enhance: improve config, comment out values in example file (#1145)

`config.example.yaml` now has every value commented out, as gitea's `app.example.ini` does, so it documents each option with its default instead of imposing it. Copying it no longer pins values the runner would otherwise pick, and a changed default reaches configs that never named the option.

`config init` writes the file to configure: a header comment and no option, so every option keeps its default. It refuses to overwrite an existing config without `--force`, and writes `config.yaml` in the working directory when `-c` is absent.

`config set`, `add` and `remove` keep such a file readable. Comments go back to the indentation they were written at, which the encoder drops for a comment block that has no key below it, and a file of only comments keeps its text instead of being emptied by the first edit.

Also rewrote the config docs sections for clarity.

Reviewed-on: https://gitea.com/gitea/runner/pulls/1145
Reviewed-by: Lunny Xiao <xiaolunwen@gmail.com>
Reviewed-by: bircni <bircni@icloud.com>
Co-authored-by: silverwind <me@silverwind.io>

README.md

@@ -129,48 +129,38 @@ Same idea as `dind`, but built on `docker:dind-rootless` so the bundled daemon a
 
 ### Configuration
 
-The runner is configured with a YAML file. Generate a starting point (this matches what ships in the tree):
+The runner reads a YAML file. Without one, every option keeps its default.
 
 ```bash
-./gitea-runner config generate > config.yaml
+./gitea-runner config init             # write config.yaml, with no option set
+./gitea-runner config generate | less  # read what the options do
+./gitea-runner -c config.yaml daemon   # -c also works on register and cache-server
 ```
 
-> The top-level `generate-config` command still does the same thing, but is deprecated in favour of `config generate`.
+`config generate` prints [config.example.yaml](internal/pkg/config/config.example.yaml). Every value in it is commented out, so copy the lines you want to change into your own file and uncomment them.
-
-Pass it with `-c` / `--config` on any command that loads configuration (`register`, `daemon`, `cache-server`):
-
-```bash
-./gitea-runner -c config.yaml register
-./gitea-runner -c config.yaml daemon
-./gitea-runner -c config.yaml cache-server
-```
-
-Every option is described in [config.example.yaml](internal/pkg/config/config.example.yaml) (the same content `config generate` prints).
 
 #### Editing a config file
 
-`config` changes an existing file in place, keeping its comments and key order, which is handy in provisioning scripts:
+`config` edits a file in place, which is handy in provisioning scripts:
 
 ```bash
-./gitea-runner -c config.yaml config set runner.capacity 4
+./gitea-runner config set runner.capacity 4
-./gitea-runner -c config.yaml config set runner.timeout 90m  # written as 1h30m0s
+./gitea-runner config set runner.timeout 90m  # written as 1h30m0s
-./gitea-runner -c config.yaml config set runner.envs.MY_VAR value
+./gitea-runner config set runner.envs.MY_VAR value
-./gitea-runner -c config.yaml config add runner.labels 'ubuntu:docker://node:22'
+./gitea-runner config add runner.labels 'ubuntu:docker://node:22'
-./gitea-runner -c config.yaml config remove runner.labels 'ubuntu:docker://node:22'
+./gitea-runner config remove runner.labels 'ubuntu:docker://node:22'
-./gitea-runner -c config.yaml config get runner.labels
+./gitea-runner config get runner.labels
 ```
 
-`-c` is optional for these subcommands: without it they use `config.yaml` (or `config.yml`) from the working directory, falling back to the directory of the `gitea-runner` binary, and print which file they picked to stderr.
+A key is its dotted YAML path. An unknown key, a value of the wrong type, or `add`/`remove` on anything but a list is refused before the file is touched. `set` replaces a whole list when you give it several values.
 
-Keys are the dotted YAML path and are validated against the known options, so a typo is rejected instead of being written. `add` and `remove` only work on list options such as `runner.labels` and `container.valid_volumes`, and fail if the value is already present or missing. `set` replaces the whole list when given several values.
+An edit keeps the comments and the key order of the file. Indentation becomes two spaces, and a blank line between two values is dropped.
 
-The file is re-encoded on every edit, so indentation is normalised to two spaces and blank lines inside a section are dropped.
+`config get`, `set`, `add` and `remove` use `config.yaml` (or `config.yml`) from the working directory, then from the directory of the binary, and print their choice to stderr. `config init` writes `config.yaml` in the working directory, and refuses to overwrite an existing config without `--force`. Pass `-c` for another path.
 
