## Summary
Many teams self-host Gitea + Act Runner at scale. The current runner design causes excessive HTTP requests to the Gitea server, leading to high server load. This PR addresses three root causes: aggressive fixed-interval polling, per-task status reporting every 1 second regardless of activity, and unoptimized HTTP client configuration.
## Problem
The original architecture has these issues:
**1. Fixed 1-second reporting interval (RunDaemon)**
- Every running task calls ReportLog + ReportState every 1 second (2 HTTP requests/sec/task)
- These requests are sent even when there are no new log rows or state changes
- With 200 runners × 3 tasks each = **1,200 req/sec just for status reporting**
**2. Fixed 2-second polling interval (no backoff)**
- Idle runners poll FetchTask every 2 seconds forever, even when no jobs are queued
- No exponential backoff or jitter — all runners can synchronize after network recovery (thundering herd)
- 200 idle runners = **100 req/sec doing nothing useful**
**3. HTTP client not tuned**
- Uses http.DefaultClient with MaxIdleConnsPerHost=2, causing frequent TCP/TLS reconnects
- Creates two separate http.Client instances (one for Ping, one for Runner service) instead of sharing
**Total: ~1,300 req/sec for 200 runners with 3 tasks each**
## Solution
### Adaptive Event-Driven Log Reporting
Replace the recursive `time.AfterFunc(1s)` pattern in RunDaemon with a goroutine-based select event loop using three trigger mechanisms:
| Trigger | Default | Purpose |
|---------|---------|---------|
| `log_report_max_latency` | 3s | Guarantee even a single log line is delivered within this time |
| `log_report_interval` | 5s | Periodic sweep — steady-state cadence |
| `log_report_batch_size` | 100 rows | Immediate flush during bursty output (e.g., npm install) |
**Key design**: `log_report_max_latency` (3s) must be less than `log_report_interval` (5s) so the max-latency timer fires before the periodic ticker for single-line scenarios.
State reporting is decoupled to its own `state_report_interval` (default 5s), with immediate flush on step transitions (start/stop) via a stateNotify channel for responsive frontend UX.
Additionally:
- Skip ReportLog when `len(rows) == 0` (no pending log rows)
- Skip ReportState when `stateChanged == false && len(outputs) == 0` (nothing changed)
- Move expensive `proto.Clone` after the early-return check to avoid deep copies on no-op paths
### Polling Backoff with Jitter
Replace fixed `rate.Limiter` with adaptive exponential backoff:
- Track `consecutiveEmpty` and `consecutiveErrors` counters
- Interval doubles with each empty/error response: `base × 2^(n-1)`, capped at `fetch_interval_max` (default 60s)
- Add ±20% random jitter to prevent thundering herd
- Fetch first, sleep after ��� preserves burst=1 behavior for immediate first fetch on startup and after task completion
### HTTP Client Tuning
- Configure custom `http.Transport` with `MaxIdleConnsPerHost=10` (was 2)
- Share a single `http.Client` between PingService and RunnerService
- Add `IdleConnTimeout=90s` for clean connection lifecycle
## Load Reduction
For 200 runners × 3 tasks (70% with active log output):
| Component | Before | After | Reduction |
|-----------|--------|-------|-----------|
| Polling (idle) | 100 req/s | ~3.4 req/s | 97% |
| Log reporting | 420 req/s | ~84 req/s | 80% |
| State reporting | 126 req/s | ~25 req/s | 80% |
| **Total** | **~1,300 req/s** | **~113 req/s** | **~91%** |
## Frontend UX Impact
| Scenario | Before | After | Notes |
|----------|--------|-------|-------|
| Continuous output (npm install) | ~1s | ~5s | Periodic ticker sweep |
| Single line then silence | ~1s | ≤3s | maxLatencyTimer guarantee |
| Bursty output (100+ lines) | ~1s | <1s | Batch size immediate flush |
| Step start/stop | ~1s | <1s | stateNotify immediate flush |
| Job completion | ~1s | ~1s | Close() retry unchanged |
## New Configuration Options
All have safe defaults — existing config files need no changes:
```yaml
runner:
fetch_interval_max: 60s # Max backoff interval when idle
