A Windows dashboard for GitHub Actions self-hosted runners, on one PC or several.

Features

• Runners. Add repository or organization runners, then start, stop, restart, edit, move and remove them. Runner Manager downloads the official runner, verifies its SHA-256 checksum and installs it as a Windows service, in a runner folder you choose for each PC.
• Live jobs. A busy runner shows its job and every step with its state and duration, the latest output of the running step, and the processes the job runs with their CPU and memory. This works for runners on every PC; steps are shown for repository runners.
• Status at a glance. Each runner shows its state, recent workflow runs, version and work folder size. Each PC shows CPU, memory, disk space, uptime and pending restarts.
• Several PCs. PCs connect directly over the local network, encrypted. Control the runners on every PC from any of them. A single PC works without any fleet setup.
• AI assistants. Claude, Codex, Copilot, Cursor, Gemini and other AI tools that support MCP can list your runners, check jobs and create a runner for a new project. Changes ask for your approval first.
• Auto-recovery. The fleet agent restarts runners that stop unexpectedly.
• Notifications. Alerts in the notification area when a PC goes offline, a runner stops or a workflow run fails.
• Remote Desktop Commander (optional). Monitor and restart it on each PC. It is shown only where it is set up, and needs Node.js.
• Updates. Installs new releases on every PC from the dashboard. If a new version keeps failing to start, the PC goes back to the version it had before.

Live job view, light theme	Setup wizard

Why Runner Manager

Self-hosted runners on Windows PCs are easy to start and hard to keep an overview of: each one is a folder, a Windows service and a page on GitHub. Runner Manager puts them in one window, across all your PCs, without any server.

	Runner Manager	GitHub runner settings	actions-runner-controller
Runs on	Your Windows PCs	Web page per repository or organization	A Kubernetes cluster
Installs and removes runners	Yes, as Windows services	Shows the commands to run	Yes, as containers
Live job steps, output and processes	Yes	Job logs on GitHub	Job logs on GitHub
PC health, auto-recovery, notifications	Yes	No	Through Kubernetes
Moves runners between PCs	Yes	No	Not applicable
Extra infrastructure	None	None	Cluster and controller

If you run many short-lived Linux runners, a Kubernetes-based setup such as actions-runner-controller scales better. Runner Manager is for the PCs you already have.

Install

1. Download a setup from Releases and run it:
   • RunnerManagerSetup-standalone.exe includes .NET. Choose this one if you are not sure.
   • RunnerManagerSetup.exe is smaller and needs the .NET 10 Desktop Runtime.
2. Choose This PC only or Several PCs, and whether you use Remote Desktop Commander.

Windows may show "Windows protected your PC", because the setup is not code-signed. Click More info → Run anyway. You can check the file against the SHA-256 checksum in the release notes.

Runner Manager installs for the current user, by default to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\RunnerManager. To install it somewhere else, click Change… on the first page of the setup; it gets its own RunnerManager folder there. To move an existing install, run the setup again and choose another folder. To uninstall, use Settings → Apps in Windows, or Settings → Updates → Uninstall… in Runner Manager. Your runners keep running.

Updates install a newer .NET Desktop Runtime automatically when a release needs one. Installs from version 2.1 or earlier (called RunnerWidget) need the setup run once on each PC; it moves the settings and scheduled tasks over.

Updates need no sign-in. To add, repair or remove runners, sign in with the GitHub CLI: click Connect GitHub in the account menu. Runner Manager does not store GitHub credentials. Organization runners need the admin:org permission; Runner Manager tells you how to add it when it is missing.

The fleet agent runs while you are signed in to Windows. After a restart, the PC rejoins the fleet when you sign in; runners installed as Windows services start on their own. On a PC with several Windows users, one of them runs the fleet agent, and the others can't take it over.

Several PCs

To add a PC to the fleet:

1. On a PC in the fleet, click Add a PC in the sidebar.
2. On the new PC, click Connect another PC → Join an existing fleet, and select the PC it finds.
3. Check that both PCs show the same 6-digit code, then click Allow.

Both PCs need Runner Manager 2.4 or later to pair. To lock a PC out of the fleet, for example a lost laptop, use Settings → Fleet → Change code… and leave that PC out; the PCs you keep switch to a new code.

