---
title: "Runner Sizes"
description: "Choose the right runner size for your workload and budget."
section: "runners"
url: "https://forkline.dev/docs/runners/sizes"
markdown: "https://forkline.dev/docs/runners/sizes.md"
source: "src/content/docs/runners/sizes.mdx"
---

# Runner Sizes

Choose the smallest runner that keeps your normal work responsive. Bigger runners cost more per minute, but they also clear heavier tasks faster.

_Interactive figure (RunnerSizesBoard) — see the HTML version of this page._

> **Tip**: Start with **Advanced** unless you already know the repository is extremely small or unusually heavy.

## How to Choose

### Pick Basic When

- You are handling documentation or tiny fixes
- The repository is small and build steps are lightweight
- You want the lowest billing rate for short tasks

### Pick Advanced When

- You are doing normal feature work
- You expect to run tests or moderate validation steps
- You want the best default balance of cost and speed

### Pick Pro When

- You work in a large monorepo or memory-heavy codebase
- Builds, indexing, or test suites bottleneck smaller runners
- Faster completion matters more than the higher multiplier

## Quick Lookup

| Situation | Recommended Size |
|-----------|------------------|
| Fix a typo or docs issue | Basic |
| Implement a feature in a normal codebase | Advanced |
| Refactor a medium-sized module | Advanced |
| Run a heavy test suite or build | Pro or Advanced |
| Work in a large monorepo | Pro |

## Codebase Heuristics

| Lines of Code | Suggested Size |
|---------------|----------------|
| Under 10,000 | Basic |
| 10,000 - 100,000 | Advanced |
| Over 100,000 | Pro |

> **Note**: These are starting points, not hard rules. Language, build tooling, dependency graph size, and repository layout all matter.

## Setting a Default Size

### Account Default

Set your preferred default for new runners:

1. Go to **Settings** -> **General**
2. Find **Default Runner Size**
3. Select Basic, Advanced, or Pro

![General settings page](https://forkline.dev/docs/screenshots/settings/general-settings.webp)

### Repository Override

Override the account default for a specific repository:

1. Navigate to **Repositories**
2. Find the repository
3. Click **Settings** on the repository card
4. Set **Default Runner Size**
5. Click **Save**

> **Tip**: Repository defaults are useful when one repo consistently needs more compute than the rest of your work.

## Changing Size Later

Runner size is fixed for the lifetime of a session. To switch sizes:

1. Stop the current runner
2. Start a new runner with a different size

> **Warning**: Stopping a runner discards uncommitted changes. Push or otherwise preserve work before you stop the session.

## Cost Optimization

1. Right-size your runners instead of defaulting to Pro
2. Stop runners when they are idle
3. Use repository defaults so recurring work starts with the right size

## Next Steps

- [Start a runner](https://forkline.dev/docs/runners/starting)
- [Understand billing](https://forkline.dev/docs/billing)