-#### Without a config file
+#### Environment variables
 
-If you omit `-c`, built-in defaults apply (same as an empty YAML document).
+Earlier releases let a few environment variables (`GITEA_DEBUG`, `GITEA_TRACE`, `GITEA_RUNNER_CAPACITY`, `GITEA_RUNNER_FILE`, `GITEA_RUNNER_ENVIRON`, `GITEA_RUNNER_ENV_FILE`) override parts of the config. They are gone, use the YAML file for all settings. The Docker images still read their own variables, such as `RUNNER_STATE_FILE`, see [scripts/run.sh](scripts/run.sh) and the container documentation below.
-
-Earlier releases let a small set of environment variables (`GITEA_DEBUG`, `GITEA_TRACE`, `GITEA_RUNNER_CAPACITY`, `GITEA_RUNNER_FILE`, `GITEA_RUNNER_ENVIRON`, `GITEA_RUNNER_ENV_FILE`) override parts of the default config. Those overrides have been removed — use a YAML config file for all settings instead. For the Docker images, the entrypoint still understands a separate set of variables (such as `RUNNER_STATE_FILE`); see [scripts/run.sh](scripts/run.sh) and the container documentation below.
 
 ### Labels
 

examples/systemd/README.md

@@ -12,11 +12,13 @@ the runner as a background service on a systemd host.
    sudo useradd --system --home-dir /var/lib/gitea-runner --create-home gitea-runner
    ```
 
-3. Generate a config and register the runner (as the service user), so the
+3. Write a config, hand it to the service user, and register as that user so the
    `.runner` file ends up in the working directory:
 
    ```bash
-   sudo -u gitea-runner gitea-runner config generate > /etc/gitea-runner/config.yaml
+   sudo mkdir -p /etc/gitea-runner
+   sudo gitea-runner config init --config /etc/gitea-runner/config.yaml
+   sudo chown gitea-runner /etc/gitea-runner/config.yaml
    cd /var/lib/gitea-runner
    sudo -u gitea-runner gitea-runner register --config /etc/gitea-runner/config.yaml
    ```

examples/vm/rootless-docker.md

@@ -49,10 +49,10 @@ export DOCKER_HOST=unix:///run/user/$(id -u)/docker.sock
  gitea-runner register
 ```
 
-- Generate a `gitea-runner` configuration file in the data directory. Edit the file to adjust for the system.
+- Write a `gitea-runner` configuration file in the data directory. Edit the file to adjust for the system, `gitea-runner config generate` documents every option.
 
