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The Runner is a standalone process that picks up review tasks from the main server and executes them inside Docker containers. You can run one or more runner instances alongside the main server.

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How it works

Each runner:
  1. Registers with the main server using a Runner Token (Better Auth API key)
  2. Sends periodic heartbeats to report availability
  3. Polls for pending tasks
  4. Executes reviews inside an isolated Docker container
  5. Reports task status and results back to the server
If no runner is registered, review tasks will queue up in the pending state and will not be processed.

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Prerequisites

  • Docker installed and accessible on the runner host
  • Network connectivity from the runner host to the main server
  • A valid API key created in the main server (used as RUNNER_TOKEN)

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Environment variables

VariableRequiredDescription
RUNNER_SERVER_URLYesURL of the main AI Review server
RUNNER_TOKENYesBetter Auth API key from the main server
RUNNER_NAMEYesUnique name for this runner instance
DOCKER_EXECUTOR_IMAGEYesDocker image used to execute reviews
RUNNER_MAX_CONCURRENT_JOBSNoMaximum number of simultaneous review jobs
RUNNER_CLONE_DEPTHNoGit clone depth for repository checkouts
RUNNER_POLL_INTERVAL_MSNoHow often the runner polls for new tasks (ms)
RUNNER_POLL_TIMEOUT_MSNoTimeout for each poll request (ms)
RUNNER_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL_MSNoHow often the runner sends heartbeats (ms)
RUNNER_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MSNoTimeout for requests to the main server (ms)
DOCKER_MEMORY_LIMITNoMemory limit for executor containers
DOCKER_CPU_LIMITNoCPU limit for executor containers
DOCKER_NETWORK_MODENoDocker network mode for executor containers
DOCKER_WORKSPACE_BASENoBase path for runner workspaces
DOCKER_TIMEOUT_SECONDSNoTimeout for container execution (seconds)
DOCKER_POOL_SIZENoNumber of pre-warmed executor containers
DOCKER_HOSTNoDocker daemon socket or host

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Setup

1

Create a Runner Token

In the main server’s admin interface, create a Better Auth API key. This value will be used as RUNNER_TOKEN.
2

Configure environment variables

Set the required variables for the runner. Example:
export RUNNER_SERVER_URL="http://your-server-host:3000"
export RUNNER_TOKEN="your-api-key"
export RUNNER_NAME="prod-runner-1"
export DOCKER_EXECUTOR_IMAGE="ai-review-executor:latest"
3

Build the runner and executor images

docker compose -f docker-compose.runner.yml build
This builds both the ai-review-runner image and the ai-review-executor image used for isolated task execution.
4

Start the runner

docker compose -f docker-compose.runner.yml up -d
5

Verify registration

Check the admin dashboard to confirm the runner appears as registered and is sending heartbeats.

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Docker socket requirement

The runner container must have access to the Docker socket. The docker-compose.runner.yml mounts /var/run/docker.sock from the host into the runner container:
volumes:
  - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
This grants the runner the ability to create and manage containers on the host. Ensure you understand the security implications before deploying in sensitive environments.

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Network requirements

The runner must be able to reach the main server at RUNNER_SERVER_URL. When running locally with Docker, http://host.docker.internal:3000 resolves to the host machine. For remote deployments, use the server’s actual hostname or IP address.

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Scaling runners

To run multiple runner instances, start additional containers with unique RUNNER_NAME values. Each instance registers independently and picks up tasks from the shared queue. 
RUNNER_NAME=prod-runner-2 docker compose -f docker-compose.runner.yml up -d

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Task concurrency

Control how many review jobs a single runner processes at the same time using RUNNER_MAX_CONCURRENT_JOBS. Tune this based on available CPU, memory, and the Docker resource limits configured for executor containers.

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Monitoring runner health

Runner status is visible in the admin dashboard. Each registered runner shows its last heartbeat timestamp. You can also query runner health programmatically through the server API. If a runner stops sending heartbeats, its tasks will remain in the queue until the runner reconnects or another runner picks them up.

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