glab-runner

# glab runner Manage GitLab CI/CD runners from the command line. ## List totals and pagination `glab runner list` and `glab runner jobs` use the API-reported total in their text headers when available, separate from the number of returned rows. Missing totals must not be treated as proof there are no other pages. JSON contains the requested page's items, not every item counted by the header. Use `--page` and `--per-page` to traverse results explicitly; do not equate JSON array length with the server total. ## Quick Start ```bash # List runners for current project glab runner list # Pause a runner glab runner update <runner-id> --pause # Delete a runner glab runner delete <runner-id> ``` ## Common Workflows ### List Runners ```bash # List all runners for current project glab runner list # List for a specific project glab runner list --repo owner/project # List all runners (instance-level, admin only) glab runner list --instance # Output as JSON glab runner list --output json # Paginate glab runner list --page 2 --per-page 50 ``` **Sample JSON output parsing:** ```bash # Find all paused runners glab runner list --output json | python3 -c " import sys, json runners = json.load(sys.stdin) paused = [r for r in runners if r.get('paused')] for r in paused: print(f"{r['id']}: {r.get('description','(no description)')} — {r.get('status')}") " ``` ### Pause or Resume a Runner Pausing a runner prevents it from picking up new jobs without removing it. ```bash # Pause runner 123 glab runner update 123 --pause # Resume a paused runner glab runner update 123 --unpause # Pause in a specific project context glab runner update 123 --pause -R owner/project ``` **When to pause:** - Maintenance window (updates, reboots) - Investigating a failing runner - Temporarily reducing runner capacity - Before decommissioning (verify no jobs are running first) > **Note:** Older docs/examples may mention `glab runner pause`, but the supported command surface uses `glab runner update --pause` / `--unpause`. ### Inspect Jobs Processed by a Runner ```bash # List recent jobs for runner 9 glab runner jobs 9 # Show only running jobs glab runner jobs 9 --status running # JSON output for automation glab runner jobs 9 --output json ``` Useful for checking whether a runner is currently busy before pausing or deleting it. ### Inspect Runner Managers ```bash # List managers attached to a runner glab runner managers 9 # JSON output glab runner managers 9 --output json ``` Use this when you need to understand which runner manager processes/backends are associated with a runner. ### Delete a Runner ```bash # Delete with confirmation prompt glab runner delete 123 # Delete without confirmation glab runner delete 123 --force # Delete in a specific project context glab runner delete 123 --repo owner/project ``` **⚠️ Deletion is permanent.** Pause first if unsure. ## Decision Tree: Pause vs Delete ``` Do you need the runner gone permanently? ├─ No → Pause it (recoverable) └─ Yes → Is it actively running jobs? ├─ Yes → Check `glab runner jobs <id>`, then pause first and wait for jobs to finish └─ No → Delete with --force ``` ## Runner Status Reference | Status | Meaning | |---|---| | `online` | Connected and ready to accept jobs | | `offline` | Not connected (check runner process) | | `paused` | Connected but not accepting new jobs | | `stale` | No contact in the last 3 months | ## Troubleshooting **"runner: command not found":** - Requires a current `glab` release. Check with `glab version`. **"Permission denied" on instance-level runners:** - Instance-level runner management requires GitLab admin privileges. - Project runners can be managed by project maintainers. **Runner won't pause or unpause:** - Verify runner ID with `glab runner list`. - Check permissions (must be at least Maintainer on the project). - Use `glab runner update <id> --pause` or `--unpause`. **Runner stuck "online" after pause:** - The runner process is still running on the host — it just won't accept new jobs. - This is expected. To fully stop, SSH into the runner host and stop the process. **Cannot delete runner:** - Runner may be shared/group-level (requires higher privileges). - Check if runner is assigned to multiple projects; removing from one project may require project-level deletion vs instance-level. ### Assign / Unassign Runners to Projects Assign an existing runner to a project so it can pick up jobs: ```bash # Assign a runner to the current project glab runner assign <runner-id> # Assign to a specific project glab runner assign <runner-id> --repo owner/project ``` Remove a runner from a project (does not delete the runner): ```bash # Unassign from current project glab runner unassign <runner-id> # Unassign from a specific project glab runner unassign <runner-id> --repo owner/project ``` **Note:** Assigning/unassigning requires at least Maintainer role on the project. This is different from `glab runner delete` which permanently removes the runner. ## Related Skills - `glab-runner-controller` — Manage runner controllers and orchestration (admin-only, experimental) - `glab-ci` — View and manage CI/CD pipelines and jobs - `glab-job` — Retry, cancel, trace logs for individual jobs ## Command Reference Authored command summary; complete live help is linked below. ``` glab runner <command> [--flags] Commands: assign Assign a runner to a project delete Delete a runner jobs List jobs processed by a runner list List runners for a project (default), group, or instance managers List runner managers unassign Unassign a runner from a project update Update runner settings, including pause/unpause Flags (list): -g, --group List runners for a group (exclusive with --repo/--instance) --jq Filter JSON output using a jq expression --instance List all runners available to the user (instance scope) --output Format output as: text, json --page Page number --per-page Number of items per page --repo Select a repository -h, --help Show help ``` Use only one of `--group`, `--repo`, or `--instance`. The command enforces mutual exclusion even though the captured help describes `--group` as ignored with `--repo`. See [references/commands.md](references/commands.md) for complete parent, list, and jobs help.