GitHub Actions Builders

Free builders that run on ubuntu-latest. They tunnel to Redis and build packages.

What it does

• It creates builders on free public runners.
• It opens a tunnel to Redis with autossh.
• It runs the builder. With BUILDER_EXIT_AFTER_BUILD=true it exits after one package.
• Without it, it runs for 340m.
• Then it checks the queue. If jobs remain, it starts new builders.

How it works

1. Each runner starts a builder. The builder name is gh-1, gh-2, and more.
2. The builder opens a tunnel: autossh -L 6380:127.0.0.1:6379.
3. With BUILDER_EXIT_AFTER_BUILD=true the builder builds one package and exits.
4. Without it, the builder runs for 340m.
5. After the builder stops, the last step checks https://builds.garudalinux.org/api/queue/stats.
6. If jobs remain, it starts new builders with the same inputs. If the queue is empty at start, it starts no builders.

Use

Option A — Call the workflow

Add this file to your repo:

name: Chaotic Builder
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
  schedule: [{ cron: "40 */3 * * *" }]
jobs:
  call-builder:
    uses: chaotic-aur/builders/.github/workflows/builder.yml@main
    with:
      builders: 4
      runtime: "340m"
      manager_url: https://builds.garudalinux.org
      builder_class: "6"
    secrets:
      REDIS_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.REDIS_PASSWORD }}
      DEPLOY_KEY: ${{ secrets.DEPLOY_KEY }}
      REDIS_SSH_HOST: ${{ secrets.REDIS_SSH_HOST }}
      REDIS_SSH_PORT: ${{ secrets.REDIS_SSH_PORT }}
      REDIS_SSH_USER: ${{ secrets.REDIS_SSH_USER }}
      DATABASE_HOST: ${{ secrets.DATABASE_HOST }}

Option B — Copy the file

Copy .github/workflows/builder.yml to your repo. Set the same secrets.

Secrets

Name	Required	Default
REDIS_PASSWORD	yes	-
DEPLOY_KEY	yes	SSH key for tunnel and upload
REDIS_SSH_HOST	yes	aerialis.garudalinux.org
REDIS_SSH_PORT	no	270
REDIS_SSH_USER	no	package-deployer
REDIS_PORT	no	6379
DATABASE_HOST	no	builds.garudalinux.org:210
MANAGER_URL	no	https://builds.garudalinux.org

Do not set REDIS_HOST. The tunnel sets it to 127.0.0.1.

Settings

• builders: 4 starts 4 runners (gh-1 to gh-4). Maximum is 20. If you do not set it, it uses the number of waiting jobs.
• runtime: 340m leaves time for the queue check.
• builder_class: "6" builds packages with build_class 6 or less.
• BUILDER_EXIT_AFTER_BUILD=true makes each runner build one package and exit.

The workflow allows only one run at a time for chaotic-builder. New runs wait.

Schedule

The workflow runs at 40 */3 * * * (every 3 hours at :40). If builds are still running, the new run waits.