| title | Install and Set Up GitHub Self-Hosted Runner on Google Cloud C4A Virtual Machine |
|---|---|
| weight | 4 |
| layout | learningpathall |
This Learning Path shows how to deploy a self-hosted GitHub Actions runner on a Google Cloud C4A Arm64 virtual machine running Ubuntu. It covers installing Git and GitHub CLI, authenticating with GitHub and configuring the runner on an Arm64 environment for optimized CI/CD workflows.
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y git ghLogin to GitHub
gh auth login The command gh auth login is used to authenticate the GitHub CLI with your GitHub account. It allows you to securely log in using a web browser or token, enabling the CLI to interact with repositories, actions, and other GitHub features on your behalf.
Below is the GitHub login UI:
Create a test repo:
gh repo create test-repo –publicYou should see an output similar to:
✓ Created repository <your-github-account>/test-repo on GitHub
https://github.com/<your-github-account>/test-repo
The command gh repo create test-repo --public creates a new public GitHub repository named test-repo using the GitHub CLI. It sets the repository visibility to public, meaning anyone can view it
Go to your repository's Settings > Actions, and under the Runners section, click on Add Runner or view existing self-hosted runners. If the Actions tab is not visible, ensure Actions are enabled by navigating to Settings > Actions > General, and select Allow all actions and reusable workflows.
Then, click on the New runner button, followed by New self-hosted runner. In the Add new self-hosted runner section, proceed as follows:
- Select Linux for the operating system.
- Choose ARM64 for the architecture
Next, execute the following instructions on your Google Axion C4A virtual machine:
mkdir actions-runner && cd actions-runner# Download the latest runner package
curl -o actions-runner-linux-arm64-2.326.0.tar.gz -L https://github.com/actions/runner/releases/download/v2.326.0/actions-runner-linux-arm64-2.326.0.tar.gz
echo "ee7c229c979c5152e9f12be16ee9e83ff74c9d9b95c3c1aeb2e9b6d07157ec85 actions-runner-linux-arm64-2.326.0.tar.gz" | shasum -a 256 -c# Extract the installer
tar xzf ./actions-runner-linux-arm64-2.326.0.tar.gzThen, configure the virtual machine with the following command:
./config.sh --url https://github.com/<YOUR_USERNAME>/YOUR_REPO --token YOUR_TOKENReplace YOUR_USERNAME, YOUR_REPO, and YOUR_TOKEN accordingly.
This command links the runner to your GitHub repo using a one-time registration token.
During the command’s execution, you will be prompted to provide the runner group, the name of the runner, and the work folder name. You can accept the defaults by pressing Enter at each step. The output will resemble as below:
You should see an output similar to:
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| ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
| / ___(_) |_| | | |_ _| |__ / \ ___| |_(_) ___ _ __ ___ |
| | | _| | __| |_| | | | | '_ \ / _ \ / __| __| |/ _ \| '_ \/ __| |
| | |_| | | |_| _ | |_| | |_) | / ___ \ (__| |_| | (_) | | | \__ \ |
| \____|_|\__|_| |_|\__,_|_.__/ /_/ \_\___|\__|_|\___/|_| |_|___/ |
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| Self-hosted runner registration |
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# Authentication
√ Connected to GitHub
# Runner Registration
Enter the name of the runner group to add this runner to: [press Enter for Default]
Enter the name of runner: [press Enter for lpprojectubuntuarm64]
This runner will have the following labels: 'self-hosted', 'Linux', 'ARM64'
Enter any additional labels (ex. label-1,label-2): [press Enter to skip]
√ Runner successfully added
√ Runner connection is good
Finally, start the runner by executing:
./run.shYou should see an output similar to:
√ Connected to GitHub
Current runner version: '2.326.0'
2025-07-15 05:51:13Z: Listening for Jobs
The runner will now be visible in the GitHub actions:
