If you’re using GitLab SaaS (GitLab Cloud), you have multiple runner options to execute your CI/CD jobs. Each runner source gives you different levels of control, performance, and cost efficiency.

Here’s a complete and up-to-date list of runner sources available to you on GitLab Cloud (GitLab.com) as of version 18.0 (May 2025):

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✅ Available Runner Sources in GitLab Cloud

Runner Source	Description	Use Case	Availability
GitLab Shared Runners	Provided and maintained by GitLab. Run on GitLab-managed infrastructure (auto-scaled).	Quick start, no setup needed	✅ Enabled by default
Project-Specific Runners	Installed and registered for a single project only.	Dedicated pipelines for sensitive repos	✅ User-managed
Group Runners	Registered to a group and available to all projects inside the group.	Shared infra across multiple related projects	✅ User-managed
Self-Hosted Runners (Custom)	Installed on your own infrastructure (Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes, etc.).	Full control over environment & cost	✅ GitLab SaaS-compatible
GitLab Kubernetes Executor (Auto DevOps)	Auto-provisioned runner inside a connected K8s cluster (via GitLab Agent or legacy cert).	Cloud-native CI/CD with GitOps-style delivery	✅ Optional setup
GitLab macOS Runners (M1/M2) (beta)	Apple Silicon runners for building macOS/iOS apps (Xcode). Currently in Beta for SaaS.	iOS/macOS mobile CI/CD	🧪 Limited Beta
GitLab Windows Runners (hosted or self)	Use Windows executor to build/test .NET, Windows apps.	Windows-native software pipelines	✅ Self-hosted or BYO
GitLab GPU Runners (beta)	GPU-backed runners for AI/ML workloads (uses NVIDIA CUDA).	Model training and GPU-based data pipelines	🧪 Ultimate / Limited Beta

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🔧 Summary of Executors by Runner Type

Executor Type	Compatible with GitLab Cloud?	Platform Examples
shell	✅ (self-hosted only)	Local VMs, bare metal
docker	✅	Docker-in-Docker setups
docker+machine	✅ (with autoscaling)	AWS/GCP dynamic runners
kubernetes	✅	GKE, EKS, AKS
custom	✅	Any custom automation
ssh	✅	Remote Linux VMs
virtualbox	❌ GitLab SaaS not supported	Only works self-managed
parallels	❌ Deprecated
shell-windows	✅	Windows self-hosted

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📌 Special GitLab SaaS-Hosted Runners

Runner Type	Language Support	Notes
Linux Shared Runners	Default Docker executor (Node, Python, etc.)	400 CI minutes/month for Free tier
macOS Runners (beta)	Swift, Xcode, iOS	Available via GitLab-hosted pool
GPU Runners (beta)	CUDA, TensorFlow, PyTorch	Ultimate SaaS, usage billed separately
Windows Runners	.NET Core, PowerShell	Use your own runner for Windows

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🎯 When to Use What

Use Case	Recommended Runner
Quick setup for any project	GitLab Shared Runners
Secure or private pipelines (sensitive data)	Project/Group-specific runners
Complex environments (Terraform, AI/ML)	Self-hosted Docker or Kubernetes
macOS/iOS CI/CD	GitLab macOS Runners (Beta)
Windows CI/CD	Self-hosted Windows runner
GPU training / AI workloads	GPU runners (Ultimate only)

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✅ How to View/Add Runners in GitLab Cloud

• Project > Settings > CI/CD > Runners
  • Shows shared runners, and allows adding project-specific ones
• Group > Settings > CI/CD > Runners
  • For group-level runners
• Admin Runners Page (for instance-level visibility, GitLab self-managed only)

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As of GitLab 18.x, GitLab supports several types of runners to execute CI/CD jobs. Here’s a clear and updated breakdown:

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🏃 Types of GitLab Runners in GitLab 18.x

1. Shared Runners

• Scope: Available to all projects in an instance or group.
• Managed by: GitLab instance admin (self-hosted or GitLab.com).
• Use case: Ideal for teams that don’t want to manage infrastructure for builds.
• Example: GitLab.com provides autoscaling shared runners using Docker Machine.

✅ Pros:

• Easy to set up
• Great for small teams and quick pipelines
  ⚠️ Cons:
• Queues can be long on GitLab.com during peak usage

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2. Group Runners

• Scope: Available to all projects within a group.
• Managed by: Group owners
• Use case: For teams managing multiple related projects needing the same CI resources.

✅ Pros:

• Centralized control at group level
• Avoids redundancy for project-specific runners

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3. Project-specific Runners

• Scope: Tied to a single project only.
• Managed by: Project maintainers/owners
• Use case: When a project needs specialized tools or secure execution.

✅ Pros:

• Full control
• Secure, isolated builds
  ⚠️ Cons:
• More setup and maintenance overhead

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🔧 Execution Environments (Runners’ Executor Types)

Each runner (regardless of shared/group/project) uses an executor to determine how jobs are run:

Executor	Description
shell	Uses host shell (e.g., Bash); minimal setup
docker	Spawns Docker containers to run jobs (very popular)
docker+machine	Scales runners dynamically using Docker Machine
kubernetes	Runs jobs as pods inside a Kubernetes cluster
ssh	Executes jobs on a remote server over SSH
custom	Define your own job executor flow
virtualbox (deprecated)	Used VMs (not commonly used now)
parallels (macOS only)	Used Parallels for macOS virtualized runners

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🧠 Special Note on GitLab SaaS vs Self-Managed

Runner Type	GitLab.com (SaaS)	Self-Managed GitLab
Shared Runners	✅ Available	✅ Can be configured
Group Runners	🚫 Not available	✅ Available
Project Runners	✅ Available	✅ Available

GitLab.com (SaaS) does not support Group-level runners for security/resource isolation reasons.

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🔄 Registering a Runner

To register a runner in GitLab 18.0, follow these steps:GitLab Docs

1. Install GitLab Runner: Ensure GitLab Runner is installed on your desired host machine.
2. Obtain a Registration Token:
   • Instance Runner: Available in the Admin Area under CI/CD > Runners.
   • Group Runner: Found in the group’s Settings > CI/CD > Runners section.
   • Project Runner: Located in the project’s Settings > CI/CD > Runners section.
3. Register the Runner:
   • Run the following command and follow the prompts:about.gitlab.com+6GitLab Docs+6GitLab Forum+6GitLab Docs+2GitLab Docs+2GitLab Docs+2GitLab Docs+1Exoscale+1 bashCopyEditgitlab-runner register
   • Provide the GitLab instance URL, registration token, description, tags, and executor type as prompted.GitLab Docs

After successful registration, the runner will appear in the GitLab UI under the appropriate scope (instance, group, or project). GitLab Docs