 ```bash
- gitea-runner config generate >/home/rootless/gitea-runner/config
+ gitea-runner config init --config /home/rootless/gitea-runner/config
 ```
 
 - Create a new user-level`systemd` unit file as `/home/rootless/.config/systemd/user/gitea-runner.service` with the following contents:

internal/app/cmd/config.go

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ func loadConfigCmd(configFile *string) *cobra.Command {
 	}
 
 	configCmd.AddCommand(loadGenerateConfigCmd("generate"))
+	configCmd.AddCommand(loadInitConfigCmd(configFile))
 
 	configCmd.AddCommand(&cobra.Command{
 		Use:   "get <key>",
@@ -73,10 +74,38 @@ func loadConfigCmd(configFile *string) *cobra.Command {
 	return configCmd
 }
 
+func loadInitConfigCmd(configFile *string) *cobra.Command {
+	var force bool
+	initCmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "init",
+		Short: "Write a minimal config file",
+		Long:  "Write a minimal config file, leaving every option at its default.\nWithout --config it writes config.yaml in the working directory.",
+		Args:  cobra.MaximumNArgs(0),
+		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, _ []string) error {
+			file, taken := *configFile, []string{*configFile}
+			if file == "" {
+				file, taken = defaultConfigFileNames[0], defaultConfigFileNames // any of them would shadow the new file
+			}
+			for _, name := range taken {
+				if _, err := os.Stat(name); err == nil && !force {
+					return fmt.Errorf("config file %q already exists, pass --force to overwrite it", name)
+				}
+			}
+			if err := config.WriteFile(file, []byte(config.Minimal)); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			fmt.Fprintf(cmd.OutOrStdout(), "wrote config file %q\n", file)
+			return nil
+		},
+	}
+	initCmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&force, "force", "f", false, "overwrite an existing config file")
+	return initCmd
+}
+
 func loadGenerateConfigCmd(use string) *cobra.Command {
 	return &cobra.Command{
 		Use:   use,
-		Short: "Generate an example config file",
+		Short: "Print the example config, which documents every option",
 		Args:  cobra.MaximumNArgs(0),
 		Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, _ []string) {
 			fmt.Fprintf(cmd.OutOrStdout(), "%s", config.Example)

internal/app/cmd/config_test.go

@@ -32,6 +32,30 @@ func TestConfigCmdGeneratePrintsTheExample(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, string(config.Example), out)
 }
 
+func TestConfigCmdInitWritesTheMinimalConfig(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	file := filepath.Join(dir, "config.yaml")
+
+	out, _, err := runConfigCmd(t, file, "init")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, out, file)
+	content, err := os.ReadFile(file)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, config.Minimal, string(content))
+
+	_, _, err = runConfigCmd(t, file, "init")
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "--force")
+
+	_, _, err = runConfigCmd(t, file, "init", "--force")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	t.Chdir(t.TempDir())
+	_, _, err = runConfigCmd(t, "", "init")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.FileExists(t, defaultConfigFileNames[0])
+}
+
 // The subcommands only wire arguments through, so one pass over all of them is enough.
 func TestConfigCmdEditsTheFile(t *testing.T) {
 	file := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "config.yaml")

internal/pkg/config/config.example.yaml

@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
-# Example configuration file, it's safe to copy this as the default config file without any modification.
+# Every option with its default value, all commented out. Read this file, do not copy it.
-
+# `./gitea-runner config init` writes a config file to copy the lines you change into.
-# You don't have to copy this file to your instance,
-# just run `./gitea-runner config generate > config.yaml` to generate a config file.
 
 # Logging for the runner process itself (messages printed to stderr).
 # This does not control how workflow step output is streamed to the Gitea UI;
@@ -9,92 +7,92 @@
 log:
   # logrus severity: trace, debug, info, warn, error, fatal, panic.
   # trace and debug turn on caller/file:line in log lines. Default if omitted: info.
-  level: info
+  #level: info
 
 runner:
   # Where to store the registration result.
-  file: .runner
+  #file: .runner
   # Execute how many tasks concurrently at the same time.
   # With `container.network` empty, each concurrent docker job takes a subnet from the
   # daemon's address pool, so a high capacity can exhaust it. See `default-address-pools`
   # in the docker daemon config.
-  capacity: 1
+  #capacity: 1
   # Extra environment variables to run jobs.
-  envs:
+  #envs:
-    A_TEST_ENV_NAME_1: a_test_env_value_1
+  #  A_TEST_ENV_NAME_1: a_test_env_value_1
-    A_TEST_ENV_NAME_2: a_test_env_value_2
+  #  A_TEST_ENV_NAME_2: a_test_env_value_2
