves are still up if busy=true. Do NOT misdiagnose this as 'host down' — it's 'host unreachable from this network'.","hermes-pc (Slack user U0BC138QXUJ / #hermes-pc channel) is on a separate network (172.20.5.90/19). Use as cross-check when local signals are ambiguous.","Self-hosted-runner-preflight skill already exists for FIX-ORIENTED checks. This skill is different: it's an OPERATIONAL health snapshot (no fix proposed). Use this BEFORE preflight.","MacBook: `ezgha serve` runs as launchd daemon `org.jleechanorg.ezgha` (plist at `~/Library/LaunchAgents/org.jleechanorg.ezgha.plist`, binary at `~/.cargo/bin/ezgha`). Restart: `launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/org.jleechanorg.ezgha`.","jeff-ubuntu: `ezgha serve` runs as `systemd --user` unit `ezgha.service` (config at `~/.config/ezgha/config.toml`, count=16). Restart: `systemctl --user restart ezgha`."]
/runner-health — Operational Health Snapshot
When to use this skill
User asks "are the runners up?", "is jeff-ubuntu down?", "show me runner health", "fleet health", "diagnose runners"
Before any operation that depends on the fleet being healthy (e.g., before a /green drive)
After a long gap (wifi change, host reboot) to verify reconnect
Anytime a user reports "all alerts are noise" or "transient alerts" — this skill gives the ground truth
What this skill does NOT do
This is NOT a fix tool. It does not propose remediations.
This is NOT a deep dive. For specific failures, use self-hosted-runner-preflight after this skill reports AMBER/RED.
This does NOT modify any state. It only reads.
The 6 deterministic health checks
Each is a standalone bash script in scripts/ that outputs structured JSON to stdout.
#
Script
What it checks
Failure mode (graceful)
1
check_api.sh
gh api orgs/jleechanorg/actions/runners — 22-runner snapshot + busy count + in-flight jobs (per-repo) + rate limit
exits non-zero on API error; runner fleet unreadable
2
check_docker.sh
local docker ps for mac-side runners + AO auxiliaries
exits non-zero if Docker daemon is down
3
check_lima.sh
limactl list — colima VM status, SSH port, resources
For every GitHub-offline ezgha runner (mac or Linux fleet), cross-checks the local/SSH container state to distinguish session conflict (container Up, GitHub offline — stale registration lock; neither ezgha serve nor ezgha-watchdog detects this, since both only compare local managed-container counts) from ordinary (container also down — ezgha will respawn it). Ported from closed PR #8033's / (bead rev-ws17d).
runner_offline
check_github_session_state()
container_status_for()
exits non-zero on gh api failure; JSON still emitted with error set
6
cross_check_hermes.sh
Posts thread to #hermes-pc and polls for reply (configurable wait)
exits non-zero if Slack MCP unavailable
Session-conflict triage (check 5)
A runner container can show Up X minutes in docker ps (or over SSH into
jeff-ubuntu) while GitHub's API reports status:"offline". This divergence
is a triage signal, not a confirmed diagnosis — check_session_conflict.sh
proves the two states disagree (GitHub-offline + container-running), but it
never reads the container's Runner.Listener log, so it cannot itself
confirm the container is stuck in Runner connect error: Error: Conflict.
Treat every session_conflicts[] entry as "worth a human looking at the
listener log," not as "definitely a stale session." Neither ezgha serve's
own churn-replacement nor the ezgha-watchdog fleet-size check catches this
divergence class — both only compare a local managed-container count
against the configured target, and a session-conflicted container is still
alive and still counted as "managed" locally.
