I don't think this is possible with the predefined variables since they only contain CI_RUNNER_DESCRIPTION, CI_RUNNER_ID and CI_RUNNER_TAGS.

You could create a workaround by using the environment setting in the runner config.toml as described in this section and the example:

[[runners]]
  name = "ruby-2.1-docker"
  url = "https://CI/"
  token = "TOKEN"
  limit = 0
  executor = "docker"
  builds_dir = ""
  shell = ""
  environment = ["ENV=value", "CI_RUNNER_VERSION=10.2"]
  clone_url = "http://gitlab.example.local

If you use stuff like Ansible, Puppet, Chef or another provisioning tool you could make sure they update the config when they upgrade the runner e.g.

Or create a bash script that replaces the CI_RUNNER_VERSION value in the config.toml based on a every day/night and restarts the runner service. That would be pretty easy.

You can get the version or your runner (and only the exact version) by running:

$ gitlab-runner --version | head -n 1 | awk '{print $2}'
Answer from Stefan van Gastel on Stack Overflow
🌐
GitLab
docs.gitlab.com › gitlab docs › install › configure gitlab runner › commands
GitLab Runner commands | GitLab Docs
$ gitlab-runner run Runtime platform arch=arm64 os=linux pid=8 revision=853330f9 version=16.5.0
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GitLab
gitlab.com › gitlab.org › gitlab-runner › repository
docs/commands · fd98f3b671c5ee4fb8fd54a41c7a242eb73a91d9 · GitLab.org / gitlab-runner · GitLab
NAME: gitlab-runner - a GitLab Runner USAGE: gitlab-runner [global options] command [command options] [arguments...] VERSION: 15.1.0 (76984217) AUTHOR: GitLab Inc.
Discussions

How can I check the version of GitLab? - Stack Overflow
How can I check which version of GitLab is installed on the server? I am about the version specified in the GitLab changelog: CHANGELOG.md For example: "6.5.0", "6.4.3", etc. Ca... More on stackoverflow.com
🌐 stackoverflow.com
Gitlab Runners Version
https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/-/releases The best I found. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/gitlab
2
2
April 12, 2024
Need help with runner registration after I used latest version of gitlab-ce
I've been using some older version of gitlab-ce all configuration pretty much had scripted out. Now since I'm using latest 16... I have a problem registering a runner. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/gitlab
1
2
August 15, 2023
Gitlab-CI: How to test if package version already exists in pkg repo?
The Packages API will allow you to curl your repo and fetch the latest version available. https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/api/packages.html More on reddit.com
🌐 r/gitlab
3
3
May 12, 2022
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GitLab
docs.gitlab.com › gitlab docs › administer › administer gitlab runner
GitLab Runner | GitLab Docs
For compatibility reasons, the GitLab Runner major.minor version should stay in sync with the GitLab major and minor version. Older runners may still work with newer GitLab versions, and vice versa.
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GitLab
gitlab.com › gitlab.org › gitlab-runner › releases
Releases · GitLab.org / gitlab-runner · GitLab
August 13, 2026 - GitLab Runner is the open source project that is used to run your CI/CD jobs and send the results back to GitLab
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GitLab
docs.gitlab.com › gitlab docs › administer › administer gitlab runner › create and manage runners
Manage runners | GitLab Docs
The Maintainer or Owner role to view group runners. The version of GitLab Runner used by your runners should be kept up-to-date.
Find elsewhere
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GitLab
docs.gitlab.com › gitlab docs › install › configure gitlab runner › troubleshooting
Troubleshooting GitLab Runner | GitLab Docs
systemctl restart gitlab-runner.service docker-machine rm $(docker-machine ls -q) # Docker machine journalctl --unit=gitlab-runner.service -f # Tail the logs to check for potential errors · GitLab aims to guarantee backward compatibility. However, as a first troubleshooting step, you should ensure your version of GitLab Runner is the same as your GitLab version.
🌐
Medium
medium.com › @shanmorton › newbie-getting-started-with-gitlab-runner-ci-d8ef2cd70f7c
Getting started with GitLab-Runner CI. | by Shandra Morton | Medium
September 26, 2020 - On your local machine create a directory named “GitLab-Runner”, and change into that directory. I’m not sure it matters where on the drive you create the folder. Per the install directions, I did make the directory at the root of C:\ Download the executable for your system. I chose the amd64, but the video’s author chose the x86 version.
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Gitlab
docs.gitlab.co.jp › runner › commands
GitLab Runner commands | GitLab
NAME: gitlab-runner - a GitLab Runner USAGE: gitlab-runner [global options] command [command options] [arguments...] VERSION: 15.1.0 (76984217) AUTHOR: GitLab Inc.
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YouTube
youtube.com › valentin despa
How to configure your own Gitlab CI Runner - YouTube
Gitlab Runner is an open-source project which is used in running jobs and sending back the results to Gitlab. It can be run as a single binary without any sp...
Published: January 17, 2020
Views: 17K
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GitLab
gitlab.com › gitlab.org › gitlab-runner
GitLab.org / gitlab-runner · GitLab
GitLab Runner is the open source project that is used to run your CI/CD jobs and send the results back to GitLab
🌐
GitLab
docs.gitlab.com › gitlab docs › administer › administer gitlab runner › register a runner
Registering runners | GitLab Docs
You must use a GitLab Runner version that is appropriate for the GitLab version, or upgrade the GitLab application.
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GitHub
github.com › gitlabhq › gitlab-runner › blob › main › CHANGELOG.md
gitlab-runner/CHANGELOG.md at main · gitlabhq/gitlab-runner
- Add link checking to i18n docs linting [!5943](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/-/merge_requests/5943)
Author: gitlabhq
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GitLab
gitlab.com › gitlab.org › charts › gitlab runner › repository
CHANGELOG.md · main · GitLab.org / charts / GitLab Runner · GitLab
1 week ago - To find the state of this project's repository at the time of any of these versions, check out the tags. ... Create Role in correct namespace when using the runners.jobNamespace feature !522 (merged) (Jellyfrog @Jellyfrog)
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GitLab
docs.gitlab.com › gitlab docs › install › install gitlab runner › linux manual install
Install GitLab Runner manually on GNU/Linux | GitLab Docs
sudo curl -L --output /usr/local/bin/gitlab-runner "https://s3.dualstack.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/gitlab-runner-downloads/latest/binaries/gitlab-runner-linux-amd64" You can download a binary for every available version as described in Bleeding Edge - download any other tagged release.
🌐
GitLab
docs.gitlab.com › gitlab docs › administer › administer gitlab runner › getting started
Get started with GitLab Runner | GitLab Docs
You manage runner access through scopes and tags, monitor performance, and maintain the runner fleet. Install GitLab Runner to create the application that executes CI/CD jobs.