   # Extra environment variables to run jobs from a file.
   # It will be ignored if it's empty or the file doesn't exist.
-  env_file: .env
+  #env_file: .env
   # The timeout for a job to be finished.
   # Please note that the Gitea instance also has a timeout (3h by default) for the job.
   # So the job could be stopped by the Gitea instance if its timeout is shorter than this.
-  timeout: 3h
+  #timeout: 3h
   # The timeout for the runner to wait for running jobs to finish when shutting down.
   # Any running jobs that haven't finished after this timeout will be cancelled.
-  shutdown_timeout: 0s
+  #shutdown_timeout: 0s
   # Whether skip verifying the TLS certificate of the Gitea instance.
-  insecure: false
+  #insecure: false
   # The timeout for fetching the job from the Gitea instance.
-  fetch_timeout: 5s
+  #fetch_timeout: 5s
   # The interval for fetching the job from the Gitea instance.
-  fetch_interval: 2s
+  #fetch_interval: 2s
   # The maximum interval for fetching the job from the Gitea instance.
   # The runner uses exponential backoff when idle, increasing the interval up to this maximum.
   # Set to 0 or same as fetch_interval to disable backoff.
-  fetch_interval_max: 5s
+  #fetch_interval_max: 5s
   # While idle, remove stale bind-workdir task directories and orphaned host-mode
   # scratch directories (left behind when a host cleanup delete stalls) older than
   # this duration. Setting either workdir_cleanup_age or idle_cleanup_interval to 0
   # (or any non-positive value) disables stale-directory cleanup entirely, along with
   # the docker network cleanup below.
-  workdir_cleanup_age: 24h
+  #workdir_cleanup_age: 24h
   # Cadence for the idle cleanup pass. Besides the directories above, on runners that use
   # docker it removes the per-job networks of jobs this runner did not live to tear down,
   # which would otherwise hold a subnet of the daemon address pool until the host is rebuilt.
-  idle_cleanup_interval: 10m
+  #idle_cleanup_interval: 10m
   # The base interval for periodic log flush to the Gitea instance.
   # Logs may be sent earlier if the buffer reaches log_report_batch_size
   # or if log_report_max_latency expires after the first buffered row.
-  log_report_interval: 5s
+  #log_report_interval: 5s
   # The maximum time a log row can wait before being sent.
   # This ensures even a single log line appears on the frontend within this duration.
   # Must be less than log_report_interval to have any effect.
-  log_report_max_latency: 3s
+  #log_report_max_latency: 3s
   # Flush logs immediately when the buffer reaches this many rows.
   # This ensures bursty output (e.g., npm install) is delivered promptly.
-  log_report_batch_size: 100
+  #log_report_batch_size: 100
   # The interval for reporting task state (step status, timing) to the Gitea instance.
   # State is also reported immediately on step transitions (start/stop).
-  state_report_interval: 5s
+  #state_report_interval: 5s
   # Per-attempt deadline for flushing the final logs and task state when a job
   # finishes, on a detached context so a server cancel can't block the acknowledgement.
-  report_close_timeout: 10s
+  #report_close_timeout: 10s
   # The github_mirror of a runner is used to specify the mirror address of the github that pulls the action repository.
   # It works when something like `uses: actions/checkout@v4` is used and DEFAULT_ACTIONS_URL is set to github,
   # and github_mirror is not empty. In this case,
   # it replaces https://github.com with the value here, which is useful for some special network environments.
-  github_mirror: ''
+  #github_mirror: ''
-  # When true (the default), fetch only the requested ref of an action repository (e.g. actions/checkout@v4) at depth 1 instead of cloning every branch's full history. 
+  # When true (the default), fetch only the requested ref of an action repository (e.g. actions/checkout@v4) at depth 1 instead of cloning every branch's full history.
   # Set to false to clone the full history.
-  action_shallow_clone: true
+  #action_shallow_clone: true
   # When true (the default), inject the ACT=true environment variable into jobs.
   # Set to false so workflows gated on `if: ${{ !env.ACT }}` behave like they do on GitHub.
-  set_act_env: true
+  #set_act_env: true
   # The labels of a runner are used to determine which jobs the runner can run, and how to run them.
   # Like: "macos-arm64:host" or "ubuntu-latest:docker://docker.gitea.com/runner-images:ubuntu-latest"
   # Find more images provided by Gitea at https://gitea.com/gitea/runner-images .
   # If it's empty when registering, it will ask for inputting labels.
   # If it's empty when execute `daemon`, will use labels in `.runner` file.
-  labels:
+  #labels:
-    - "ubuntu-latest:docker://docker.gitea.com/runner-images:ubuntu-latest"
+  #  - "ubuntu-latest:docker://docker.gitea.com/runner-images:ubuntu-latest"
-    - "ubuntu-24.04:docker://docker.gitea.com/runner-images:ubuntu-24.04"
+  #  - "ubuntu-24.04:docker://docker.gitea.com/runner-images:ubuntu-24.04"
