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Enterprise Server 3.1
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Enterprise Server 3.1
English

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This version of GitHub Enterprise was discontinued on 2022-06-03. No patch releases will be made, even for critical security issues. For better performance, improved security, and new features, upgrade to the latest version of GitHub Enterprise. For help with the upgrade, contact GitHub Enterprise support.

Configuring the self-hosted runner application as a service

In this article

You can configure the self-hosted runner application as a service to automatically start the runner application when the machine starts.

Note: GitHub-hosted runners are not currently supported on GitHub Enterprise Server. You can see more information about planned future support on the GitHub public roadmap.

You must add a runner to GitHub Enterprise Server before you can configure the self-hosted runner application as a service. For more information, see "Adding self-hosted runners."

For Linux systems that use systemd, you can use the svc.sh script distributed with the self-hosted runner application to install and manage using the application as a service.

On the runner machine, open a shell in the directory where you installed the self-hosted runner application. Use the commands below to install and manage the self-hosted runner service.

Note: Configuring the self-hosted runner application as a service on Windows is part of the application configuration process. If you have already configured the self-hosted runner application but did not choose to configure it as a service, you must remove the runner from GitHub and re-configure the application. When you re-configure the application, choose the option to configure the application as a service.

For more information, see "Removing self-hosted runners" and "Adding self-hosted runners."

You can manage the runner service in the Windows Services application, or you can use PowerShell to run the commands below.

You must add a runner to GitHub Enterprise Server before you can configure the self-hosted runner application as a service. For more information, see "Adding self-hosted runners."

On the runner machine, open a shell in the directory where you installed the self-hosted runner application. Use the commands below to install and manage the self-hosted runner service.

Installing the service

  1. Stop the self-hosted runner application if it is currently running.

  2. Install the service with the following command:

    sudo ./svc.sh install

  3. Alternatively, the command takes an optional user argument to install the service as a different user.

    ./svc.sh install USERNAME

Installing the service

  1. Stop the self-hosted runner application if it is currently running.

  2. Install the service with the following command:

    ./svc.sh install

Starting the service

Start the service with the following command:

sudo ./svc.sh start
Start-Service "actions.runner.*"
./svc.sh start

Checking the status of the service

Check the status of the service with the following command:

sudo ./svc.sh status
Get-Service "actions.runner.*"
./svc.sh status

For more information on viewing the status of your self-hosted runner, see "Monitoring and troubleshooting self-hosted runners."

Stopping the service

Stop the service with the following command:

sudo ./svc.sh stop
Stop-Service "actions.runner.*"
./svc.sh stop

Uninstalling the service

  1. Stop the service if it is currently running.

  2. Uninstall the service with the following command:

    sudo ./svc.sh uninstall
    Remove-Service "actions.runner.*"
    ./svc.sh uninstall

Customizing the self-hosted runner service

If you don't want to use the above default systemd service configuration, you can create a customized service or use whichever service mechanism you prefer. Consider using the serviced template at actions-runner/bin/actions.runner.service.template as a reference. If you use a customized service, the self-hosted runner service must always be invoked using the runsvc.sh entry point.

Customizing the self-hosted runner service

If you don't want to use the above default launchd service configuration, you can create a customized service or use whichever service mechanism you prefer. Consider using the plist template at actions-runner/bin/actions.runner.plist.template as a reference. If you use a customized service, the self-hosted runner service must always be invoked using the runsvc.sh entry point.