Runners
The execution fabric for embodied AI
The Reach Problem
APIs only reach systems designed for them. That new Kubernetes cluster? Easy. That Oracle database from 2007? Good luck.
Enterprise infrastructure is a patchwork. Cloud and on-prem. Containers and VMs. Modern APIs and legacy systems that predate REST. Any automation platform that only works with the shiny stuff is useless for real enterprises.
Runners solve this.
What Is a Runner?
A runner is a lightweight agent that lives where your systems live. It connects back to Knot0, receives instructions, and executes them locally.
┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐
│ RUNNER │ │ RUNNER │ │ RUNNER │
│ (cloud) │ │ (on-prem) │ │ (edge) │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ AWS, GCP │ │ VMs, K8s │ │ IoT, retail │
│ Azure │ │ Databases │ │ devices │
└──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘
│ │ │
└───────────────────┴───────────────────┘
│
┌─────┴─────┐
│ KNOT0 │
│ (control)│
└───────────┘
Runners reach systems that APIs can't:
- Behind firewalls — Runners initiate outbound connections, no inbound ports needed
- Air-gapped networks — Runners can buffer and sync when connectivity allows
- Legacy systems — Runners can shell into boxes, run scripts, talk proprietary protocols
- Edge devices — Runners are lightweight enough for constrained environments
60 Seconds to Deploy
curl -fsSL https://knot0.com/install | sh
That's it. The runner installs, connects, and starts reporting its capabilities. No manual configuration. No YAML files. No container orchestration.
When a runner comes online, it tells Knot0 what it can do: what commands are available, what runtimes are installed, what systems it can reach. Knot0 uses this to route work to the right place.
Sandboxed Execution
Just because a runner can reach a system doesn't mean it should do anything it wants. Every execution happens in a sandbox:
- Docker containers with resource limits
- WASM modules for ultra-lightweight isolation
- Cgroups and rlimits for host execution
The runner is the body. The sandbox is the safety envelope.
The Body for AI
Most AI systems are brains without bodies. They can think, but they can't do. Runners give AI agents hands — the ability to reach into real systems and make changes.
But hands without eyes are dangerous. That's where discovery comes in. Runners don't just execute — they observe. They map dependencies, track changes, and feed context back to the agent.
Eyes and hands. That's what makes embodied AI.