# runs-on/runs-on

Self-hosted GitHub Actions runners made simple. For AWS. 10x cheaper, up to 2x faster, and unlimited caching. Best alternative to Actions Runner Controller.

Repository: https://github.com/runs-on/runs-on
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/runs-on
Homepage: https://runs-on.com
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: aws, github-actions, self-hosted, ci, cicd, cloudformation, continuous-delivery, continuous-deployment, continuous-integration, ec2-spot, github-runners, on-premise, self-hosted-runners
Last push: 2026-08-24T11:27:03+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 93/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 99, longevity 71
- inputs: {"age_days": 998, "days_push": 9, "days_rel": 9, "gap_med": 11, "n_releases_24m": 46}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1300, forks 51 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:17.562112+00:00)

## What it is
RunsOn is a self-hosted GitHub Actions runner control plane for AWS that launches a fresh, ephemeral EC2 instance for every CI job, deployed via a single CloudFormation stack or Terraform module. It offers GitHub runner-image compatibility, spot pricing without per-minute markup, GPU/Windows/arm64 support, and built-in caching and observability, positioning itself as a simpler, cheaper alternative to Actions Runner Controller (ARC).

## Use cases
- run GitHub Actions CI on my own AWS account to cut costs
- replace Actions Runner Controller without managing Kubernetes
- get faster CI runners with more CPU or GPU than GitHub-hosted
- spin up ephemeral per-job runners with spot instances
- self-host GitHub Actions runners with unlimited build caching
- run CI jobs on arm64 or GPU EC2 instances
- keep CI credentials and runner infrastructure inside my VPC

## When to choose
- your GitHub Actions bill is high and you want AWS spot pricing without per-minute markup
- you want runner infrastructure, IAM, and networking fully inside your own AWS account
- you need larger or faster instances (up to 896 vCPUs, GPU, arm64, Windows) than GitHub-hosted runners offer
- you want a simpler alternative to ARC without managing a Kubernetes cluster
- you need per-job cost tracking, OpenTelemetry traces, and effectively unlimited caching

## When to avoid
- you need macOS runners — not yet supported
- you don't use AWS or don't want to manage cloud infrastructure at all
- you prefer a fully free open-source solution — commercial use requires a paid license (free only for non-commercial)
- your CI volume is tiny and GitHub-hosted runners are already cost-effective
- you're Kubernetes-first and want runner pods managed alongside your workloads in ARC

## Facets
- artifact type: service
- maturity: active
- function: ci-cd, deployment, infrastructure-as-code, monitoring, caching, self-hosted
- domain: cloud-computing, developer-tools
- platform: cloud, self-hosted, windows
- tags: github-actions, ec2-spot, ephemeral-runners, cloudformation, terraform, gpu-runners, cost-optimization, runner-controller, arm64, opentelemetry, devops, continuous-integration, automation, docker, linux

## Member repositories
- runs-on/runs-on (main) score 93

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:17.562112+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:52:19.557591+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/runs-on/runs-on (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:17.562112+00:00, sha ceba47ab0e21)
  - homepage: https://runs-on.com (fetched 2026-08-29T12:10:22.411700+00:00, sha 56560448becb)
  - site_page: https://runs-on.com/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T12:10:22.421027+00:00, sha 9101b5ba19db)
  - site_page: https://runs-on.com/docs/maintenance/troubleshooting (fetched 2026-08-29T12:10:22.427303+00:00, sha 704b34f83257)
  - site_page: https://runs-on.com/quickstart (fetched 2026-08-29T12:10:22.429535+00:00, sha e91ec380bcb5)
  - site_page: https://runs-on.com/docs/runners/labels (fetched 2026-08-29T12:10:22.431212+00:00, sha 37bea0f195a7)
  - site_page: https://runs-on.com/installation (fetched 2026-08-29T12:10:22.434311+00:00, sha 2cdf486414ed)
  - site_page: https://runs-on.com/docs/runners (fetched 2026-08-29T12:10:22.436382+00:00, sha d943e3e1f2af)
  - site_page: https://runs-on.com/pricing (fetched 2026-08-29T12:10:22.422868+00:00, sha dd63ec3c573f)
  - site_page: https://runs-on.com/changelog (fetched 2026-08-29T12:10:22.424965+00:00, sha 809d676d56e8)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.