Transport	Direct PC-to-PC connections. Fleet traffic does not go through GitHub.
Encryption	AES-256-GCM. The key is derived from the pairing code and bound to the target PC and a timestamp. Replayed requests are rejected.
Pairing	ECDH P-256 key exchange, confirmed with a 6-digit code on both PCs. The new PC commits to its key first, so a device in between cannot make the codes match.
Storage	The pairing code is encrypted for your Windows account (DPAPI).
Ports	TCP 47821 and UDP 47822. TCP 47823 and UDP 47824 during pairing only. Firewall rules allow the local subnet and Tailscale (100.64.0.0/10).
Other networks	Install Tailscale on both PCs, then use Settings → Fleet → Add a PC by address.

Auto-recovery restarts a runner or Remote Desktop Commander that stops unexpectedly, up to three times an hour. It does not restart anything you stop from Runner Manager. Turn it on or off for each PC in the PC's ⋯ menu.

Build from source

Requires Windows and the .NET 10 SDK.

dotnet build -c Release
dotnet test

To build the installer:

dotnet publish src/RunnerManager -c Release -r win-x64 -p:SelfContained=false -p:PublishSingleFile=true `
  -p:IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract=true -o publish
Copy-Item publish/RunnerManager.exe publish/RunnerManagerSetup.exe

Any copy named RunnerManagerSetup.exe, or started with --setup, opens the setup wizard.

To publish a release, add a ## 2.4.2 section for the version to CHANGELOG.md, then tag a commit on main and push the tag; the version comes from the tag. The Release workflow runs the tests, builds the exe, checks that it starts, and attaches it to a GitHub release with that CHANGELOG section as the notes. Only a version higher than the current one is marked Latest, which is the release installed copies update to.

git tag v2.4.2
git push origin v2.4.2

AI assistants

Runner Manager is an MCP server, so any AI tool that supports MCP can use it. Tell the assistant which repository a new project uses, and it can check whether the repository has a runner, create one on the least busy PC, and tell you which runs-on labels to use.

1. Open Settings → AI assistants and turn on Allow AI assistants.

2. Choose your AI tool, click Copy, and paste the setup where the page says. For most tools it is:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "runner-manager": {
         "command": "C:\\Users\\you\\AppData\\Local\\Programs\\RunnerManager\\RunnerManager.exe",
         "args": ["--mcp"]
       }
     }
   }

Tool	What it does	Approval
list_pcs, list_runners	PCs with CPU, memory and disk space; runners and their state	No
find_runner_for_repo	Whether a repository already has a runner, and the runs-on labels	No
job_status, runner_log, recent_runs	A runner's current job, steps, output and processes; its log; recent workflow runs	No
create_runner	Creates a runner on a PC you name, or on the least busy one	Asks first (setting)
control_runner	Starts, stops or restarts a runner	Asks first (setting)
move_runner, remove_runner	Moves a runner to another PC, or deletes it	Always asks

The tools run in the fleet agent, so the assistant needs no administrator rights, and it works the same when an AI tool runs MCP servers in a sandbox. The approval window opens on the PC where the assistant runs. Assistant access is off until you turn it on, and Settings lists the recent actions.

For tools that connect by URL, turn on Connect by URL: http://127.0.0.1:47830/mcp, with a bearer token, for programs on the same PC only. For assistants that run commands instead of MCP, RunnerManager.exe ai help lists the same tools on the command line, with JSON output.

Project layout

src/RunnerManager/          WPF app: dashboard, setup wizard and fleet agent
tests/RunnerManager.Tests/  xUnit tests
docs/images/                README header and screenshots
docs/brand/                 Logo and icon sources (SVG) and the GitHub social preview

Runner Manager needs administrator rights to install and control Windows services. Setup registers a scheduled task for your Windows user that starts it with those rights, so opening it from the Start menu shows no UAC prompt. Settings and logs are stored in %LOCALAPPDATA%\RunnerManager.

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
F5	Refresh
Ctrl+F	Search runners
Ctrl+N	Add a runner
Ctrl+,	Settings
Esc	Clear search
Ctrl+0	All PCs
Ctrl+1…9	Go to a PC

Contributing

Bug reports, ideas and pull requests are welcome. Ask questions in Discussions, see CONTRIBUTING.md, and report security problems as described in SECURITY.md. Changes per version are in CHANGELOG.md.

License

MIT