Warning: Self-hosted runners are long-lived, and any compromise to the host machine could leak secrets or credentials or enable other attacks. For more information about the risks of using self-hosted runners, see "Security hardening for GitHub Actions." For more information about the management of access to GitHub Actions for your enterprise, see "Enforcing GitHub Actions policies for your enterprise."
You must add a runner to GitHub AE 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 AE 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
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Stop the self-hosted runner application if it is currently running.
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Install the service with the following command:
sudo ./svc.sh install
Installing the service
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Stop the self-hosted runner application if it is currently running.
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Install the service with the following command:
./svc.sh install
Starting the service
Start the service with the following command:
sudo ./svc.sh startStart-Service "actions.runner.*"./svc.sh startChecking the status of the service
Check the status of the service with the following command:
sudo ./svc.sh statusGet-Service "actions.runner.*"./svc.sh statusFor 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 stopStop-Service "actions.runner.*"./svc.sh stopUninstalling the service
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Stop the service if it is currently running.
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Uninstall the service with the following command:
sudo ./svc.sh uninstallRemove-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.