RelayRunner docs: Principles Page: https://relayrunner.app/docs/concepts/principles Markdown: https://relayrunner.app/docs/concepts/principles.md All pages: https://relayrunner.app/docs/llms.txt Other pages (Markdown): - Changelog: https://relayrunner.app/docs/changelog.md - CLI changelog: https://relayrunner.app/docs/changelog/cli.md - CI traces in your observability tool: https://relayrunner.app/docs/changelog/opentelemetry-traces.md - Platform changelog: https://relayrunner.app/docs/changelog/platform.md - Retries, queueing and provider usage: https://relayrunner.app/docs/changelog/retries-queueing-and-provider-usage.md - Optimized checks: https://relayrunner.app/docs/concepts/optimized-checks.md - Principles: https://relayrunner.app/docs/concepts/principles.md (this page) - Routing: https://relayrunner.app/docs/concepts/routing.md - Runner order: https://relayrunner.app/docs/concepts/runner-order.md - Add a provider: https://relayrunner.app/docs/contribute/add-provider.md - Feedback: https://relayrunner.app/docs/contribute/feedback.md - Activity and history: https://relayrunner.app/docs/dashboard/activity.md - Performance: https://relayrunner.app/docs/dashboard/performance.md - Remove RelayRunner: https://relayrunner.app/docs/dashboard/remove.md - Signals: https://relayrunner.app/docs/dashboard/signals.md - Telemetry: https://relayrunner.app/docs/dashboard/telemetry.md - Usage and savings: https://relayrunner.app/docs/dashboard/usage.md - Workspaces and members: https://relayrunner.app/docs/dashboard/workspaces.md - Set up with an agent: https://relayrunner.app/docs/get-started/agents.md - How it works with GitHub Actions: https://relayrunner.app/docs/get-started/github-actions.md - Install the CLI: https://relayrunner.app/docs/get-started/install.md - Move your workflows over: https://relayrunner.app/docs/get-started/move-over.md - Route GitHub Actions jobs to any runner: https://relayrunner.app/docs/get-started/overview.md - Quickstart: https://relayrunner.app/docs/get-started/quickstart.md - Keep up with coding agents: https://relayrunner.app/docs/guides/agent-surge.md - Run CI on your laptop while you work: https://relayrunner.app/docs/guides/laptop-ci.md - macOS and iOS builds on your Mac: https://relayrunner.app/docs/guides/mac-builds.md - Spend controls: https://relayrunner.app/docs/guides/spend-controls.md - Share your team's machines: https://relayrunner.app/docs/guides/team-machines.md - RelayRunner API: https://relayrunner.app/docs/reference/api.md - CLI: https://relayrunner.app/docs/reference/cli.md - Errors: https://relayrunner.app/docs/reference/errors.md - FAQ: https://relayrunner.app/docs/reference/faq.md - GitHub App: https://relayrunner.app/docs/reference/github-app.md - Runner labels: https://relayrunner.app/docs/reference/labels.md - MCP server: https://relayrunner.app/docs/reference/mcp.md - Data and privacy: https://relayrunner.app/docs/reference/privacy.md - relay.yml inputs: https://relayrunner.app/docs/reference/relay-inputs.md - Repo config: https://relayrunner.app/docs/reference/repo-config.md - Security: https://relayrunner.app/docs/reference/security.md - Troubleshooting: https://relayrunner.app/docs/reference/troubleshooting.md - GitHub-hosted: https://relayrunner.app/docs/runners/github.md - Hosted providers: https://relayrunner.app/docs/runners/hosted.md - Providers: https://relayrunner.app/docs/runners/providers.md - Your machines: https://relayrunner.app/docs/runners/self-hosted.md --- # Principles > The rules routing follows. RelayRunner sits between your workflows and the places they can run. These are the rules it follows. ## Your workflows don't change Opting a job in is one change: a relay job and a `runs-on`. After that, everything else happens in the dashboard or the CLI: changing the runner order, adding a machine, pausing one, switching providers. None of it needs a commit. ## Hosted runners stay the fallback A job that names a hosted label still runs when no machine is free. Your machines add capacity, and CI never waits on them. Close the laptop and jobs run on the next runner in your order. ## No lock-in to one provider A job lists the runners it may use, and your runner order decides between them. Moving from one provider to another, or adding your own hardware, only means reordering the list. Each provider bills you directly under your own account. ## Public repositories never run on your machines Anyone can run code on a machine through a pull request to a public repo, so a public repo's jobs never run on one. Public repos can still route between hosted providers. ## Jobs wait when machines are busy, and fail with a reason otherwise When every machine that fits is busy and no other step can take the job, the job waits for a free slot, the same as on any self-hosted runner. When nothing can take it, the relay fails right away with the reason, such as "No runner available: no self-hosted machine is online and idle". ## One job per runner Every job on a machine gets a fresh runner that takes that one job and is then removed. Nothing is left behind between jobs, and there's no long-lived runner credential to leak. ## Built for people and agents The CLI has readable output for people and `--json` for agents, setup is safe to retry, and the docs and dashboard data are available to agents too.