HUMAN-ONLY — do not automate. The remediation below is destructive (it
deletes the runner's GitHub registration and restarts its container,
interrupting any in-flight job on that runner). check_session_conflict.sh
itself stays strictly read-only — do not wire these commands into any
watchdog, cron, or auto-heal path. A human should confirm the
Runner.Listener log actually shows the conflict (or otherwise judge the
runner is safe to bounce) before running any of this by hand:
# Identify the conflicted runner (check_session_conflict.sh JSON: session_conflicts[])
RUNNER_ID=$(gh api orgs/jleechanorg/actions/runners --jq '.runners[] | select(.name=="<name>") | .id')
gh api -X DELETE orgs/jleechanorg/actions/runners/$RUNNER_ID# Mac fleet (ez-mac-runner-*): docker restart <name># Linux fleet (ez-runner-*/ez-canary-runner-*): ssh jeff-ubuntu "DOCKER_HOST=unix:///home/$USER/.lima/colima/sock/docker.sock docker restart <name>"sleep 15
gh api orgs/jleechanorg/actions/runners --jq '.runners[] | select(.name=="<name>") | {name, status, busy}'
A RED|SESSION CONFLICT: ... verdict from runner-health.sh takes priority
over the generic per-arch online-count verdict — see
parse_fields.py::compute_verdict. Runner naming note: ezgha rotates a
generation letter suffix on supervisor restart (observed live: b → c),
so check_session_conflict.sh matches on the stable ez-mac-runner- /
ez- prefixes only, never a hardcoded generation letter.
How to invoke
Direct script (cron / ad-hoc)
# Basic (no cross-check)
bash .claude/skills/runner-health/scripts/runner-health.sh
# With hermes-pc cross-check, 1 call
bash .../runner-health.sh --cross-check 1
# Cross-check max 3 calls (deep investigation)
bash .../runner-health.sh --cross-check 3
Output: console table + Markdown file at /tmp/runner-health-<ts>.md.
As a slash command (via /skill)
User runs /runner-health (or natural-language equivalent like "check runners"). The LLM:
Phase 1 — load context (optional but recommended):
Invoke memory-search skill with query "self-hosted runner jeff-ubuntu health check transient"
Invoke history-search skill to find any prior runner-health invocations in the last 30 days
Note any prior transient-pattern memory entries that should bias the verdict
Phase 2 — run all 5 local checks in parallel (subagents or sequential bash):
Phase 3 — synthesize verdict (GREEN/AMBER/RED) based on the JSON:
Session conflict (highest priority): if check_session_conflict.sh
reports any session_conflicts[], report RED — SESSION CONFLICT with
the affected runner name(s) and the manual-heal steps above instead of
the generic per-arch online-count framing below — ezgha serve /
ezgha-watchdog cannot fix this class.
Fleet shape (ezgha-managed, since 2026-07-06):
16 Linux runners (ez-runner-b-1..16) on jeff-ubuntu — managed by ezgha serve via systemd --user
6 mac runners (ez-mac-runner-b-1..6) on local MacBook — managed by ezgha serve via launchd
Total expected = 22 (16 Linux + 6 mac), but ephemeral by design (each runner exits after 1 job, then re-spawns)
Total online count fluctuates 19-22 normally; a 22/22 steady state is impossible by design
Verdict thresholds (per-arch, since ezgha):
Verdict
Linux online
Mac online
Trigger
GREEN
≥14 (healthy floor)
≥5 (healthy floor)
Both hosts near full, no Docker restarts, all online runners busy=true
AMBER
10–13 (supervisor stuck)
4 (supervisor stuck)
One or both ezgha serve supervisors not replenishing — needs systemctl --user restart ezgha on Linux OR launchctl kickstart -k on Mac
AMBER
any
any
Docker restart loops detected
RED
<10
any
ezgha serve on jeff-ubuntu critically stuck — restart required
RED
any
<4
ezgha serve on Mac critically stuck — restart required
RED
<10 online + 0 busy
n/a
jeff-ubuntu host dark (three-signal: 0 Linux busy + linux_online <10 + SSH unreachable) — DO NOT restart containers, wait for host
CRITICAL preflight rules:
If jeff-ubuntu SSH is unreachable AND Linux busy=0 AND Linux online is also critically low (<10) → it's the host dark class, not a container-level problem. Do NOT restart containers, do NOT spawn new ones. Wait for the host to come back. Log to rev-runn001 for tracking. A high linux_online (e.g. 16/16) with 0 busy + unreachable SSH is a healthy-but-idle fleet on a different wifi subnet, NOT host-dark — it falls through to the GREEN/AMBER verdict below.
If online < expected but ezgha serve is alive (PID exists) and supervisor is just slow → AMBER, not RED. Restart supervisor to force-refill.
Always cross-check by inspecting ezgha status output on the suspect host BEFORE classifying as supervisor-stuck vs host-dark.
