GitHub Actions Workshop

Master GitHub Actions with hands-on labs and exercises. Learn how to automate workflows, run tests, deploy applications, and more using GitHub's powerful automation platform. This repository has everything you need to get started with continuous integration and continuous deployment.

Project maintained by prasadhonrao Hosted on GitHub Pages — Theme by mattgraham

Lab: Create a Self-Hosted Runner

Introduction

In this lab, you will learn how to set up a self-hosted runner for your GitHub repository. A self-hosted runner allows you to run GitHub Actions workflows on your infrastructure, giving you more control over the execution environment.

Duration: 15-20 minutes

Instructions

Step 1: Navigate to the Repository’s Runner Settings

  1. Go to your GitHub repository.

    Open GitHub Repository

  2. Click on the “Actions” tab.

    Open Actions

  3. Click on the “Runners” section in the left-hand navigation.

    Self-Hosted Runners Section

Step 2: Add a New Self-Hosted Runner

  1. Under the Self-hosted runners section, click on the “Add Runner” button.

    Add Runner

  2. Click on the “New self-hosted runner” button.

    New Runner

Step 3: Select Operating System and Architecture

  1. On the “Add a new self-hosted runner” page, choose the operating system and architecture that matches your machine.

  2. Click on the “Download” button to download the appropriate runner package.

    Download Runner

Step 4: Configure the Runner on Your Machine

  1. Follow the displayed instructions to configure the runner. This typically involves:

    • Extracting the downloaded package.
    • Running a setup script (e.g., config.sh on Linux/MacOS or config.cmd on Windows).
    • Adding the runner token provided by GitHub to authenticate.

    Configure Runner

  2. Once the setup script completes successfully, start the runner using the provided command (e.g., ./run.sh or run.cmd).

Step 5: Verify the Runner Configuration

  1. Return to the “Runners” section in the repository’s Actions tab.

  2. You should see your new self-hosted runner listed as Online.

    Runner Configured

Summary

In this lab, you successfully created and configured a self-hosted runner for your GitHub repository. This allows you to execute workflows using your own infrastructure. Self-hosted runners are particularly useful for tasks requiring specific hardware or software configurations.

Additional Resources