GitCaddy Runner

A Gitea Actions runner with enhanced capability detection and reporting for AI-friendly workflow generation.

GitCaddy Runner is a hard fork of Gitea's act_runner, rebranded and enhanced with automated capability detection to enable AI tools to generate compatible workflows based on available resources.

Features

• Automated Capability Detection: Automatically identifies OS, architecture, installed tools, and available resources
• Concurrent Job Execution: Configure runner capacity to handle multiple jobs simultaneously
• Docker Support: Full support for Docker and Docker Compose workflows
• Xcode Integration: Detects Xcode installations, SDKs, and simulators on macOS
• Tool Detection: Identifies installed tools (Node.js, Python, .NET, Go, Ruby, Swift, etc.)
• AI-Friendly API: Exposes capabilities through Gitea's API for automated workflow generation
• Cache Support: Built-in workflow cache support for faster builds

Installation

Pre-built Binaries

Download the latest release for your platform from the releases page:

macOS:

# Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4)
curl -L -o gitcaddy-runner https://git.marketally.com/gitcaddy/gitcaddy-runner/releases/download/v1.0.0/gitcaddy-runner-1.0.0-darwin-arm64
chmod +x gitcaddy-runner

# Intel
curl -L -o gitcaddy-runner https://git.marketally.com/gitcaddy/gitcaddy-runner/releases/download/v1.0.0/gitcaddy-runner-1.0.0-darwin-amd64
chmod +x gitcaddy-runner

Linux:

# x86_64
curl -L -o gitcaddy-runner https://git.marketally.com/gitcaddy/gitcaddy-runner/releases/download/v1.0.0/gitcaddy-runner-1.0.0-linux-amd64
chmod +x gitcaddy-runner

# ARM64
curl -L -o gitcaddy-runner https://git.marketally.com/gitcaddy/gitcaddy-runner/releases/download/v1.0.0/gitcaddy-runner-1.0.0-linux-arm64
chmod +x gitcaddy-runner

Windows:

# Download the Windows executable
# https://git.marketally.com/gitcaddy/gitcaddy-runner/releases/download/v1.0.0/gitcaddy-runner-1.0.0-windows-amd64.exe

Build from Source

git clone https://git.marketally.com/gitcaddy/gitcaddy-runner.git
cd gitcaddy-runner
make build

Quick Start

1. Enable Gitea Actions

In your Gitea app.ini:

[actions]
ENABLED = true

2. Generate Configuration

./gitcaddy-runner generate-config > config.yaml

3. Configure the Runner

Edit config.yaml to customize settings. Important configuration options:

log:
  level: info

runner:
  file: .runner
  capacity: 2  # Number of concurrent jobs (default: 1)
  timeout: 3h
  shutdown_timeout: 3m  # Grace period for running jobs on shutdown
  insecure: false
  fetch_timeout: 5s
  fetch_interval: 2s
  labels:
    - "ubuntu-latest:docker://node:16-bullseye"
    - "ubuntu-22.04:docker://node:16-bullseye"

cache:
  enabled: true
  dir: ""

container:
  network: ""
  privileged: false
  options: ""
  valid_volumes: []
  docker_host: ""
  force_pull: false

host:
  workdir_parent: ""

Capacity Configuration

The capacity setting controls how many jobs the runner can execute simultaneously:

• Default: 1 (one job at a time)
• Recommended: 2-4 for multi-core systems
• Considerations:
  • Each job consumes CPU, memory, and disk I/O
  • iOS/macOS builds are resource-intensive (start with 2)
  • Lighter builds (Node.js, Go) can handle higher capacity (4-6)
  • Monitor system load and adjust accordingly

Example for different workloads:

# Light builds (web apps, APIs)
runner:
  capacity: 4

# Mixed builds
runner:
  capacity: 2

# Heavy builds (iOS/macOS, large containers)
runner:
  capacity: 1

4. Register the Runner

./gitcaddy-runner register \
  --instance https://your-gitea-instance.com \
  --token YOUR_REGISTRATION_TOKEN \
  --name my-runner \
  --labels ubuntu-latest:docker://node:16-bullseye

The registration token can be obtained from:

• Gitea Admin Panel > Actions > Runners
• Or repository Settings > Actions > Runners

5. Start the Runner

Important: Always specify the config file path with -c flag:

./gitcaddy-runner daemon -c config.yaml

Without the -c flag, the runner will use default settings and ignore your config.yaml!