Why per-arch instead of total: A single verdict line that says
"RED — 14/22 online" hides whether it's the Mac fleet or the Linux fleet
that's short. Naming the failing arch in the reason makes the fix
obvious — launchctl kickstart on Mac vs systemctl --user restart
on Linux.
Phase 4 — cross-check (only if user asks or AMBER detected):
bash .../cross_check_hermes.sh <0|1|2|3>
Posts to #hermes-pc thread ts (use existing thread or new one), polls for reply, parses response.
Phase 5 — write Markdown report:
bash .../runner-health.sh --write-report (or include in the master script by default)
File: /tmp/runner-health-<unix-ts>.md
Contents: 4-tables (one per check), verdict, recommendations
Phase 6 — present to user:
Print the verdict + table summary to console
Reference the Markdown file path
Output format
Console (default)
=== runner-health @ 2026-06-29 07:50 PDT ===
GitHub API: 22/22 runners online, 11/22 busy (8 Linux, 3 mac)
Docker: 6/6 mac Up, 0 stuck
Lima: colima running, 4GiB mem, 100GiB disk
jeff-ubuntu: unreachable from this host (different wifi subnet)
hermes-pc: cross-checked — 14/22 busy confirmed independently
VERDICT: GREEN — runners healthy, host just on different subnet
Host-dark example (two-signal confirmed, see preflight Class E):
=== runner-health @ 2026-07-02 09:10 PDT ===
GitHub API: 6/22 runners online (all 6 mac), 16/16 jeff-ubuntu Linux runners online=0/busy=0
Docker: 6/6 mac Up, 0 stuck
Lima: colima running, 4GiB mem, 100GiB disk
jeff-ubuntu: ssh timeout + ping timeout — both signals confirm host dark
VERDICT: RED — jeff-ubuntu host dark (16/16 Linux runners offline + SSH/ping timeout confirmed).
NOT a generic <22/22 — this is a single-host outage. See rev-runn001 for tracking; do not open a new bead.
Markdown file (/tmp/runner-health-<ts>.md)
# Runner Health Report — 2026-06-29 07:50 PDT## Verdict: GREEN## Check 1: GitHub API
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total runners | 22 |
| Online | 22 |
| Busy | 14 |
| Linux busy | 11 |
| mac busy | 5 |
| Rate limit (core) | 4284/5000 |
## Check 2: Docker (local)
| Container | Status |
|---|---|
| org-runner-mac-1..6 | Up |
| AO auxiliaries | 7/8 Restarting (1) (PR #702 fix pending) |
## Check 3: Lima VM
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | colima |
| Status | Stopped |
| CPUS | 4 |
| Memory | 4GiB |
| Disk | 100GiB |
## Check 4: jeff-ubuntu
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Reachable | No (different wifi) |
| Subnet | 192.168.x.x (prior) |
| Recommendation | Check router DHCP lease for new IP |
## Check 5: Session conflict (GitHub offline vs container Up)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Offline count | 0 |
| Session conflicts | none |
## Check 6: hermes-pc cross-check
(only if invoked)
## Notes- PR #702 (AO spawn fix) not yet merged — bake-in bug recurs every ~1h
- 4 PRs open as DRAFT: #702, #8039, #8040, #8041
Conventions
Scripts are independent: each can run standalone for debugging
All scripts output JSON (jq-friendly) and exit non-zero on hard error
Master script runner-health.sh runs all + writes report
Cross-check is opt-in via --cross-check=<0|1|2|3>
Markdown report is in /tmp/ (clears on reboot; user can persist by copying elsewhere)
Anti-patterns
Treating GitHub "online" as proof of liveness — it's registration cache, not heartbeat. Use busy=true.
Diagnosing "host down" from ssh timeout alone — could be routing. Use busy=true as ground truth.
self-hosted-oss/ is retired (removed by PR #8057 and its cleanup follow-up) — do not reference or resurrect it. Runner-fleet changes now go through the ez-gh-actions ("ezgha") daemon / self-hosted-colima/scripts/; see ezgha-watchdog and self-hosted-runner-preflight for that territory.
Storing state in ~/.local/share/runner-health/ — this skill is stateless by design.
