GitLab Runner

GitLab Runner at a glance

GitLab Runner is the agent that executes CI/CD jobs for GitLab, running pipeline code on your infrastructure. GitLab ships Runner releases alongside GitLab plus security fixes; as software that executes pipeline code and holds job credentials, keeping it current and isolated matters.

For admins the Runner version should stay compatible with your GitLab version — keep them roughly in step. The bigger concern is isolation: runners execute arbitrary pipeline code and can access secrets, so run them in isolated, ephemeral environments (containers/VMs), scope their tokens tightly, and never run untrusted pipelines on a privileged shared runner. Keep the Runner and its executor images current for security fixes. After updating, verify that jobs still register and run. Autoscaling and Docker/Kubernetes executors have their own configuration to secure. Track releases; patchletter surfaces new GitLab Runner versions so security fixes land.