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Install machine runner 3 on Linux

1 month ago · 11 min read

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This page describes how to install CircleCI’s machine runner 3 on Linux.

Prerequisites

To install machine runners and run jobs, you will need to have root access, and have the following utilities and tools installed on your system:

Coreutils
curl
sha256sum (if not pre-installed):
- sudo apt install coreutils for Ubuntu/Debain
- sudo yum install coreutils for Red Hat
tar
Gzip
sepolicy (RHEL 8 only)
rpmbuild (RHEL 8 only)
GPG 2.1+
The CircleCI CLI if you wish to install runners from the command line

Self-hosted runner terms agreement

Web app installation
CLI installation

Before you can install self-hosted runners through the web app, you will need to agree to the CircleCI Runner Terms. To be able to gain access to the Self-Hosted Runners section of the CircleCI web app or your CircleCI server app, an admin in your organization needs to navigate to Organization Settings Self-Hosted Runners, and agree to the terms.

Once the terms have been accepted, Self-Hosted Runners will appear permanently in the side navigation.

Your role within your org is determined differently depending on how you integrate with your code, as follows:

If your code is integrated with CircleCI via the GitHub OAuth App or Bitbucket Cloud, CircleCI mirrors VCS permissions for organizations. If you are an admin on your organization’s VCS, you are an admin on CircleCI. If you are unsure, check the admin permissions on your VCS.
If your code is integrated with CircleCI via the GitHub App, GitLab, or Bitbucket Data Center, you can check roles by navigating to Organization Settings People. Full details on roles and permissions are available in the Roles and permissions overview.

To find out which GitHub integration you are using, head to the CircleCI web app, select your org, select Organization Home from the sidebar, and inspect the URL in your browser:

This style of URL indicates you authenticated with the GitHub App: https://app.circleci.com/organization/circleci/UTxCZDiJ9MLGLC8hR1ZDmg
This style of URL indicates you authenticated with the GitHub OAuth app: https://app.circleci.com/pipelines/github/<your GitHub username/organization name>

For more information about the differences, see the GitHub docs comparison page.

If you are installing and using self-hosted runners through the CLI, you are agreeing to the CircleCI Runner Terms.

1. Create namespace and resource class

Web app installation
CLI installation

In order to install self-hosted runners, you will need to create a namespace and resource class token. To create resource classes and tokens, you need to be an organization admin in the VCS provider. You can read about namespaces and resource classes on the Concepts page.

You can view your installed runners on the inventory page, by clicking Self-Hosted Runners on the left navigation.

On the CircleCI web app, navigate to Self-Hosted Runners and select Create Resource Class.

Next, you will create a custom resource class to use when configuring jobs to use your self-hosted runners. If this is your organization’s first time using self-hosted runners. You will need to create or enter a namespace. If your organization already creates orbs, do not create a new namespace, but instead enter the namespace your organization uses for orbs here too. Enter aname for your self-hosted runner resource class.

Each organization can only create a single namespace. While not required, we suggest using a lowercase representation of your CircleCI account name. CircleCI will populate your org name as the suggested namespace by default in the UI.

Copy and save the resource class token. Self-hosted runners use this token to claim work for the associated resource class.

The token cannot be retrieved again, be sure to store it safely.
Select the Machine tab and progress on to the platform-specific instructions in the next section of this installation guide.

If you are installing self-hosted runners for server, the CircleCI CLI needs to be configured using your server API key. Run circleci setup to configure the CLI and access the option to supply a new API token if required.

In order to install self-hosted runners, you will need to create a namespace and authentication token by performing the steps listed below.

To create resource classes and tokens you need to be an organization administrator in the VCS provider.

You can view your installed runners on the inventory page in the web app or your CircleCI server app, by clicking Self-Hosted Runners on the left navigation.

Create a namespace for your organization’s self-hosted runners. Each organization can only create a single namespace. We suggest using a lowercase representation of your CircleCI organization’s account name. If you already use orbs, this namespace should be the same namespace orbs use.

