JIT Runner - CI/CD Glossary Definition

A JIT (just-in-time) runner is a GitHub Actions self-hosted runner registered with a single-use configuration token generated through the API just before the job. The runner can accept exactly one job and then deregisters.

Why JIT is safer

A JIT config is short-lived and single-use, so there is no long-lived runner registration token sitting on disk to be stolen and reused. It pairs naturally with ephemeral, one-job runners.

How it is created

You call the GitHub API endpoint for a JIT runner config, receive an encoded token, and start the runner with --jitconfig. The runner runs one job, then exits.

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