Runners
Where jobs run: runtime environment containers for playbooks, and AWX, AAP, Ascender, Semaphore, Rundeck or Jenkins for templates
For administrators: add the runners your jobs run on, choose each type’s default, approve the RTEs that ask to join, test them.
In this section
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| The runners page | The list of runners, adding one, turning one on or off, and the default of each type |
| Runner types | The products a runner can be, their address and login |
| Registration | How an RTE asks to join and is approved, join tokens for unattended installs, and database mode |
| A runner’s page | A runner’s tabs, an RTE’s mode and connection, and Test connection |
| Who manages runners | Who may add, change and test runners |
How it works
Since version 7 the app runs nothing itself: every job runs on a runner, added under Connections > Runners. A form’s type decides which type of runner it needs:
| Form type | Runs on a runner of type | What runs |
|---|---|---|
ansible | RTE | A playbook, in a runtime environment container |
awx, aap, ascender | AWX (the flavours AWX, AAP and Ascender) | A job or workflow template |
semaphore | Semaphore | A Semaphore UI template |
rundeck | Rundeck | A Rundeck job |
jenkins | Jenkins | A Jenkins job |
A workflow or subform form has no runner of its own: each node of a workflow picks its own. A node with a runner: runs on that runner (an RTE, or a template or job on AWX, Semaphore, Rundeck or Jenkins), any other on the default RTE, so the nodes of one job can run on different runners. The multistep form, deprecated since 7 and replaced by workflows, works the same way: each of its steps runs on the runner its own type needs.
A form picks its runner in one of two ways:
- By name:
runner: <name>on the form, on a workflow node, or on a step of a deprecated multistep (also in the designer’s form settings). The runner must be of the type the form needs, or the job fails. The olderawx: <name>still works, logs a deprecation warning, and goes away in 8. - As the default: a form that names no runner runs on the default runner of its type. Without one, the job fails with a message that says which type of runner to add.
A runner turned off under Connections > Runners gets no job, by name or as the default: the job fails and says to enable it or to name another runner (see Default and Enabled).