log_report_interval: 5s # Periodic log flush interval
log_report_max_latency: 3s # Max time a log row waits (must be < log_report_interval)
log_report_batch_size: 100 # Immediate flush threshold
state_report_interval: 5s # State flush interval (step transitions are always immediate)
```
Config validation warns on invalid combinations:
- `fetch_interval_max < fetch_interval` → auto-corrected
- `log_report_max_latency >= log_report_interval` → warning (timer would be redundant)
## Test Plan
- [x] `go build ./...` passes
- [x] `go test ./...` passes (all existing + 3 new tests)
- [x] `golangci-lint run` — 0 issues
- [x] TestReporter_MaxLatencyTimer — verifies single log line flushed by maxLatencyTimer before logTicker
- [x] TestReporter_BatchSizeFlush — verifies batch size threshold triggers immediate flush
- [x] TestReporter_StateNotifyFlush — verifies step transition triggers immediate state flush
- [x] TestReporter_EphemeralRunnerDeletion — verifies Close/RunDaemon race safety
- [x] TestReporter_RunDaemonClose_Race — verifies concurrent Close safety
Reviewed-on: https://gitea.com/gitea/act_runner/pulls/819
Reviewed-by: Nicolas <173651+bircni@noreply.gitea.com>
Co-authored-by: Bo-Yi Wu <appleboy.tw@gmail.com>
Co-committed-by: Bo-Yi Wu <appleboy.tw@gmail.com>
## Summary
Adds a `container.bind_workdir` config option that exposes the nektos/act `BindWorkdir` setting. When enabled, workspaces are bind-mounted from the host filesystem instead of Docker volumes, which is required for DinD setups where jobs use `docker compose` with bind mounts (e.g. `.:/app`).
Each job gets an isolated workspace at `/workspace/<task_id>/<owner>/<repo>` to prevent concurrent jobs from the same repo interfering with each other. The task directory is cleaned up after job execution.
### Configuration
```yaml
container:
bind_workdir: true
```
When using this with DinD, also mount the workspace parent into the runner container and add it to `valid_volumes`:
```yaml
container:
valid_volumes:
- /workspace/**
```
*This PR was authored by Claude (AI assistant)*
Reviewed-on: https://gitea.com/gitea/act_runner/pulls/810
Reviewed-by: ChristopherHX <38043+christopherhx@noreply.gitea.com>
Co-authored-by: silverwind <me@silverwind.io>
Co-committed-by: silverwind <me@silverwind.io>
This PR
- adds the `cache-server` command so act_runner can run as a cache server. When running as a cache server, act_runner only processes the requests related to cache and does not run jobs.
- adds the `external_server` configuration for cache. If specified, act_runner will use this URL as the ACTIONS_CACHE_URL instead of starting a cache server itself.
Reviewed-on: https://gitea.com/gitea/act_runner/pulls/275
Co-authored-by: Zettat123 <zettat123@gmail.com>
Co-committed-by: Zettat123 <zettat123@gmail.com>
Follow #242, #244Fixes#258
Users could use `docker_host` configuration to specify which docker daemon will be used by act_runner.
- If `docker_host` is **empty**, act_runner will find an available docker host automatically.
- If `docker_host` is **"-"**, act_runner will find an available docker host automatically, but the docker host won't be mounted to the job containers and service containers.
- If `docker_host` is **not empty or "-"**, the specified docker host will be used. An error will be returned if it doesn't work.
Reviewed-on: https://gitea.com/gitea/act_runner/pulls/260
Co-authored-by: Zettat123 <zettat123@gmail.com>
Co-committed-by: Zettat123 <zettat123@gmail.com>
Follow #242.
Move `docker.host` to `container.docker_host`.
There are already some options for docker/container in `container`, so developers could get confused about where to add options.
It's breaking, but I think it's OK since `docker.host` was added just two days ago.
Reviewed-on: https://gitea.com/gitea/act_runner/pulls/244
Reviewed-by: Lunny Xiao <xiaolunwen@gmail.com>
Close https://gitea.com/gitea/act_runner/issues/177
Related https://gitea.com/gitea/act/pulls/56
### ⚠️ Breaking
The `container.network_mode` is a deprecated configuration item. It may be removed after Gitea 1.20 released.