Use the following command to create a namespace:

circleci namespace create <name> --org-id <your-organization-id>

If your organization already has a namespace, you will receive an error if you run the above command to create a different namespace. The error message returns the name of the existing namespace. In this case, move on to step 2 below, using your existing namespace.

Create a resource class for your self-hosted runner’s namespace using the following command:
```
circleci runner resource-class create <namespace>/<resource-class> <description> --generate-token
```
Make sure to replace <namespace> and <resource-class> with your org namespace and desired resource class name, respectively. You may optionally add a description.

Example: circleci runner resource-class create my-namespace/my-resource-class my-description --generate-token.

The resource class token is returned after the runner resource class is successfully created.

The token cannot be retrieved again, so be sure to store it safely.

2. Install CircleCI runner

debian
rpm

The easiest way to install runner on a Debian or Ubuntu system is to use CircleCI’s pre-built packages.

On the target machine, install the CircleCI registry. This script will automatically run apt-get update:

curl -s https://packagecloud.io/install/repositories/circleci/runner/script.deb.sh?any=true | sudo bash

Next, install the circleci-runner package:
```
sudo apt-get install -y circleci-runner
```
Replace << AUTH_TOKEN >> with the token generated in the steps above. You may use your text editor to do this, or edit and run the following commands to replace the token automatically:
```
export RUNNER_AUTH_TOKEN="your-runner-auth-token-here"
sudo sed -i "s/<< AUTH_TOKEN >>/$RUNNER_AUTH_TOKEN/g" /etc/circleci-runner/circleci-runner-config.yaml
```
If you are using CircleCI server you will need to provide the url for your install. You can do this by either setting the CIRCLECI_RUNNER_API_URL environment variable:
```
export CIRCLECI_RUNNER_API_URL="your server domain"
```
Or by adding the url to /etc/circleci-runner/circleci-runner-config.yaml using text editor of your choice.
```
api:
  auth_token: << AUTH_TOKEN >>
  # On server, set url to the hostname of your server installation.
  url: https://your.domain.here
```

Start the circleci-runner service, and check that it is currently running:

sudo systemctl enable circleci-runner && sudo systemctl start circleci-runner

# Check status
sudo systemctl status circleci-runner

The easiest way to install runner on a Red Hat, CentOS, or Fedora system is to use CircleCI’s pre-built packages.

On the target machine, install the CircleCI registry:

curl -s https://packagecloud.io/install/repositories/circleci/runner/script.rpm.sh?any=true | sudo bash

Next, install the circleci-runner package:
```
sudo yum install circleci-runner -y
```
Replace << AUTH_TOKEN >> with the token generated in the steps above. You may use your text editor to do this, or edit and run the following commands to replace the token automatically:
```
export RUNNER_AUTH_TOKEN="your-runner-auth-token-here"
sudo sed -i "s/<< AUTH_TOKEN >>/$RUNNER_AUTH_TOKEN/g" /etc/circleci-runner/circleci-runner-config.yaml
```

Enable and start the circleci-runner service, and check that it is currently running:

sudo systemctl enable circleci-runner && sudo systemctl start circleci-runner

# Check status
sudo systemctl status circleci-runner

Machine runner configuration example

Once you have installed configuration runner, select Continue in the CircleCI web app and you will be presented with an example configuration snippet showing a job configured to use your new self-hosted runner resource class.

The fields you must set for a specific job to run using your machine runners are:

machine: true
resource_class: <namespace>/<resource-class>

Simple example of how you could set up a job:

version: 2.1

workflows:
  build-workflow:
    jobs:
      - runner
jobs:
  runner:
    machine: true
    resource_class: <namespace>/<resource-class>
    steps:
      - run: echo "Hi I'm on Runners!"

The job will then execute using your self-hosted runner when you push the .circleci/config.yml to your VCS provider.

Troubleshooting

Refer to the Troubleshoot Machine Runner section of the Troubleshoot Self-hosted Runner guide if you encounter issues installing or running machine runner on Linux.

[path]

[title]

Install machine runner 3 on Linux

Prerequisites

Self-hosted runner terms agreement

1. Create namespace and resource class

2. Install CircleCI runner

Machine runner configuration example

Troubleshooting

Additional resources