How to Configure your own GitLab Runner with a Docker Executor on AWS EC2

If you are trying to use the GitLab CI shared runners, you may run out of minutes. So, in this tutorial, I will show you how you can run your own GitLab Runner on AWS.

Last update: May 2022

Here is an overview of what we will do in this tutorial:

• we will create a new virtual machine (VM) on AWS using EC2
• install the GitLab Runner on the VM
• install any required dependencies on the VM
• configure the GitLab Runner to work with gitlab.com

This is a fully manual process that is ideal for beginners wanting to get started with GitLab CI. This is NOT a production-ready setup and should NOT be used as such.

We will do everything from the browser and you don’t need to install any software on your computer.

Step 1. Create an AWS account

If you don’t have an account with AWS, please go ahead and create one. During the setup process, you will need to provide your billing details and credit card.