Guides

CI/CD Integration

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This guide covers using Chaser as throwaway compute for pipelines, builds, and automated checks.

One-shot stateless execution

The simplest pattern — run a command on a fresh sandbox and get the result:

$curl -sS "$CHASER_API_URL/v1/exec" \
>  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CHASER_API_KEY" \
>  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
>  -d '{
>    "ephemeral": true,
>    "image": "ghcr.io/example/dev:latest",
>    "command": "npm ci && npm test",
>    "timeout_ms": 900000
>  }' | jq

No workspace, no session management. Chaser provisions a sandbox, runs the command, and returns exit_code and output.

Queued execution with jobs

For retriable, scheduled, or bulk work, use the jobs API:

$# Single command job
$curl -sS "$CHASER_API_URL/v1/jobs" \
>  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CHASER_API_KEY" \
>  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
>  -d '{
>    "kind": "sandbox.exec",
>    "input": {
>      "ephemeral": true,
>      "image": "ghcr.io/example/dev:latest",
>      "command": "npm ci && npm test"
>    }
>  }' | jq
$
$# Multi-step pipeline
$curl -sS "$CHASER_API_URL/v1/jobs" \
>  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CHASER_API_KEY" \
>  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
>  -d '{
>    "kind": "pipeline.run",
>    "input": {
>      "workspace": "ci-project",
>      "steps": [
>        {"command": "npm ci", "timeout_ms": 300000},
>        {"command": "npm run lint", "timeout_ms": 120000},
>        {"command": "npm test", "timeout_ms": 600000}
>      ]
>    }
>  }' | jq

Jobs support run_at for delayed execution and idempotency_key for safe retries.

CLI for CI scripts

$# Direct exec
$chaser jobs exec --ephemeral --image ghcr.io/example/dev:latest \
>  "npm ci && npm test" --wait --json
$
$# On a persistent workspace (for cached dependencies)
$chaser jobs exec --workspace ci-project "npm test" --wait --json

GitHub Actions runner

Chaser is a drop-in self-hosted GitHub Actions runner. Authenticate GitHub once via the Chaser dashboard, then in your workflow set:

1jobs:
2  test:
3    runs-on: chaser
4    steps:
5      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
6      - run: npm ci && npm test

Jobs land on microVMs that boot in seconds — typically faster than alternatives such as Blacksmith. Any label of the form chaser or chaser-* routes through Chaser. See GitHub Actions Runner for full setup details.

When to use workspaces in CI

Use ephemeral execution when:

  • Every run should be fully isolated
  • You want no state carryover between runs

Use workspace-backed execution when:

  • You want cached node_modules, build artifacts, or .git history across runs
  • Multiple pipeline steps need shared filesystem state
  • You want to inspect the workspace after a failure