---
stage: Verify
group: Runner
info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/product/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
---

# Install GitLab Runner on macOS **(FREE)**

GitLab Runner can be installed and updated on macOS.

## Installing

Two methods for installing GitLab Runner on macOS are available:

- [Manual installation](#manual-installation-official). This method is officially supported and recommended by GitLab.
- [Homebrew installation](#homebrew-installation-alternative). Install with [Homebrew](https://brew.sh) as an alternative to manual installation.

### Manual installation (official)

NOTE:
For documentation on GitLab Runner 9 and earlier, [visit this documentation](old.md).

1. Download the binary for your system:

   - For Intel-based systems:

     ```shell
     sudo curl --output /usr/local/bin/gitlab-runner "https://gitlab-runner-downloads.s3.amazonaws.com/latest/binaries/gitlab-runner-darwin-amd64"
     ```

   - For Apple Silicon-based systems:

     ```shell
     sudo curl --output /usr/local/bin/gitlab-runner "https://gitlab-runner-downloads.s3.amazonaws.com/latest/binaries/gitlab-runner-darwin-arm64"
     ```

   You can download a binary for every available version as described in
   [Bleeding Edge - download any other tagged release](bleeding-edge.md#download-any-other-tagged-release).

1. Give it permissions to execute:

   ```shell
   sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/gitlab-runner
   ```

As the user who is to run the runners:

1. [Register a runner](../register/index.md). When you build iOS or macOS applications on macOS, use
   [the shell executor](../executors/shell.md). The build and tests run as the identity of the logged-in user, directly
   on the build host. It does not run in a container, which is less secure than using container executors. For more
   information, see the [security implications documentation](../security/index.md#usage-of-shell-executor)
   for additional detail on what to keep in mind in this scenario.

1. Open a terminal and switch to the current user.

   ```shell
   su - <username>
   ```

1. Install GitLab Runner as a service and start it:

   ```shell
   cd ~
   gitlab-runner install
   gitlab-runner start
   ```

GitLab Runner is installed and is run after a system reboot.

If you followed these instructions, the GitLab Runner configuration file (`config.toml`) is in `/Users/<username>/.gitlab-runner/`. [Learn more about configuring runners](../configuration/advanced-configuration.md).

### Homebrew installation (alternative)

A Homebrew [formula is available](https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/gitlab-runner) to install GitLab.

WARNING:
GitLab does not maintain the Homebrew formula.

To install GitLab Runner using Homebrew:

1. Install GitLab Runner.

   ```shell
   brew install gitlab-runner
   ```

1. Install GitLab Runner as a service and start it.

   ```shell
   brew services start gitlab-runner
   ```

GitLab Runner is installed and running.

### Limitations on macOS

NOTE:
The service needs to be installed from a Terminal window logged in
as your current user. Only then can you manage the service.

To sign in as your current user, run the command `su - <username>` in the terminal. You can obtain your username by running the command `ls /users`.

Currently, the only proven way for it to work in macOS is by running the service in user-mode.

Because the service runs only when the user is logged in, you should enable auto-login on your macOS machine.

The service is launched as a `LaunchAgent`. By using `LaunchAgents`,
the builds are able to perform UI interactions, making it possible to run and
test in the iOS simulator.

It's worth noting that macOS also has `LaunchDaemons`, services running
completely in background. `LaunchDaemons` are run on system startup, but they
don't have the same access to UI interactions as `LaunchAgents`. You can try to
run the Runner's service as a `LaunchDaemon`, but this mode of operation is not
currently supported.

You can verify that GitLab Runner created the service configuration file after
executing the `install` command, by checking the
`~/Library/LaunchAgents/gitlab-runner.plist` file.

If Homebrew was used to install `git`, it may have added a `/usr/local/etc/gitconfig` file
containing:

```ini
[credential]
        helper = osxkeychain
```

This tells Git to cache user credentials in the keychain, which may not be what you want
and can cause fetches to hang. You can remove the line from the system `gitconfig`
with:

```shell
git config --system --unset credential.helper
```

Alternatively, you can just disable `credential.helper` for the GitLab user:

```shell
git config --global --add credential.helper ''
```

You can check the status of the `credential.helper` with:

```shell
git config credential.helper
```

## Manual update

1. Stop the service:

   ```shell
   gitlab-runner stop
   ```

1. Download the binary to replace the GitLab Runner executable:

   - For Intel-based systems:

     ```shell
     sudo curl -o /usr/local/bin/gitlab-runner "https://gitlab-runner-downloads.s3.amazonaws.com/latest/binaries/gitlab-runner-darwin-amd64"
     ```

   - For Apple Silicon-based systems:

     ```shell
     sudo curl -o /usr/local/bin/gitlab-runner "https://gitlab-runner-downloads.s3.amazonaws.com/latest/binaries/gitlab-runner-darwin-arm64"
     ```

   You can download a binary for every available version as described in
   [Bleeding Edge - download any other tagged release](bleeding-edge.md#download-any-other-tagged-release).

