Podman on hosted runners on Linux for GitLab.com
Everyone can contribute. Help move this issue forward while earning points, leveling up and collecting rewards.
Overview
This issue aims to discuss the question and potential proposal raised regarding whether we should enable the use of Podman on GitLab SaaS Runners on Linux. As background, we have been working with Red Hat's engineering team on enabling Podman as a supported container runtime in GitLab Runner.
Our current point of view (revised 2022-08-11)
At this time, it's not feasible for us to implement Podman in the GitLab SaaS Runners on Linux as those Runners use the Docker Machine executor. This calculus will change as we work on the new autoscaling solution based on Fleeting and Taskscaler. Enabling support for Podman is essential for users who self-manage GitLab Runners. However, on GitLab SaaS, CI job execution is abstracted within the Docker Executor. As we continue to work on and roll out a new autoscaler for GitLab SaaS, we will continue to discuss the merits of changing the container runtime.