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.

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, 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
• 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, make sure you have met the prerequisites: Owner (or Contributor plus User Access Administrator) on the subscription, PowerShell 7, the Az module, and a Connect-AzAccount sign-in. 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, created if absent. Defaults to crautomationai-rg so all runner resources stay together
• -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.