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Setting up custom GitLab runners can be cumbersome in the beginning! We faced that multiple times with various customer projects for which we were using GitLab.

Setting up custom GitLab runners can be cumbersome in the beginning! We faced that multiple times with various customer projects for which we were using GitLab.com managed repos. That's why my colleague and I recently built a "GitLab Runners as a Service" [0] -- simply use your self-managed GitLab or GitLab.com account to login, adding pipeline runners is a 1-click operation! Under the hood we provision a Hetzner machine for you runners and automatically connect your GitLab group or project to it. Happy to hear your feedback! [0] https://rocketrunner.io/ https://rocketrunner.io/

cortesoft 2mo ago
I find the gitlab runner registration process a lot simpler than the github process, and a lot more flexible when you are self hosting the gitlab instance. We used kubernetes runners for both, and gitlab was clearly better. The worst part about the github runner setup is that there is no built in support for using your own cache if you are using github.com and want to run your own runners. In order to use your own cache store for your runner jobs, you have to patch the runner image because the cache location is hard coded. Gitlab lets you choose your cache location as a standard feature.
- inanothertime 2mo ago
  Right! That's why running your owners runners is so valuable as you've got full control over the cache location which clearly makes subsequent pipeline runs super fast.
zer0x4d 2mo ago
Thank you for building this, looks like it could be really helpful. We've been running our self-hosted GitLab with almost 99.99% uptime and a few runners but the configuration and update process has been a bit cumbersome. Will take a look at rocket runner.
- inanothertime 2mo ago
  99.99% uptime is impressive! So far our runners are likewise very reliable! It's just a Hetzner machine with our stack on top after all. Thanks for trying us out and please drop us an in-app message for any questions or comments!
lclc 2mo ago
This is pretty cool and one of the few things I couldn't find a viable alternative to in-house hosting so far. The only thing your "GitLab Runners as a Service" is missing is ISO 27001 (and optionally SOC 2) certification. That makes it again easier for your customer to get / maintain their ISO 27001. (So far I used this cloud.init script to spin up and upgrade GitLab-Runner instants: https://gitlab.com/21analytics/gitlab-runner-cloud-init/-/blob/master/gitlab-runner.init?ref_type=heads https://gitlab.com/21analytics/gitlab-runner-cloud-init/-/bl...)
- inanothertime 2mo ago
  Ha, let us look into ISO 27001 certification and see what it takes to obtain it (and SOC 2). Thank you for this valuable pointer! If you could just sign in (accounts are free and you can even try us out for the first 48h and not be charged), then we could message you to your email address once we have an update here.
  - senorrib 2mo ago
    You’re on for a ride. Set at least 50k on the side for that.
  - lclc 2mo ago
    I clicked 'Get started -> Login with GitLab.com' but for my tastes it wants way too much access just to add a runner: > Grants complete read/write access to the API, including all groups and projects, the container registry, the dependency proxy, and the package registry. Even more so just to stay informed about updates.
    - inanothertime 1mo ago
      > it wants way too much access just to add a runner We wanted to make the onboarding as simple as possible so that we can: 0. Log you in through your existing GitLab.com or GitLab self-hosted account 1. List all your groups and projects to decide where to install the runner 2. Disable GitLab.com's own instance runners (otherwise our Runners are not picked up) 3. Install the Runner 4. Optionally: When installing an agent runner, we are able to reply to read and reply to all your issues where you tag us via `@Rocket` -- this runs completely on your machine that we host for you! It doesn't run on our infrastructure and we only access your runner machine for auto-cleaning its caches. That's really all the RocketRunner does with you granting us permissions when logging in. We are looking into ways how to possible scope access better! Thanks for your feedback!
chrisandchris 2mo ago
Looks pretty cool! P.S.: With AdBlockers enabled I cannot navigate on your site at all on Safari mobile. Seems like your navigation uses to much JS to provide a link.
gabelschlager 2mo ago
Is it? Especially if you go the K8S route, setting up a runner infrastructure can be done within a day. Based on my experience, there isn't a lot of maintenance involved. It's mostly a smooth experience.

cortesoft 2mo ago

I find the gitlab runner registration process a lot simpler than the github process, and a lot more flexible when you are self hosting the gitlab instance. We used kubernetes runners for both, and gitlab was clearly better. The worst part about the github runner setup is that there is no built in support for using your own cache if you are using github.com and want to run your own runners. In order to use your own cache store for your runner jobs, you have to patch the runner image because the cache location is hard coded. Gitlab lets you choose your cache location as a standard feature.

inanothertime 2mo ago
Right! That's why running your owners runners is so valuable as you've got full control over the cache location which clearly makes subsequent pipeline runs super fast.

zer0x4d 2mo ago

Thank you for building this, looks like it could be really helpful. We've been running our self-hosted GitLab with almost 99.99% uptime and a few runners but the configuration and update process has been a bit cumbersome. Will take a look at rocket runner.

inanothertime 2mo ago
99.99% uptime is impressive! So far our runners are likewise very reliable! It's just a Hetzner machine with our stack on top after all. Thanks for trying us out and please drop us an in-app message for any questions or comments!

lclc 2mo ago

This is pretty cool and one of the few things I couldn't find a viable alternative to in-house hosting so far. The only thing your "GitLab Runners as a Service" is missing is ISO 27001 (and optionally SOC 2) certification. That makes it again easier for your customer to get / maintain their ISO 27001. (So far I used this cloud.init script to spin up and upgrade GitLab-Runner instants: https://gitlab.com/21analytics/gitlab-runner-cloud-init/-/blob/master/gitlab-runner.init?ref_type=heads https://gitlab.com/21analytics/gitlab-runner-cloud-init/-/bl...)

inanothertime 2mo ago
Ha, let us look into ISO 27001 certification and see what it takes to obtain it (and SOC 2). Thank you for this valuable pointer! If you could just sign in (accounts are free and you can even try us out for the first 48h and not be charged), then we could message you to your email address once we have an update here.
- senorrib 2mo ago
  You’re on for a ride. Set at least 50k on the side for that.
- lclc 2mo ago
  I clicked 'Get started -> Login with GitLab.com' but for my tastes it wants way too much access just to add a runner: > Grants complete read/write access to the API, including all groups and projects, the container registry, the dependency proxy, and the package registry. Even more so just to stay informed about updates.
  - inanothertime 1mo ago
    > it wants way too much access just to add a runner We wanted to make the onboarding as simple as possible so that we can: 0. Log you in through your existing GitLab.com or GitLab self-hosted account 1. List all your groups and projects to decide where to install the runner 2. Disable GitLab.com's own instance runners (otherwise our Runners are not picked up) 3. Install the Runner 4. Optionally: When installing an agent runner, we are able to reply to read and reply to all your issues where you tag us via `@Rocket` -- this runs completely on your machine that we host for you! It doesn't run on our infrastructure and we only access your runner machine for auto-cleaning its caches. That's really all the RocketRunner does with you granting us permissions when logging in. We are looking into ways how to possible scope access better! Thanks for your feedback!

chrisandchris 2mo ago

Looks pretty cool! P.S.: With AdBlockers enabled I cannot navigate on your site at all on Safari mobile. Seems like your navigation uses to much JS to provide a link.

gabelschlager 2mo ago

Is it? Especially if you go the K8S route, setting up a runner infrastructure can be done within a day. Based on my experience, there isn't a lot of maintenance involved. It's mostly a smooth experience.