Installing a runner in your Azure subscription

This article walks through installing a CloudRadial AutomationAI runner into your Azure subscription using the one-command installer from the setup package. It assumes you have already registered the runner and met the Azure prerequisites. It is for the technician performing the install.

The script installer is one of two ways to deploy a runner. If you would rather deploy from the Azure portal with a guided wizard and no local PowerShell, see Deploying a runner from the Azure Marketplace instead. The two paths deploy the same runner; pick the installer when you want multi-instance pools or full control over the deployment parameters.

We'll follow four main steps:

1. Downloading the setup package
2. Running the installer
3. Entering the runner secret
4. Previewing and re-running

Step 1: Downloading the Setup Package

Why are we doing this? The package contains the installer generated specifically for your runner.

From the Runners page, choose Script installer as the deployment method and download the setup package for your runner. The package is a ZIP named for the runner's friendly name, and it contains:

• Install-AutomationsRunner.ps1, the one-command installer, generated for your specific runner
• runner-sample/, the deployment template the installer wraps
• prereqs/, a prerequisite installer for each platform (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• README.md, the setup steps and the full deployment reference

The package is credential-free. It embeds the runner identity, region, version, and instance count for your runner, but it does not contain the runner secret.

Important -> Extract the full ZIP before running anything.

Step 2: Running the Installer

Why are we doing this? This is the command that provisions the runner's resources in your subscription.

Before you start, confirm your Azure account has Owner, or Contributor plus User Access Administrator, on the subscription. That is the one prerequisite the setup package cannot install for you.

The local tooling is handled for you. The prereqs/ folder in the setup package contains a prerequisite installer for each platform, which installs PowerShell 7, the Azure CLI, the standalone Bicep CLI, and the Az modules. Each one skips whatever is already present, is safe to re-run, and ends with a verification table. They install local tooling only, so they never sign you in to Azure and never deploy anything. Run the one for your platform:

# Windows, in an elevated window
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\prereqs\Install-RunnerPrereqs.ps1

# macOS
chmod +x ./prereqs/install-runner-prereqs-macos.sh && ./prereqs/install-runner-prereqs-macos.sh

# Debian/Ubuntu, RHEL/Fedora
chmod +x ./prereqs/install-runner-prereqs-linux.sh && ./prereqs/install-runner-prereqs-linux.sh

You can also skip this and go straight to the install. The deployer checks the toolchain when it starts and, if something is missing, offers to run the right installer for you and then re-checks. For what each tool is used for, and why the standalone Bicep CLI is required, see Runner prerequisites and Azure requirements.

In your PowerShell 7 window, sign in with Az PowerShell, then run the installer:

Connect-AzAccount
./Install-AutomationsRunner.ps1

The installer checks that the Az module is present and that you are signed in, prompts for the runner secret, then provisions everything in your subscription. Run it with -? for the full, current parameter list and examples.

Key Parameters

The installer defaults the embedded values for your runner, so most installs need no parameters. The ones you are most likely to set:

• -SubscriptionId, the Azure subscription to deploy into. Optional; omit it to choose from a numbered list of the subscriptions your login can access
• -ResourceGroup, the resource group name. Optional; omit it and the installer resolves one for you. A first install prompts for a short prefix and creates a new group named <prefix>-crauto-rg; when you re-run to scale, it selects the existing group this runner already lives in
• -Location, the Azure region for the runner resources, defaulted from your runner's configuration
• -InstanceCount, how many instances the runner pool should have. Defaults to the count the package was generated for. See Scaling runner instances

To change the resource group or location:

./Install-AutomationsRunner.ps1 -SubscriptionId <guid> -ResourceGroup my-rg -Location eastus

Note: The hosting plan (Premium or Flex Consumption) and the AI provider are set from your runner's configuration. To choose the OpenAI provider from a fresh install, run the underlying runner-sample/Deploy-Runner.ps1 directly, which exposes the OpenAI parameters the installer does not. See Choosing the runner AI provider (Foundry or OpenAI).

Step 3: Entering the Runner Secret

Why are we doing this? The runner needs its one-time secret to authenticate its check-ins, and the installer stores it securely for you.

The installer prompts you to paste the one-time runner secret that was shown once at registration:

Paste the runner secret (shown once at registration)

The prompt reads the value as a secure string, so it is not echoed to the screen and is never written to disk. The secret is stored only in the runner's Azure Key Vault, in the resource group you deployed into.

Note: If you did not save the secret at registration, you can rotate it by re-running the installer and pasting a new value; the prior secret stays valid for 24 hours.

Step 4: Previewing and Re-Running

Why are we doing this? You can preview changes before applying them, and safely re-run the installer to change settings or recover from a failed run.

Add -WhatIf to preview the deployment without applying any changes. The installer is fully idempotent, so re-running it converges your runner to the values you pass. It is safe to run again to change settings, scale, or recover from an interrupted install.

Once the install finishes, confirm the runner is connected. Next: Verifying and troubleshooting runner connectivity.

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.