GitLab Runner: Introduction

This documentation is part of the Building Docker images guide. You can view the complete guide here: Build and push Docker images from your GitLab CI/CD pipelines using your Stackhero runner and Docker-in-Docker.

👋 Welcome to the Stackhero documentation!

Stackhero offers you an easy-to-use GitLab Runner cloud solution, designed to efficiently run your GitLab CI/CD jobs. Here’s what you can benefit from:

• Unlimited CI/CD minutes: there’s no per-minute billing, so your pipelines can run whenever you need them.
• Concurrent jobs: run multiple jobs in parallel to speed up your entire pipeline.
• The Docker executor with Docker-in-Docker support: simplify building and pushing your container images.
• Compatible with GitLab.com as well as any self-managed GitLab instance.
• A private, dedicated VM powered by fast NVMe/SSD disks for reliable, consistent builds.
• Available in both 🇪🇺 Europe and 🇺🇸 USA regions.

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

When you use a Stackhero GitLab Runner, it executes jobs using the Docker executor. This means each job starts in a fresh container based on the image you specify. If you wish to build your own Docker images within your pipeline, you can take advantage of Docker-in-Docker (DinD). This setup allows a Docker daemon to run alongside your job, enabling you to run commands such as docker build and docker push directly within your pipeline.

One of the main advantages here is that your runner comes with unlimited CI/CD minutes. You are free to build images as often as you need. Additionally, since your build cache is stored on the runner's dedicated disk, repeated builds can reuse previous layers, significantly speeding up your pipelines.