-    - "ubuntu-22.04:docker://docker.gitea.com/runner-images:ubuntu-22.04"
+  #  - "ubuntu-22.04:docker://docker.gitea.com/runner-images:ubuntu-22.04"
   # Allocate a pseudo-TTY for each step's process. Applies to both host and docker backends.
   # Default false matches GitHub actions/runner. Enable only for jobs that need an interactive
   # terminal; tools like `docker build` emit redrawing progress frames into the captured log
   # when a TTY is present.
-  allocate_pty: false
+  #allocate_pty: false
   # Optional executable on the host, run once after each task's built-in cleanup
   # (post-steps, container teardown, bind-workdir removal). Additive only.
   #
@@ -107,24 +105,24 @@ runner:
   # Windows: use .exe, .bat, or .cmd. PowerShell (.ps1) is not supported yet as
   # the configured path; wrap PowerShell commands in a .cmd file instead.
   # Full guide: docs/post-task-script.md
-  post_task_script: ''
+  #post_task_script: ''
   # Hard limit on post_task_script runtime. Default if omitted: 5m.
-  post_task_script_timeout: 5m
+  #post_task_script_timeout: 5m
   # Scripts run inside the job environment before the job's first step and after its last
   # one, the equivalent of GitHub's ACTIONS_RUNNER_HOOK_JOB_STARTED and
   # ACTIONS_RUNNER_HOOK_JOB_COMPLETED, which are read when these are unset. The paths are
   # resolved inside the job environment. Either one failing fails the job.
   # Full guide: docs/job-hooks.md
-  hooks:
+  #hooks:
-    job_started: ''
+  #  job_started: ''
-    job_completed: ''
+  #  job_completed: ''
 
 cache:
   # Enable the built-in cache server (used by actions/cache and similar actions).
-  enabled: true
+  #enabled: true
   # Directory where cache blobs are stored on disk. Default: $HOME/.cache/actcache
   # Ignored when external_server is set.
-  dir: ""
+  #dir: ""
   # Outbound IP or hostname that job containers use to reach this runner's cache server.
   # Leave empty to detect automatically. 0.0.0.0 is not valid here.
   # If the runner itself runs in Docker, automatic detection can choose an
@@ -133,33 +131,33 @@ cache:
   # to a hostname/IP reachable from job containers, and set port to a fixed
   # published port or put the job containers on a shared Docker network.
   # Ignored when external_server is set.
-  host: ""
+  #host: ""
   # Port for the built-in cache server. 0 picks a random free port.
   # Ignored when external_server is set.
-  port: 0
+  #port: 0
   # URL of a shared `gitea-runner cache-server` to use instead of starting a local one.
   # Set on every runner that should share a cache pool. A trailing slash is optional.
   # Example: "http://cache-host:8088/"
   # Requires external_secret (below) to match the value on the cache-server.
-  external_server: ""
+  #external_server: ""
   # Shared secret between this runner and the external cache-server.
   # Required when external_server is set. Must be identical on every runner and the cache-server.
   # Generate with: openssl rand -hex 32
-  external_secret: ""
+  #external_secret: ""
   # Path to a file containing the shared secret, as an alternative to external_secret.
   # Use this to keep the secret out of this file.
   # Surrounding whitespace is trimmed, so a trailing newline in the file is fine.
   # Setting both external_secret and external_secret_file is an error.
-  external_secret_file: ""
+  #external_secret_file: ""
   # When true, reuse a cached action instead of fetching from the remote on every job.
   # A moved tag (e.g. a re-tagged "v6") or an updated branch stays at the cached commit
   # until its cache entry expires or is manually removed.
-  offline_mode: false
+  #offline_mode: false
   # Serve the actions cache service v2 API, used by actions/cache@v4.2 and later. Those actions
   # refuse any host they do not take for GitHub, so reaching it means editing that check out of
   # the action's own bundle, keeping the untouched copy beside it. The same edit lets the stock
   # upload-artifact and download-artifact work here. A bundle that does not match is left alone.
-  v2: true
+  #v2: true
 
 container:
   # Specifies the network to which the container will connect.
@@ -168,31 +166,31 @@ container:
   # For dockerized runners using the built-in cache server, a custom shared
   # network can be required so job containers can reach cache.host/cache.port.
   # Deprecated: `network_mode` is still accepted for old configs; use `network` instead.
-  network: ""
+  #network: ""
   # network_create_options only apply when `network` is left empty and the runner
   # auto-creates a per-job network that does not already exist. They have no effect
   # when a custom `network` name is set, because that network is used as-is and never
   # created by the runner. Omit the entire block to use Docker's defaults. An auto-created
   # network is labelled com.gitea.runner.uuid=<this runner's uuid>, which is how the idle
   # cleanup tells its own leftovers apart from those of other runners on the same daemon.
-  network_create_options:
