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Github Runner EC2 Start

Github action to start an EC2 instance on demand and use it as a self-hosted runner.

  • AWS SDK V3 ✅
  • Supports latest Github Runner software features ✅
  • Very configurable ✅

Use along with github-runner-ec2-stop to terminate instances.

workflow example image

Getting started

1. Prepare policies for AWS access

At minimum, this action will need permission to create, list, and terminate EC2 instances

ec2:RunInstances
ec2:TerminateInstances
ec2:DescribeInstances
ec2:DescribeInstanceStatus

You will need additional permissions if attaching an IAM role to the instance:

ec2:ReplaceIamInstanceProfileAssociation
ec2:AssociateIamInstanceProfile
iam:PassRole

and additional permissions to add tags:

ec2:CreateTags

We recommend making permissions as strict as possible based on your use case. For example, you can pass in tags for the EC2 instance and limit access to instances with specific tags for more security.

You should then use aws-actions/configure-aws-credentials in your workflow to authenticate to AWS. You might use access keys or assume a role based on your preference. An example workflow is in examples/with-required-params.yml.

2. Prepare Github Personal Access Token

A personal access token with the repo scope is needed to register runners. See creating a personal access token. Add this token to your Github secrets so you can use it in your workflow.

3. Prepare AMI (Amazon Machine Image)

Using a custom AMI with all the software needed for your job and the Github runner software pre-installed cuts minutes off your startup tine.

This can be created manually. You can also use tools like Packer or EC2 Image Builder to create those in a repeatable way.

See examples/prep-ubuntu-runner.sh for commands to prep an ubuntu runner before saving as a custom AMI.

This action assumes that the Github runner software is already installed. You can pass in your custom startup-commands if you prefer to do that differently.

4. Prepare security group.

We recommend using a separate security group for your runners. Github runners use HTTPS long polling, so the only thing needed is outbound traffic on port 443. Inbound traffic isn't needed.

5. Create launch template (optional)

A launch template provides a convenient way to manage the launch config for your EC2 instances. This action supports specifying a launch template to use (see examples/with-launch-template.yml). This is optional, you can also configure the EC2 instance with config params provided by this action.

Using in your workflow

Reference the example workflows in ./examples to get started. See action.yml for more info on the inputs this workflow supports.

Don't forget to add the github-runner-ec2-stop step after your job, to terminate EC2 instance!

See self-hosted runner security for more info on security considerations. It is recommended to only use self-hosted runners in private repositories.

This action starts the runner as an ephemeral runner. See the default startup command in src/index.ts -> getStartupCommands. You can use the startup-commands param to pass in your custom startup commands to change any behavior and run your own scripts.

Development

To rebuild the ./dist/index.js file, run:

ncc build src/index.ts --license licenses.txt