GitLab Runner: 4. Create the service

This documentation is part of the Automate with the CLI guide. You can view the complete guide here: Start GitLab-Runner, retrieve its credentials, and modify its configuration programmatically using the Stackhero CLI.

👋 Welcome to the Stackhero documentation!

Stackhero offers a straightforward GitLab Runner cloud solution that makes running your GitLab CI/CD jobs efficient and hassle-free. Here’s what you can expect:

• Unlimited CI/CD minutes: run your pipelines as often as you need, with no per-minute billing or unexpected charges.
• Multiple concurrent jobs: speed up your development by running several jobs in parallel.
• The Docker executor with Docker-in-Docker support: easily build and push container images as part of your CI/CD process.
• Works seamlessly with both GitLab.com and self-managed GitLab instances.
• A private, dedicated infrastructure with fast NVMe/SSD storage ensures stable and predictable build performance.
• Available in 🇪🇺 Europe and 🇺🇸 USA regions to meet your team’s requirements.

Save time: you can connect your first GitLab Runner and start running pipelines in just a few minutes!

Below is an example script that creates a stack, adds your GitLab-Runner service to it, waits for it to start, retrieves its configuration (including generated credentials), and then applies a new configuration.

#!/bin/bash
set -e

export STACKHERO_TOKEN="usr-xxxxxx:your-token"

serviceStore="gitlab-runner"   # The GitLab-Runner service store name (see step 2)
instance="..."                # An instance size from step 3
region="europe"               # A region name from step 3

# Create a stack for your service (uses your default organisation; add --organization if needed)
stackId=$(stackhero --format=script stack-create \
  --name="My GitLab-Runner stack")
echo "Stack created: ${stackId}"

# Add GitLab-Runner to the stack (names are resolved automatically)
serviceId=$(stackhero --format=script service-add \
  --stack="My GitLab-Runner stack" \
  --service-store="${serviceStore}" \
  --instance="${instance}" \
  --region="${region}")
echo "Service added: gitlab-runner"

# Wait for the service to be fully operational (this may take a few minutes)
stackhero service-wait-for --service="gitlab-runner"

# Retrieve the service configuration, including generated credentials
stackhero service-configuration-get --service="gitlab-runner" --format=json