What is Terraform AWS GitLab Runner used for?

Terraform AWS GitLab Runner is a Terraform module that deploys auto-scaling GitLab CI runners on AWS using EC2 spot instances, an S3 cache and CloudWatch logging. It is a good fit for cost-efficient self-managed GitLab CI on AWS and scaling CI capacity with spot instances.

Is Terraform AWS GitLab Runner open source?

Yes. Terraform AWS GitLab Runner is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at cattle-ops/terraform-aws-gitlab-runner and is written mainly in HCL.

Is Terraform AWS GitLab Runner free?

Yes. Terraform AWS GitLab Runner is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

What are some alternatives to Terraform AWS GitLab Runner?

Similar open-source tools in the CI/CD & DevOps category include RunsOn, TaskCat and CML. SaaS products in the same category include AWS CodeBuild, AWS CodeDeploy and AWS CodePipeline.

Is Terraform AWS GitLab Runner actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Terraform AWS GitLab Runner was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is 9.5.2, published on 11 June 2026. The project has 628 stars on GitHub.

Terraform AWS GitLab Runner: open-source CI/CD & DevOps

About Terraform AWS GitLab Runner

This Terraform module creates GitLab Runners on AWS that scale automatically and use EC2 spot instances to run builds, which the original blog post it is based on says can cut EC2 costs significantly. It is maintained by the cattle-ops community and published on the Terraform Registry.

By default the runners use the docker+machine executor, share a build cache in S3 with lifecycle rules that clear objects after a number of days, stream logs to CloudWatch and register themselves automatically. The module supports three scenarios: a single runner agent on one EC2 node that spawns spot instances through docker machine, several agents with different configurations created by instantiating the module multiple times with the cache managed outside the module, and a plain Docker runner where builds run on the same instance as the agent without auto-scaling.

Major version upgrades, such as the move to v7 and v8, have migration guidance in linked issues and pull requests. The module is written in HCL, licensed under MIT, and welcomes contributions.

Key features

Auto-scaling GitLab runners on AWS
EC2 spot instances for builds
Shared S3 cache with lifecycle rules
CloudWatch log streaming
Automatic runner registration
Single-agent and multi-agent setups

Good fit for

→Cost-efficient self-managed GitLab CI on AWS
→Scaling CI capacity with spot instances

Built with: HCL
Tags: terraform; gitlab-ci; aws; spot-instances; infrastructure-as-code; ci-cd; runners

Terraform AWS GitLab Runner: questions and answers

What is Terraform AWS GitLab Runner used for?: Terraform AWS GitLab Runner is a Terraform module that deploys auto-scaling GitLab CI runners on AWS using EC2 spot instances, an S3 cache and CloudWatch logging. It is a good fit for cost-efficient self-managed GitLab CI on AWS and scaling CI capacity with spot instances.
Is Terraform AWS GitLab Runner open source?: Yes. Terraform AWS GitLab Runner is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at cattle-ops/terraform-aws-gitlab-runner and is written mainly in HCL.
Is Terraform AWS GitLab Runner free?: Yes. Terraform AWS GitLab Runner is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
What are some alternatives to Terraform AWS GitLab Runner?: Similar open-source tools in the CI/CD & DevOps category include RunsOn, TaskCat and CML. SaaS products in the same category include AWS CodeBuild, AWS CodeDeploy and AWS CodePipeline.
Is Terraform AWS GitLab Runner actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Terraform AWS GitLab Runner was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is 9.5.2, published on 11 June 2026. The project has 628 stars on GitHub.