ROLAC/deploy/vm/runner/README.md

Gitea act_runner on the VM (Docker Compose)

Runs the CI/CD runner as a container, but with a custom image that bundles the .NET 8 SDK + Docker CLI + Node, because the ROLAC workflow does both dotnet test and docker build/compose. The stock gitea/act_runner image has neither.

It registers with the label ubuntu:host:

• ubuntu = the label name the workflow targets (runs-on: ubuntu).
• :host = run each step inside this runner container (which has the tools), instead of spawning a separate job container that wouldn't have dotnet/docker.

The container mounts the host Docker socket (so build/push/compose act on the host daemon) and /opt/rolac at the same path (so compose's relative volumes resolve), and uses host networking (so the deploy step's curl http://localhost:8080/api/health works).

Setup

1. Get a runner registration token in Gitea: Settings → Actions → Runners → Create new runner → copy the token. (This is the registration token — different from the REGISTRY_TOKEN repo secret used for docker login.)

2. Configure + start (on the VM, from this directory):

   cd deploy/vm/runner
   cp .env.example .env
   nano .env                 # paste GITEA_RUNNER_REGISTRATION_TOKEN
   docker compose up -d --build
   

3. Verify it shows up online in Gitea → Settings → Actions → Runners, with the ubuntu label.

Notes

• Registration state is stored in ./runner-data/.runner (a bind mount), so the runner does not re-register on restart. To re-register from scratch, stop the container and delete runner-data/.
• docker login git.golife.love for the registry is done by the workflow using the repo secrets REGISTRY_USER / REGISTRY_TOKEN — you do not need to log in inside the runner manually.
• Logs: docker compose logs -f runner.
• The runner can build/run containers on the host because it shares the host Docker socket. Treat this runner as privileged — only run trusted workflows on it.