Install Latest Forgejo Runner on Debian

What is Forgejo Runner?

Forgejo Runner is the CI runner for Forgejo Actions. It is a lightweight daemon that connects to your Forgejo instance, picks up queued workflow jobs and executes them on your own infrastructure — using Docker, LXC or the host directly — giving you a fully self-hosted, GitHub Actions-compatible CI/CD pipeline.

            🚀 Why Latest Versions Matter: The runner tracks Forgejo releases closely, adding support for new workflow features, better isolation and bug fixes. Keeping it current ensures compatibility with the latest Forgejo Actions capabilities.
        

⚡ Key Features of Forgejo Runner

🔁 Actions Compatible

Runs workflows using the same syntax and actions ecosystem as GitHub Actions.

🐳 Flexible Execution

Execute jobs in Docker containers, LXC, or directly on the host machine.

🔐 Self-hosted

Keep your CI/CD entirely on your own infrastructure with no third-party dependency.

⚖️ Scalable

🎯 Why Forgejo Runner?

Own your CI: Run pipelines on hardware you control
Actions ecosystem: Reuse existing GitHub-style workflow definitions
Flexible isolation: Docker, LXC or host execution to fit your needs
Lightweight: A single Go binary that is simple to deploy

🆕 Highlights

Job Execution: Runs queued Forgejo Actions workflows
Labels: Target jobs to specific runners
Container Support: Isolated builds via Docker
Daemon Mode: Runs continuously as a service

📦 Installation from debian.griffo.io

Step 1: Add Repository

sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://debian.griffo.io/EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/keyrings/debian.griffo.io.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/debian.griffo.io.gpg] https://debian.griffo.io/apt $(lsb_release -sc 2>/dev/null) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.griffo.io.list > /dev/null
sudo apt update
                

install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://debian.griffo.io/EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256.asc | gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/keyrings/debian.griffo.io.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/debian.griffo.io.gpg] https://debian.griffo.io/apt $(lsb_release -sc 2>/dev/null) main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.griffo.io.list > /dev/null
apt update
                

Step 2: Install forgejo-runner

# Install latest forgejo-runner
sudo apt install forgejo-runner

# Verify installation
forgejo-runner --version
                

# Install latest forgejo-runner
apt install forgejo-runner

# Verify installation
forgejo-runner --version
                

🎯 Basic Usage Examples

# Show version
forgejo-runner --version

# Generate a default config file
forgejo-runner generate-config > config.yaml

# Register the runner with your Forgejo instance
forgejo-runner register --instance https://forgejo.example.com --token 

# Start the runner daemon
forgejo-runner daemon
        

🚀 Why Choose debian.griffo.io?

📊 Repository Comparison:

Official Debian: Often months behind, missing latest features
debian.griffo.io: Latest version within hours of release
Manual Installation: Manual downloads and PATH setup required
Our Repository: Pre-built, ready-to-use packages

✅ Latest Features: Get newest Forgejo Runner features and improvements immediately
✅ No Manual Setup: Pre-built binaries, installed and updated through apt
✅ Automatic Updates: Packages updated within hours of upstream releases
✅ Proper Dependencies: Correctly packaged with all required libraries
✅ Multi-Distribution: Works on Bookworm, Trixie, and Sid
✅ Easy Maintenance: Simple apt commands for updates

📦 Package Build Repository

The Debian packages are automatically built and maintained in this GitHub repository:

📁 forgejo-runner-debian - Latest release builds

🔗 Related Packages

Also available from debian.griffo.io:

Forgejo - Self-hosted lightweight software forge
Garage - S3-compatible distributed object storage
Headscale - Self-hosted Tailscale control server

            🎯 Perfect for: Teams and individuals self-hosting Forgejo who want to run their own CI/CD pipelines with full control over the build environment and infrastructure.
        

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⚙️ Install Latest Forgejo Runner on Debian