Running as a Service

macOS (launchd)

Create ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.gitcaddy.runner.plist:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.gitcaddy.runner</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/path/to/gitcaddy-runner</string>
        <string>daemon</string>
        <string>-c</string>
        <string>/path/to/config.yaml</string>
    </array>
    <key>WorkingDirectory</key>
    <string>/path/to/runner/directory</string>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
    <key>KeepAlive</key>
    <true/>
    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>/path/to/runner.log</string>
    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>/path/to/runner.err</string>
</dict>
</plist>

Load the service:

launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.gitcaddy.runner.plist

Linux (systemd)

Create /etc/systemd/system/gitcaddy-runner.service:

[Unit]
Description=GitCaddy Actions Runner
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=runner
WorkingDirectory=/home/runner/gitcaddy-runner
ExecStart=/home/runner/gitcaddy-runner/gitcaddy-runner daemon -c /home/runner/gitcaddy-runner/config.yaml
Restart=always
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable gitcaddy-runner
sudo systemctl start gitcaddy-runner

Windows (NSSM or Native Service)

GitCaddy Runner has native Windows service support. When running as a service, it automatically detects the Windows Service Control Manager (SCM) and handles stop/shutdown signals properly.

Option 1: Using NSSM (Recommended)

Install NSSM via Chocolatey:

choco install nssm -y

Create the service:

# Install the service
nssm install GiteaRunnerSvc C:\gitea-runner\gitcaddy-runner.exe daemon --config C:\gitea-runner\config.yaml

# Set working directory
nssm set GiteaRunnerSvc AppDirectory C:\gitea-runner

# Set environment variables
nssm set GiteaRunnerSvc AppEnvironmentExtra HOME=C:\gitea-runner USERPROFILE=C:\gitea-runner

# Configure auto-restart on failure
sc failure GiteaRunnerSvc reset=86400 actions=restart/60000/restart/60000/restart/60000

# Start the service
sc start GiteaRunnerSvc

Option 2: Native sc.exe (requires wrapper)

Create a wrapper batch file C:\gitea-runner\start-runner.bat:

@echo off
set HOME=C:\gitea-runner
set USERPROFILE=C:\gitea-runner
cd /d C:\gitea-runner
C:\gitea-runner\gitcaddy-runner.exe daemon --config C:\gitea-runner\config.yaml

Service Management:

# Check service status
sc query GiteaRunnerSvc

# Start service
sc start GiteaRunnerSvc

# Stop service
sc stop GiteaRunnerSvc

# View service logs (if using NSSM with log rotation)
Get-Content C:\gitea-runner\logs\runner.log -Tail 50

Environment Variables for Windows Services:

Variable	Description	Example
GITEA_RUNNER_SERVICE_NAME	Override service name detection	GiteaRunnerSvc

Capability Detection

GitCaddy Runner automatically detects and reports system capabilities:

Platform Information

• Operating system (darwin, linux, windows)
• Architecture (amd64, arm64)

Container Runtime

• Docker availability and version
• Docker Compose support
• Container runtime type

Development Tools

• Node.js, npm, yarn
• Python, pip
• Go
• .NET
• Ruby
• Rust
• Java
• Swift (macOS)
• Git, Make

macOS-Specific

• Xcode version and build
• Available SDKs (iOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, visionOS)
• Simulators
• Code signing tools (codesign, pkgbuild)
• Package managers (Homebrew, CocoaPods, Fastlane)

