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GitHub Runner Housekeeping

Housekeeping for GitHub Self-Hosted Runner

To maintain your GitHub Actions self-hosted runner and ensure sufficient disk space, follow these steps:

1. Clean Up Workflow Artifacts and Logs​

  1. Workflow Temporary Files (_work Directory): The _work directory contains temporary files from workflows. Remove old or unused workflow directories:

    rm -rf /home/ubuntu/actions-runner/_work/*

  2. Runner Diagnostic Logs: Logs are stored in the _diag directory. Clean them periodically:

    rm -rf /home/ubuntu/actions-runner/_diag/*

  3. System Logs: Reduce the size of system logs:

    sudo journalctl --vacuum-size=100M
    sudo rm -rf /var/log/*.log

2. Clean Python and Node.js Caches​

  1. Python Cache: If workflows install Python tools or versions, clean the cache:

    rm -rf /home/ubuntu/.cache/pip
    rm -rf /home/ubuntu/actions-runner/_work/_tool/Python/*

  2. Node.js Cache: Remove unused Node.js dependencies and cache:

    rm -rf /home/ubuntu/.npm
    rm -rf /home/ubuntu/.node-gyp

3. Clean Docker Data (if Docker is used)​

  1. Remove Unused Containers, Images, and Volumes:

    docker system prune -a --volumes -f

  2. Remove Specific Old Docker Data:

    docker images --filter "dangling=true" -q | xargs docker rmi
    docker volume ls --filter "dangling=true" -q | xargs docker volume rm

4. Remove Old Snap Package Versions​

  1. List Installed Snap Packages:

    snap list

  2. Clear Old Revisions:

    sudo snap set system refresh.retain=2
    sudo snap remove --purge $(snap list --all | awk '/disabled/{print $1, $3}')

5. Remove APT Cache​

Clean up the package cache to free space:

sudo apt-get clean
sudo apt-get autoremove --purge -y

6. Monitor Disk Usage​

  1. Identify Large Files/Directories:

    sudo du -ah / | sort -rh | head -n 20

  2. Monitor Disk Space: Regularly check disk usage:

    df -h

7. Automate Cleanup with a Script​

Create a housekeeping script and schedule it using cron.

Script: cleanup_runner.sh​

#!/bin/bash
# Remove old workflows

rm -rf /home/ubuntu/actions-runner/_work/*

# Clear diagnostic logs
rm -rf /home/ubuntu/actions-runner/_diag/*

# Clean Python and Node.js caches
rm -rf /home/ubuntu/.cache/pip
rm -rf /home/ubuntu/.npm
rm -rf /home/ubuntu/.node-gyp

# Clean Docker data
docker system prune -a --volumes -f

# Remove unused Snap revisions
sudo snap remove --purge $(snap list --all | awk '/disabled/{print $1, $3}')

# Clean APT cache
sudo apt-get clean
sudo apt-get autoremove --purge -y

# Clean system logs
sudo journalctl --vacuum-size=100M
sudo rm -rf /var/log/*.log

echo "Cleanup completed successfully!"

Make the script executable:

chmod +x cleanup_runner.sh

Schedule it in cron:​

crontab -e

Add a cron job to run the script daily or weekly:

0 2 * * * /path/to/cleanup_runner.sh

By following these steps, you can ensure your runner stays clean and has enough disk space for ongoing workflows.