A runner is an Azure Functions app deployed in your own Azure subscription. It continuously polls the AutomationAI control plane, retrieves pending work, executes it, and reports results back. All communication is outbound from the runner, so the control plane cannot initiate direct connections to it. This article covers registering a runner, saving the one-time secret, choosing a hosting plan and instances, the health dashboard, and revoking. It is for the technician setting up a runner.
We'll follow five main steps:
- Registering a runner
- Saving the runner secret
- Choosing a hosting plan and instances
- Monitoring runners on the health dashboard
- Revoking a runner
Step 1: Registering a Runner
Why are we doing this? Registration creates the runner's credentials in AutomationAI so the control plane can recognize it. It does not deploy the Azure resources; that is a separate install step.
Open Runners and select Register runner. You will need to provide:
- Runner name, must use lowercase letters, digits, and single hyphens; start with a letter; be 2 to 32 characters long; and be unique among your runners
- Instances, the number of runner copies to deploy (adjustable later)
Step 2: Saving the Runner Secret
Why are we doing this? The secret is how the runner proves its identity to the control plane, and you only get one chance to capture it.
REQUIRED: The runner secret displays only once at registration and cannot be retrieved afterward. Save it in your password manager. The installer prompts you to paste it during setup and never writes it to disk. If it is lost, you must register a new runner.
Step 3: Choosing a Hosting Plan and Instances
Why are we doing this? The hosting plan sets the cost and cold-start behavior of the runner, and you pick it when you download the setup package.
When downloading the setup package, choose between:
- Flex Consumption, scales to zero, pay-per-use, with cold-start latency after idle periods
- Premium (EP1), always warm with no cold starts but higher monthly cost
You can modify the instance count later via the Deploy/scale option.
Note: For a deeper comparison of the two plans, see Runner plans: Premium vs. Flex Consumption.
Step 4: Monitoring Runners on the Health Dashboard
Why are we doing this? The dashboard tells you at a glance whether a runner is healthy and receiving work.
The Runners list displays each runner's status. Runners offline for five minutes are marked as unavailable. The dashboard shows execution stats, per-instance liveness, and available actions.
Step 5: Revoking a Runner
Why are we doing this? Revoking permanently deactivates a runner's credentials, for example when you are decommissioning it.
Important -> Revoking cannot be undone. To run again you register a new runner.
The runner stops receiving work immediately, and existing deployments fail. A revoked runner's name becomes available for reuse.
With the runner registered and the secret saved, you are ready to install it in Azure. Next: Installing a runner in your Azure subscription.
If you are still having trouble, we're here to help! Submit a ticket here for assistance, and don't forget to check our status page to ensure there are no outages in your area.
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