1. Give it permissions to execute:

   ```shell
   sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/gitlab-runner
   ```

1. Start the service:

   ```shell
   gitlab-runner start
   ```

Make sure that you read the [FAQ](../faq/index.md) section which describes
some of the most common problems with GitLab Runner.

## Upgrade the service file

In order to upgrade the `LaunchAgent` configuration, you must uninstall and
install the service:

```shell
gitlab-runner uninstall
gitlab-runner install
gitlab-runner start
```

## Using codesign with the GitLab Runner Service

If you installed `gitlab-runner` on macOS with Homebrew and your build calls
`codesign`, you may have to set `<key>SessionCreate</key><true/>` to have
access to the user keychains. In the following example we run the builds as the `gitlab`
user and want access to the signing certificates installed by that user for codesigning:

```xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
  <dict>
    <key>SessionCreate</key><true/>
    <key>KeepAlive</key>
    <dict>
      <key>SuccessfulExit</key>
      <false/>
    </dict>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key><true/>
    <key>Disabled</key><false/>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.gitlab.gitlab-runner</string>
    <key>UserName</key>
    <string>gitlab</string>
    <key>GroupName</key>
    <string>staff</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
      <string>/usr/local/opt/gitlab-runner/bin/gitlab-runner</string>
      <string>run</string>
      <string>--working-directory</string>
      <string>/Users/gitlab/gitlab-runner</string>
      <string>--config</string>
      <string>/Users/gitlab/gitlab-runner/config.toml</string>
      <string>--service</string>
      <string>gitlab-runner</string>
      <string>--syslog</string>
    </array>
    <key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
    <dict>
      <key>PATH</key>
      <string>/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin</string>
    </dict>
  </dict>
</plist>
```

## macOS troubleshooting

The following relate to troubleshooting on macOS.

### `"launchctl" failed: exit status 112, Could not find domain for`

This message may occur when you try to install GitLab Runner on macOS. Make sure
that you manage GitLab Runner service from the GUI Terminal application, not
the SSH connection.

### `Failed to authorize rights (0x1) with status: -60007.`

If GitLab Runner is stuck on the above message when using macOS, there are two
causes to why this happens:

1. Make sure that your user can perform UI interactions:

   ```shell
   DevToolsSecurity -enable
   sudo security authorizationdb remove system.privilege.taskport is-developer
   ```

   The first command enables access to developer tools for your user.
   The second command allows the user who is member of the developer group to
   do UI interactions (for example, run the iOS simulator).

1. Make sure that your GitLab Runner service doesn't use `SessionCreate = true`.
   Previously, when running GitLab Runner as a service, we were creating
   `LaunchAgents` with `SessionCreate`. At that point (**Mavericks**), this was
   the only solution to make Code Signing work. That changed recently with
   **OS X El Capitan** which introduced a lot of new security features that
   altered this behavior.
   Since GitLab Runner 1.1, when creating a `LaunchAgent`, we don't set
   `SessionCreate`. However, in order to upgrade, you must manually
   reinstall the `LaunchAgent` script:

   ```shell
   gitlab-runner uninstall
   gitlab-runner install
   gitlab-runner start
   ```

   Then you can verify that `~/Library/LaunchAgents/gitlab-runner.plist` has
   `SessionCreate` set to `false`.

### `fatal: unable to access 'https://path:3000/user/repo.git/': Failed to connect to path port 3000: Operation timed out` error in the job

If one of the jobs fails with this error, make sure the runner can connect to your GitLab instance. The connection could be blocked by things like:

- firewalls
- proxies
- permissions
- routing configurations

### `FATAL: Failed to start gitlab-runner: "launchctl" failed with stderr: Load failed: 5: Input/output error` on `gitlab-runner start` command

If this error is encountered when running the `gitlab-runner start` command, ensure that the directories specified in the `~/Library/LaunchAgents/gitlab-runner.plist` values `StandardOutPath` and `StandardErrorPath` exist:

```xml
<key>StandardOutPath</key>
<string>/usr/local/var/log/gitlab-runner.out.log</string>
<key>StandardErrorPath</key>
<string>/usr/local/var/log/gitlab-runner.err.log</string>
```

If the directories do not exist, create them and ensure that the runner service user has appropriate permissions to read and write to them.
