dimjones/runner-frontend repository overview

⁠runner-frontend

A lightweight alternative UI for managing GitLab CI runners and pipelines. Built for operators who want a cockpit, not a generic admin panel.

⁠Why

GitLab's native interface has come a long way, but managing a fleet of runners and drilling into pipeline failures still takes too many clicks. runner-frontend focuses on the two workflows DevOps engineers hit dozens of times a day — runner operations and pipeline debugging — and strips everything else away.

⁠Features

• Dashboard — online/offline runner counts, pinned projects, and project search on a single screen.
• Runners management — full list with status (online / paused / stale), in-place editing of tags, timeout, and options, plus quick actions (pause, configure, delete).
• Pipelines browser — per-project history with branch filter; each run is broken down by stage with the runner that executed each job and its duration.
• One-click retry on failed jobs and one-click retry-all on failed pipelines.
• CI/CD variables — view, edit, and mask variables without leaving the page.
• Settings — GitLab instance URL, personal access token, and account password management.
• Playwright-tested — core flows (login, runner edit, pipeline navigation, variables CRUD) are covered by automated end-to-end tests on every commit.

⁠Quick start

docker run -d \
  --name runner-frontend \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  dimjones/runner-frontend:latest

Then open http://localhost:3000⁠ and configure your GitLab connection from Settings → GitLab Connection (GitLab URL + personal access token with api scope).

⁠docker-compose

services:
  runner-frontend:
    image: dimjones/runner-frontend:latest
    container_name: runner-frontend
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    restart: unless-stopped

⁠Configuration

All configuration is performed through the web UI — no environment variables required for a standard setup. The GitLab URL and personal access token are entered once and stored locally.

Required GitLab token scopes: api (read/write access to runners, pipelines, and CI/CD variables).

⁠Tags

• latest — most recent stable beta build

⁠Status

runner-frontend is in beta. The core workflows — runner management, pipeline inspection, CI/CD variables, and settings — are stable and used daily. Known gaps on the roadmap:

• Multi-instance GitLab support (context switcher)
• Artifacts, cache, and environments views
• OAuth authentication (in addition to personal access token)
• Internationalization (currently English only)

⁠Source, issues, contributions

• Source code: https://gitlab.com/pipe-wright/runner-frontend⁠
• Issues and merge requests: welcome on the GitLab repository

No sign-up, no telemetry. Use it, keep it if it helps, drop it otherwise.

⁠License

MIT