+  #network_create_options:
-    enable_ipv4: true # Omit to use Docker's default (IPv4 enabled). Set false to disable IPv4.
+  #  enable_ipv4: true # Omit to use Docker's default (IPv4 enabled). Set false to disable IPv4.
-    enable_ipv6: false # Omit to use Docker's default (IPv6 disabled). Enabling it requires dockerd started with --ipv6.
+  #  enable_ipv6: false # Omit to use Docker's default (IPv6 disabled). Enabling it requires dockerd started with --ipv6.
   # Whether to use privileged mode or not when launching task containers (privileged mode is required for Docker-in-Docker).
-  privileged: false
+  #privileged: false
   # Any other options to be used when the container is started, for example:
   #   options: --add-host=my.gitea.url:host-gateway
   # A volume declared here replaces the one the runner mounts on the same container path, so the
   # tool cache can be kept on the host. Its source must also be allowed by valid_volumes below:
   #   options: --volume /host/toolcache:/opt/hostedtoolcache
-  options:
+  #options:
   # The parent directory of a job's working directory.
   # NOTE: There is no need to add the first '/' of the path as runner will add it automatically.
   # If the path starts with '/', the '/' will be trimmed.
   # For example, if the parent directory is /path/to/my/dir, workdir_parent should be path/to/my/dir
   # If it's empty, /workspace will be used.
   # Purely numeric subdirectories under this path are reserved for task workspaces and may be removed by idle cleanup.
-  workdir_parent:
+  #workdir_parent:
   # Volumes (including bind mounts) can be mounted to containers. Glob syntax is supported, see https://github.com/gobwas/glob
   # You can specify multiple volumes. If the sequence is empty, no volumes can be mounted.
   # For example, if you only allow containers to mount the `data` volume and all the json files in `/src`, you should change the config to:
@@ -202,62 +200,62 @@ container:
   # If you want to allow any volume, please use the following configuration:
   # valid_volumes:
   #   - '**'
-  valid_volumes: []
+  #valid_volumes: []
   # Overrides the docker client host with the specified one.
   # If it's empty, runner will find an available docker host automatically.
   # If it's "-", runner will find an available docker host automatically, but the docker host won't be mounted to the job containers and service containers.
   # If it's not empty or "-", the specified docker host will be used. An error will be returned if it doesn't work.
-  docker_host: ""
+  #docker_host: ""
   # Pull docker image(s) even if already present.
   # Defaults to false when the key is omitted.
   # Two exceptions: an image pinned by digest (image@sha256:...) cannot change, so it is never
   # re-pulled, and a pull that fails while a copy is already on the host does not fail the job,
   # which runs on that copy with a warning in its log.
-  force_pull: false
+  #force_pull: false
   # Rebuild docker image(s) even if already present
-  force_rebuild: false
+  #force_rebuild: false
   # Always require a reachable docker daemon, even if not required by runner
-  require_docker: false
+  #require_docker: false
   # Timeout to wait for the docker daemon to be reachable, if docker is required by require_docker or runner
-  docker_timeout: 0s
+  #docker_timeout: 0s
   # Bind the workspace to the host filesystem instead of using Docker volumes.
   # This is required for Docker-in-Docker (DinD) setups when jobs use docker compose
   # with bind mounts (e.g., ".:/app"), as volume-based workspaces are not accessible
   # from the DinD daemon's filesystem. When enabled, ensure the workspace parent
   # directory is also mounted into the runner container and listed in valid_volumes.
-  bind_workdir: false
+  #bind_workdir: false
   # How long a job waits for a service container that declares a healthcheck to become
   # healthy. A negative value (e.g. -1s) starts the steps without waiting.
-  service_ready_timeout: 5m
+  #service_ready_timeout: 5m
 
 host:
   # The parent directory of a job's working directory.
   # If it's empty, $HOME/.cache/act/ will be used.
-  workdir_parent:
+  #workdir_parent:
 
 # Optional local task-admission checks. Disabled by default. When enabled, low
 # disk space or a failing script pauses new task fetching; existing jobs continue.
 # No health checks run while any job is active; the last result is reused until idle.
 health_check:
-  enabled: false
+  #enabled: false
   # Minimum free space required on the filesystem holding runner workspaces.
   # Defaults to 1024 MiB when omitted or set to zero.
-  min_free_disk_space_mb: 1024
+  #min_free_disk_space_mb: 1024
   # Optional additional executable. A non-zero exit, timeout, or startup failure
   # marks the runner unavailable.
-  script: ''
+  #script: ''
   # How long a script result is cached and its maximum execution time.
-  interval: 30s
