Ephemeral Runner Lifecycle - CI/CD Glossary Definition
The ephemeral runner lifecycle is the create, run one job, then destroy cycle that gives every job a clean machine.
The ephemeral runner lifecycle is the create, run one job, then destroy cycle of a single-use runner. Each job gets a fresh machine, and the runner deregisters after the job ends.
Ephemeral runners eliminate state leakage between jobs, the main reliability weakness of long-lived self-hosted runners.
Why teams use it
A fresh runner per job means no leftover caches, credentials, or processes, so builds are reproducible. Autoscalers create ephemeral runners on demand and tear them down when idle.
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