Auto-scaler

The auto-scaler dynamically provisions agents in response to workload. It is configured via a scalers.yaml file (or files in a scalers.d/ directory) that maps job labels to backend provisioning details. The orchestrator reloads it on SIGHUP.

Quick start

1. Create a scaler config file:

/etc/kici/scalers.yaml

version: 1
globalMaxAgents: 10

scalers:
  - name: container-default
    type: container
    # runtime defaults to 'auto' -- detects Docker or Podman
    maxAgents: 10
    labelSets:
      - labels: ['linux', 'container']
        image: 'ghcr.io/myorg/kici-agent:latest'

2. Point the orchestrator at it:

KICI_SCALER_CONFIG_PATH=/etc/kici/scalers.yaml

For multi-file configurations, also set KICI_SCALER_CONFIG_DIR=/etc/kici/scalers.d/.

3. Restart the orchestrator. It now auto-provisions container agents when jobs arrive with runsOn: ['linux', 'container'].

Which backend?

Backend	Provisions	Choose it for
container	Docker / Podman containers	Linux CI on shared infrastructure — the common deployment.
bare-metal	Host child processes	macOS, Windows, GPU, or specialized hardware workloads.
firecracker	KVM microVMs	Untrusted / multi-tenant workloads needing hardware isolation.

Reference

Page	Covers
Common configuration	Fields shared across all backends: top-level schema, label sets, resource caps, warm pool, roles, mandatory/exclude labels, env forwarding, network policy, backpressure.
Operations	Running and observing: label matching, multi-scaler layout, deployment topology, SIGHUP reload, monitoring, troubleshooting, multi-backend examples.
Container backend	Container-specific fields, runtime auto-detection, lifecycle, registry auth, the container-socket security warning.
Bare-metal backend	Host child processes, cgroup enforcement, network access, remote macOS / Windows orchestrator setup.
Firecracker backend	VM networking, jailer fields, rootfs, DB migration, the MMDS credential model, helper scripts.

See also

• Agent execution security — how each backend confines customer workflow code; read this before exposing a scaler to untrusted workloads.
• Firecracker setup guide — Firecracker host setup, rootfs building, networking, troubleshooting.
• Configuration reference — orchestrator environment variables including KICI_SCALER_CONFIG_PATH and KICI_SCALER_CONFIG_DIR.
• Architecture overview — three-tier relay model and component responsibilities.
• Agent configuration — environment variables for agents connecting to the orchestrator.
• Orchestrator getting started — deployment guide with Docker Compose examples.