Actions Runner Controller (ARC)

This guide explains how to set up GitHub Actions Runner Controller (ARC) in a Kubernetes cluster.

Create GitHub PAT

Go to GitHub → Settings → Developer Settings → Personal Access Tokens

Create new token with repo and workflow permissions

Save the token securely

Install Runner Set

# Set your GitHub details

export GITHUB_CONFIG_URL="https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/YOUR_REPO"

export GITHUB_PAT="your_pat_here"



# Install runner set

helm install arc-runner-set \

    --namespace arc-runners \

    --create-namespace \

    --set githubConfigUrl="${GITHUB_CONFIG_URL}" \

    --set githubConfigSecret.github_token="${GITHUB_PAT}" \

    oci://ghcr.io/actions/actions-runner-controller-charts/gha-runner-

scale-set

Using in GitHub Actions

In your workflow file (.github/workflows/example.yml)

name: My Workflow

on: [push]

jobs:

  build:

    runs-on: arc-runner-set

    steps:

      - uses: actions/checkout@v2

      - run: echo "Hello from self-hosted runner!"

Verification

Check if everything is running:

kubectl get pods -n arc-systems

kubectl get pods -n arc-runners

Your runner should appear online in your GitHub repository under Settings → Actions → Runners.

Troubleshooting

If runners show as offline:

Check runner pods: kubectl get pods -n arc-runners

View logs: kubectl logs -n arc-runners <pod-name>

Verify PAT permissions and expiration

Ensure correct repository URL in configuration

Cleanup

To remove ARC:

helm uninstall arc-runner-set -n arc-runners

helm uninstall arc -n arc-systems