+  #interval: 30s
-  timeout: 10s
+  #timeout: 10s
 
 metrics:
   # Enable the Prometheus metrics endpoint.
   # When enabled, metrics are served at /metrics, liveness at /healthz, and
   # task-admission readiness at /readyz.
-  enabled: false
+  #enabled: false
   # The address for the metrics HTTP server to listen on.
   # Defaults to localhost only. Set to ":9101" to allow external access,
   # but ensure the port is firewall-protected as there is no authentication.
-  addr: "127.0.0.1:9101"
+  #addr: "127.0.0.1:9101"
   # Consecutive polling failures may last this long before /readyz returns 503.
-  readiness_grace: 30s
+  #readiness_grace: 30s

internal/pkg/config/config.go

@@ -24,6 +24,12 @@ import (
 // (so a programmatically built config still gets a sane bound).
 const DefaultPostTaskScriptTimeout = 5 * time.Minute
 
+// Minimal is the smallest config file that runs the runner: options it does not
+// name keep their default, and it names none.
+const Minimal = `# Minimal config file. Every option it does not set keeps its default.
+# "gitea-runner config generate" prints all options, "config set <key> <value>" sets one here.
+`
+
 // Log represents the configuration for logging.
 type Log struct {
 	Level string `yaml:"level"` // Level indicates the logging level.

internal/pkg/config/config_test.go

@@ -348,12 +348,23 @@ cache:
 	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "contains no secret")
 }
 
-// The shipped example must parse, and every key in it must be one the config knows.
+// The shipped configs must parse, hold no key the config does not know, and leave
-func TestLoadDefault_ExampleConfigParses(t *testing.T) {
+// every option at its default, as all of their values are commented out.
+func TestLoadDefault_ShippedConfigsChangeNothing(t *testing.T) {
 	hook := test.NewGlobal()
 	defer hook.Reset()
 
-	_, err := LoadDefault("config.example.yaml")
+	defaults, err := LoadDefault("")
 	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	for name, content := range map[string][]byte{"config.example.yaml": Example, "minimal.yaml": []byte(Minimal)} {
+		file := filepath.Join(dir, name)
+		require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(file, content, 0o600))
+
+		cfg, err := LoadDefault(file)
+		require.NoError(t, err, name)
+		assert.Equal(t, defaults, cfg, name)
+	}
 	assert.Empty(t, hook.AllEntries())
 }

internal/pkg/config/edit.go

@@ -160,6 +160,7 @@ type editSession struct {
 	root     *yaml.Node
 	field    *fieldInfo
 	segments []string
+	preamble []byte // text of a file that holds no YAML node, which the encoder cannot give back
 }
 
 // loadForEdit validates the path and parses the file, so every caller fails before anything is written.
@@ -176,7 +177,7 @@ func loadForEdit(file, path string) (*editSession, error) {
 	content, err := os.ReadFile(file)
 	if err != nil {
 		if errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("config file %q does not exist, create one with `config generate`", file)
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("config file %q does not exist, create one with `config init`", file)
 		}
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -185,7 +186,9 @@ func loadForEdit(file, path string) (*editSession, error) {
 	if err := yaml.Unmarshal(content, &root); err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("parse config file %q: %w", file, err)
 	}
+	var preamble []byte
 	if root.Kind == 0 || len(root.Content) == 0 {
+		preamble = bytes.TrimSpace(content) // all the file has is comments
 		root = yaml.Node{
 			Kind:    yaml.DocumentNode,
 			Content: []*yaml.Node{{Kind: yaml.MappingNode, Tag: "!!map"}},
@@ -195,7 +198,7 @@ func loadForEdit(file, path string) (*editSession, error) {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("config file %q is not a YAML mapping", file)
 	}
 
-	return &editSession{file: file, path: path, original: content, root: &root, field: field, segments: segments}, nil
+	return &editSession{file: file, path: path, original: content, root: &root, field: field, segments: segments, preamble: preamble}, nil
 }
 
 func loadSequenceEdit(file, path string, values []string) (*editSession, error) {
@@ -319,16 +322,28 @@ func encodeYAML(node *yaml.Node) ([]byte, error) {
 	return buf.Bytes(), nil
 }
 
-// restoreBlankLines re-inserts the blank lines between top-level sections that the encoder drops.
+// restoreLayout re-applies the spacing the encoder drops: the blank lines between
-func restoreBlankLines(original, generated []byte) []byte {
+// top-level sections, and the indentation of comments, which the encoder emits at the
+// indentation of the node it attached them to rather than the one they were written at.
+func restoreLayout(original, generated []byte) []byte {
+	type comment struct {
+		line        string // as written, indentation included
+		trimmed     string
+		blankBefore bool
+	}
+
+	var comments []comment
 	spaced := map[string]bool{}