Previously, if the value of `container.network_mode` is `bridge`, it means that `act_runner` will create a new network for job.But `bridge` is easily confused with the bridge network created by Docker by default.
We recommand that using `container.network` to specify the network to which containers created by `act_runner` connect.
### 🆕 container.network
The configuration file of `act_runner` add a new item of `contianer.network`.
In `config.example.yaml`:
```yaml
container:
# Specifies the network to which the container will connect.
# Could be host, bridge or the name of a custom network.
# If it's empty, act_runner will create a network automatically.
network: ""
```
As the comment in the example above says, the purpose of the `container.network` is specifying the network to which containers created by `act_runner` will connect.
`container.network` accepts the following valid values:
- `host`: All of containers (including job containers and service contianers) created by `act_runner` will be connected to the network named `host` which is created automatically by Docker. Containers will share the host’s network stack and all interfaces from the host will be available to these containers.
- `bridge`: It is similar to `host`. All of containers created by `act_runner` will be connected to the network named `bridge` which is created automatically by Docker. All containers connected to the `bridge` (Perhaps there are containers that are not created by `act_runner`) are allowed to communicate with each other, while providing isolation from containers which are not connected to that `bridge` network.
- `<custom_network>`: Please make sure that the `<custom_network>` network already exists firstly (`act_runner` does not detect whether the specified network exists currently. If not exists yet, will return error in the stage of `docker create`). All of containers created by `act_runner` will be connected to `<custom_network>`. After the job is executed, containers are removed and automatically disconnected from the `<custom_network>`.
- empty: `act_runner` will create a new network for each job container and their service containers (if defined in workflow). So each job container and their service containers share a network environment, but are isolated from others container and the Docker host. Of course, these networks created by `act_runner` will be removed at last.
### Others
- If you do not have special needs, we highly recommend that setting `container.network` to empty string (and do not use `container.network_mode` any more). Because the containers created by `act_runner` will connect to the networks that are created by itself. This point will provide better isolation.
- If you set `contianer.network` to empty string or `<custom_network>`, we can be access to service containers by `<service-id>:<port>` in the steps of job. Because we added an alias to the service container when connecting to the network.
Co-authored-by: Jason Song <i@wolfogre.com>
Reviewed-on: https://gitea.com/gitea/act_runner/pulls/184
Reviewed-by: Jason Song <i@wolfogre.com>
Co-authored-by: sillyguodong <gedong_1994@163.com>
Co-committed-by: sillyguodong <gedong_1994@163.com>
Fixes#145
At present, the working directory of a work flow is a path like `/<owner>/<repo>`, so the directory may conflict with system directory like `/usr/bin`. We need to add a parent directory for the working directory.
In this PR, the parent directory is `/workspace` by default and users could configure it by the `workdir_parent` option.
This change doesn't affect the host mode because in host mode the working directory will always be in `$HOME/.cache/act/` directory.
Co-authored-by: Jason Song <i@wolfogre.com>
Reviewed-on: https://gitea.com/gitea/act_runner/pulls/154
Reviewed-by: Jason Song <i@wolfogre.com>
Co-authored-by: Zettat123 <zettat123@gmail.com>
Co-committed-by: Zettat123 <zettat123@gmail.com>
This adds a very simple Dockerfile and run script for running `act_runner` as a container.
It also allows setting `Privileged` and `ContainerOptions` flags via the new config file when spawning task containers. The combination makes it possible to use Docker-in-Docker (which requires `privileged` mode) as well as pass any other options child Docker containers may require.
For example, if Gitea is running in Docker on the same machine, for the `checkout` action to behave as expected from a task container launched by `act_runner`, it might be necessary to map the hostname via something like:
```
container:
network_mode: bridge
privileged: true
options: --add-host=my.gitea.hostname:host-gateway
```
> NOTE: Description updated to reflect latest code.
> NOTE: Description updated to reflect latest code (again).
Reviewed-on: https://gitea.com/gitea/act_runner/pulls/84
Reviewed-by: Lunny Xiao <xiaolunwen@gmail.com>
Reviewed-by: Jason Song <i@wolfogre.com>
Co-authored-by: Thomas E Lackey <telackey@bozemanpass.com>
Co-committed-by: Thomas E Lackey <telackey@bozemanpass.com>