System Resources

• CPU cores
• Load average
• Disk space and usage
• Network bandwidth

Example Capabilities Output

{
  "os": "darwin",
  "arch": "arm64",
  "capacity": 2,
  "docker": true,
  "docker_compose": true,
  "container_runtime": "docker",
  "xcode": {
    "version": "15.2",
    "build": "15C500b",
    "sdks": ["iOS 17.2", "macOS 14.2"]
  },
  "tools": {
    "node": ["20.11"],
    "python": ["3.11"],
    "swift": ["5.9"]
  },
  "build_tools": ["fastlane", "cocoapods", "codesign"],
  "cpu": {
    "num_cpu": 10,
    "load_percent": 25.5
  },
  "disk": {
    "free_bytes": 54199226368,
    "used_percent": 77.89
  }
}

Configuration Reference

Runner Section

Option	Type	Default	Description
capacity	int	1	Maximum concurrent jobs
timeout	duration	3h	Maximum job execution time
shutdown_timeout	duration	3m	Grace period for jobs to complete on shutdown
insecure	bool	false	Allow insecure HTTPS
fetch_timeout	duration	5s	Timeout for fetching tasks
fetch_interval	duration	2s	Interval between task fetches
labels	[]string	[]	Runner labels for job matching
env_file	string	.env	Environment variables file

Cache Section

Option	Type	Default	Description
enabled	bool	true	Enable cache support
dir	string	""	Cache directory path
host	string	""	External cache server host
port	int	0	External cache server port

Container Section

Option	Type	Default	Description
network	string	""	Docker network for containers
privileged	bool	false	Run containers in privileged mode
docker_host	string	""	Custom Docker host
force_pull	bool	false	Always pull latest images

Troubleshooting

Capacity Not Being Applied

Problem: Runner shows "capacity":1 even though config.yaml has capacity: 2

Solution: Ensure you're using the -c flag when starting the daemon:

# ✅ Correct
./gitcaddy-runner daemon -c /path/to/config.yaml

# ❌ Wrong - uses defaults
./gitcaddy-runner daemon

Verify the config is being loaded:

# Check runner process
ps aux | grep gitcaddy-runner

# Should show: gitcaddy-runner daemon -c /path/to/config.yaml

Docker Not Detected

Problem: Capabilities show "docker":false but Docker is installed

Solution:

1. Ensure Docker Desktop/daemon is running:

   docker ps
   

2. Restart the runner after starting Docker:

   ./gitcaddy-runner daemon -c config.yaml
   

3. Check Docker socket permissions:

   ls -l /var/run/docker.sock
   

Jobs Not Running Concurrently

Problem: Jobs queue instead of running in parallel

Checklist:

1. Verify capacity in capabilities output (check runner logs)
2. Confirm config.yaml has capacity > 1
3. Ensure runner was started with -c config.yaml flag
4. Check system resources aren't maxed out
5. Restart runner after config changes

Runner Not Starting

Problem: Runner exits immediately or fails to start

Common causes:

1. Invalid config.yaml syntax
2. .runner file missing (run register first)
3. Permission issues on working directory
4. Invalid Gitea instance URL or token

Debug steps:

# Check config syntax
./gitcaddy-runner generate-config > test-config.yaml
diff config.yaml test-config.yaml

# Test with verbose logging
./gitcaddy-runner daemon -c config.yaml --log-level debug

# Verify registration
cat .runner

Environment Variables

GitCaddy Runner supports environment variable configuration:

Variable	Description	Example
GITEA_RUNNER_CAPACITY	Override capacity setting	GITEA_RUNNER_CAPACITY=2
GITEA_RUNNER_ENV_FILE	Custom env file path	GITEA_RUNNER_ENV_FILE=.env.prod

API Integration

Query runner capabilities via Gitea API:

curl -H "Authorization: token YOUR_TOKEN" \
  https://your-gitea.com/api/v1/runners

Use capabilities to generate compatible workflows:

# Example: Use capabilities to select appropriate runner
name: Build
on: [push]
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ${{ capabilities.os == 'darwin' && 'macos-latest' || 'ubuntu-latest' }}
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Submit a pull request

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Support

• Issues: https://git.marketally.com/gitcaddy/gitcaddy-runner/issues
• Discussions: https://git.marketally.com/gitcaddy/gitcaddy-runner/discussions

Acknowledgments

GitCaddy Runner is a hard fork of Gitea's act_runner, rebranded and enhanced with automated capability detection and reporting features for AI-friendly workflow generation.