 	blank := false
 	for line := range strings.Lines(string(original)) {
 		line = strings.TrimRight(line, "\r\n")
+		trimmed := strings.TrimSpace(line)
 		switch {
-		case strings.TrimSpace(line) == "":
+		case trimmed == "":
 			blank = true
-		case strings.HasPrefix(line, "#"): // the block belongs to the key below it
+		case strings.HasPrefix(trimmed, "#"):
+			comments = append(comments, comment{line: line, trimmed: trimmed, blankBefore: blank})
+			blank = false
 		default:
 			if key, ok := topLevelKey(line); ok && blank {
 				spaced[key] = true
@@ -338,16 +353,26 @@ func restoreBlankLines(original, generated []byte) []byte {
 	}
 
 	var out []string
+	appendBlank := func() {
+		if len(out) > 0 && strings.TrimSpace(out[len(out)-1]) != "" {
+			out = append(out, "")
+		}
+	}
 	for line := range strings.Lines(string(generated)) {
 		line = strings.TrimRight(line, "\r\n")
-		if key, ok := topLevelKey(line); ok && spaced[key] {
+		trimmed := strings.TrimSpace(line)
-			start := len(out)
+		if strings.HasPrefix(trimmed, "#") {
-			for start > 0 && strings.HasPrefix(out[start-1], "#") {
+			if i := slices.IndexFunc(comments, func(c comment) bool { return c.trimmed == trimmed }); i >= 0 {
-				start--
+				if comments[i].blankBefore {
-			}
+					appendBlank()
-			if start > 0 && strings.TrimSpace(out[start-1]) != "" {
+				} else if len(out) > 0 && strings.TrimSpace(out[len(out)-1]) == "" {
-				out = slices.Insert(out, start, "")
+					out = out[:len(out)-1] // the encoder separates a comment block it moved
+				}
+				line = comments[i].line
+				comments = comments[i+1:] // the encoder keeps their order, so earlier ones cannot match again
 			}
+		} else if key, ok := topLevelKey(line); ok && spaced[key] {
+			appendBlank()
 		}
 		out = append(out, line)
 	}
@@ -377,12 +402,21 @@ func (s *editSession) write() error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("the edit would produce a config the runner cannot load: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	content := restoreBlankLines(s.original, generated)
+	if len(s.preamble) > 0 { // before restoreLayout, so that it spaces the preamble too
+		generated = slices.Concat(s.preamble, []byte("\n"), generated)
+	}
+
+	content := restoreLayout(s.original, generated)
 	if bytes.Contains(s.original, []byte("\r\n")) { // the encoder only ever emits LF
 		content = bytes.ReplaceAll(content, []byte("\n"), []byte("\r\n"))
 	}
 
-	file := s.file
+	return WriteFile(s.file, content)
+}
+
+// WriteFile replaces the config file in one step, keeping the mode and owner of the
+// file it replaces, so a half-written config never reaches a runner reading it.
+func WriteFile(file string, content []byte) error {
 	if resolved, err := filepath.EvalSymlinks(file); err == nil {
 		file = resolved // keeps a config linked in from elsewhere intact
 	}

internal/pkg/config/edit_test.go

@@ -252,16 +252,39 @@ func TestEditValuesFileHandling(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }
 
-// The example config is the file users edit, so it has to stay written the way
+// An edit has to give the file back unchanged around it, down to the indentation of
-// the encoder emits it, down to the single space before a trailing comment.
+// a commented-out option, as that documentation is what the user reads and edits.
-func TestEditValuesKeepsExampleConfigIntact(t *testing.T) {
+func TestEditValuesPreservesFileText(t *testing.T) {
-	file := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "config.yaml")
+	tests := []struct {
-	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(file, Example, 0o600))
+		name    string
+		content []byte
+		edit    func(file string) error
+		added   string // the only text the edit may add
+	}{
+		{
+			name:    "example config",
+			content: Example,
+			edit:    func(file string) error { return AddValue(file, "runner.labels", "ubuntu:docker://node:22") },
+			added:   "  labels:\n    - ubuntu:docker://node:22\n",
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "minimal config",
+			content: []byte(Minimal),
+			edit:    func(file string) error { return SetValue(file, "runner.capacity", "4") },
+			added:   "runner:\n  capacity: 4\n",
+		},
+	}
 
-	require.NoError(t, AddValue(file, "runner.labels", "ubuntu:docker://node:22"))
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			file := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "config.yaml")
+			require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(file, tc.content, 0o600))
 
-	content, err := os.ReadFile(file)
+			require.NoError(t, tc.edit(file))
-	require.NoError(t, err)
+
-	withoutAdded := strings.Replace(string(content), "    - ubuntu:docker://node:22\n", "", 1)
+			content, err := os.ReadFile(file)
-	assert.Equal(t, string(Example), withoutAdded, "only the appended label may differ")
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			assert.Equal(t, string(tc.content), strings.Replace(string(content), tc.added, "", 1))
+		})
+	}
 }