esys-ci-host 0.3.0

Library and CLI to prepare Linux VPS hosts as GitLab CI runners

esys-ci-host

Library and CLI to prepare Linux VPS hosts as GitLab CI runners (Docker, privileged DinD, runner registration).

Extracted from the CI-host portions of esysdox-ops so LibESys superbuild and other tooling can depend on a focused package.

Install

pip install esys-ci-host

Quick start

On a fresh Ubuntu or Debian VPS (Docker executor for LibESys CI):

sudo esys-ci-host host bootstrap --yes --admin-user deploy --ssh-key-file ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
# from your laptop: ssh deploy@<vps-ip>   (confirm login works)
sudo esys-ci-host host harden --yes
sudo esys-ci-host runner prepare --yes
esys-ci-host runner register --url https://gitlab.example.com --profile ci
esys-ci-host doctor

host bootstrap creates the admin user, installs OpenSSH, installs your SSH public key (or generates one under /etc/esys-ci-host/), verifies key setup, and enables UFW with SSH allowed. Root SSH stays enabled until you run host harden after confirming deploy login from your machine. Pass --ssh-key-file ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub or set ESYS_CI_HOST_ADMIN_SSH_PUBLIC_KEY / ESYS_CI_HOST_ADMIN_SSH_PUBLIC_KEY_FILE. Use --disable-root-ssh only if you accept lockout risk without external login verification.

The admin user has no login password (SSH key only). Bootstrap grants passwordless sudo via /etc/sudoers.d/99-esys-ci-host-<admin-user> so commands like sudo esys-ci-host host harden work after key login.

Set ESYS_CI_HOST_RUNNER_TOKEN instead of passing --token when registering.

Remote configuration (from your laptop)

Run the same host and runner steps over SSH without logging in manually first. Remote mode installs esys-ci-host on the VPS (from PyPI or a local wheel), uploads your local SSH public key for the admin user, and runs the usual commands there.

Interactive (prompts for the root password when no key is given):

esys-ci-host remote --host 203.0.113.10 host bootstrap --yes --admin-user deploy
ssh deploy@203.0.113.10   # verify login with your local private key
esys-ci-host remote --host 203.0.113.10 --identity-file ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 host harden --yes
esys-ci-host remote --host 203.0.113.10 --identity-file ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 runner prepare --yes

Non-interactive (CI or scripts — password via flag or env):

export ESYS_CI_HOST_SSH_PASSWORD='...'
esys-ci-host remote --host 203.0.113.10 --non-interactive host bootstrap --yes --admin-user deploy

Option	Purpose
--host HOST	Remote VPS hostname or IP (required)
--user USER	SSH login user (default: root)
--password PASS	SSH password (ESYS_CI_HOST_SSH_PASSWORD)
--identity-file PATH	SSH private key (ESYS_CI_HOST_SSH_IDENTITY_FILE)
--non-interactive	Fail instead of prompting for a password
--wheel PATH	Install from a local wheel instead of PyPI
--ssh-key-file PATH	Local admin public key (default: ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub)

Prefer --identity-file over --password after the first bootstrap. Avoid putting passwords on the command line in shared environments.

Commands still run on the VPS when you SSH in directly (host bootstrap, runner prepare, etc.) — both models are supported.

Host bootstrap

Option	Purpose
--admin-user NAME	Non-root login account with sudo (default: esysadmin)
--ssh-key KEY	OpenSSH public key line for admin login
--ssh-key-file PATH	File containing the public key
--ssh-port PORT	SSH port used for localhost login verification (default: 22)
--disable-root-ssh	Disable root SSH during bootstrap (default: keep root until host harden)
--yes	Required to apply host changes
--dry-run	Print steps without mutating the host

Admin login is SSH key only (no account password). Bootstrap writes a sudoers drop-in so the admin user can run sudo without a password.

If no key is supplied, an ed25519 key pair is generated at /etc/esys-ci-host/<admin-user>-id_ed25519 — copy the private key securely before closing your root session.

After bootstrap: SSH in as the admin user from your machine, then run sudo esys-ci-host host harden --yes to disable root login.

Runner registration and executors

The GitLab executor is chosen at registration time (runner register), not during runner install or runner prepare.

Option	Purpose
--executor shell	Run jobs directly on the host (default)
--executor docker	Run jobs in containers (requires runner prepare)
--profile ci	LibESys CI preset: docker executor, privileged DinD, tags docker-privileged, and a sensible default image
--docker-image IMAGE	Override the runner’s default image (fallback only; see note below)
--docker-privileged	Privileged docker executor (enabled automatically by --profile ci)
--tags TAGS	Comma-separated runner tags (e.g. linux,docker)

Default image vs job image: GitLab Runner’s --docker-image (at register time) is only the fallback written into config.toml. Each CI job uses its own image: from .gitlab-ci.yml when present — you do not need to pass --docker-image for every image your pipeline uses. With --profile ci, a default (python:3.11-bookworm) is applied automatically; override it only if you want a different fallback for jobs that omit image:.

Shell executor (simple jobs on the host):

sudo esys-ci-host runner install --yes
esys-ci-host runner register --url https://gitlab.example.com --executor shell --tags shell

Docker executor (explicit; run prepare first). GitLab Runner requires a default image for non-interactive docker registration, so pass --docker-image here unless you use --profile ci:

sudo esys-ci-host runner prepare --yes
esys-ci-host runner register \
  --url https://gitlab.example.com \
  --executor docker \
  --docker-image python:3.11-bookworm \
  --docker-privileged \
  --tags docker-privileged

LibESys CI profile (recommended; includes docker executor defaults — no need to pass --docker-image unless overriding the fallback):

sudo esys-ci-host runner prepare --yes
esys-ci-host runner register --url https://gitlab.example.com --profile ci

Use --dry-run on runner register to print the gitlab-runner register command without executing it.

Development

Platform-specific host operations (packages, users, firewall, SSH) live under src/esys_ci_host/platform/. DebianAptBackend is implemented today; add new HostPlatformBackend subclasses (for example RhelDnfBackend) and register them in platform/registry.py to support additional distributions later. Runner install/prepare still use apt directly and will migrate to the platform layer in a follow-up.

python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate   # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -e ".[dev]"
pre-commit install
pre-commit install --hook-type commit-msg
pytest

Release tags vX.Y.Z must match src/esys_ci_host/__version__.py. Use make bump-release locally; CI publishes to GitLab PyPI, TestPyPI, and PyPI (manual).

Integration tests (Docker + systemd, Ubuntu 24.04 by default):

# Full runner workflow
bash tests/integration/run_docker.sh

# Host bootstrap + harden workflow
INTEGRATION_SCRIPT=/usr/local/bin/run-integration-host-bootstrap bash tests/integration/run_docker.sh

# Windows
.\test.ps1 -HostBootstrap

License

Apache-2.0 — see LICENSE.