diff --git a/docs/devel/ci.rst b/docs/devel/ci.rst
index a556558435..9f9c4bd3f9 100644
--- a/docs/devel/ci.rst
+++ b/docs/devel/ci.rst
@@ -56,3 +56,61 @@ To run the playbook, execute::
 
   cd scripts/ci/setup
   ansible-playbook -i inventory build-environment.yml
+
+gitlab-runner setup and registration
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The gitlab-runner agent needs to be installed on each machine that
+will run jobs.  The association between a machine and a GitLab project
+happens with a registration token.  To find the registration token for
+your repository/project, navigate on GitLab's web UI to:
+
+ * Settings (the gears like icon), then
+ * CI/CD, then
+ * Runners, and click on the "Expand" button, then
+ * Under "Set up a specific Runner manually", look for the value under
+   "Use the following registration token during setup"
+
+Copy the ``scripts/ci/setup/vars.yml.template`` file to
+``scripts/ci/setup/vars.yml``.  Then, set the
+``gitlab_runner_registration_token`` variable to the value obtained
+earlier.
+
+.. note:: gitlab-runner is not available from the standard location
+          for all OS and architectures combinations.  For some systems,
+          a custom build may be necessary.  Some builds are avaiable
+          at https://cleber.fedorapeople.org/gitlab-runner/ and this
+          URI may be used as a value on ``vars.yml``
+
+To run the playbook, execute::
+
+  cd scripts/ci/setup
+  ansible-playbook -i inventory gitlab-runner.yml
+
+Following the registration, it's necessary to configure the runner tags,
+and optionally other configurations on the GitLab UI.  Navigate to:
+
+ * Settings (the gears like icon), then
+ * CI/CD, then
+ * Runners, and click on the "Expand" button, then
+ * "Runners activated for this project", then
+ * Click on the "Edit" icon (next to the "Lock" Icon)
+
+Under tags, add values matching the jobs a runner should run.  For a
+Ubuntu 20.04 aarch64 system, the tags should be set as::
+
+  ubuntu_20.04,aarch64
+
+Because the job definition at ``.gitlab-ci.d/custom-runners.yml``
+would contain::
+
+  ubuntu-20.04-aarch64-all:
+   tags:
+   - ubuntu_20.04
+   - aarch64
+
+It's also recommended to:
+
+ * increase the "Maximum job timeout" to something like ``2h``
+ * uncheck the "Run untagged jobs" check box
+ * give it a better Description
diff --git a/scripts/ci/setup/.gitignore b/scripts/ci/setup/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f112d05dd0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/ci/setup/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+vars.yml
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/scripts/ci/setup/gitlab-runner.yml b/scripts/ci/setup/gitlab-runner.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ab1944965f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/ci/setup/gitlab-runner.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+---
+- name: Installation of gitlab-runner
+  hosts: all
+  vars_files:
+    - vars.yml
+  tasks:
+    - debug:
+        msg: 'Checking for a valid GitLab registration token'
+      failed_when: "gitlab_runner_registration_token == 'PLEASE_PROVIDE_A_VALID_TOKEN'"
+
+    - name: Checks the availability of official gitlab-runner builds in the archive
+      uri:
+        url: https://s3.amazonaws.com/gitlab-runner-downloads/v{{ gitlab_runner_version  }}/binaries/gitlab-runner-linux-386
+        method: HEAD
+        status_code:
+          - 200
+          - 403
+      register: gitlab_runner_available_archive
+
+    - name: Update base url
+      set_fact:
+        gitlab_runner_base_url: https://s3.amazonaws.com/gitlab-runner-downloads/v{{ gitlab_runner_version  }}/binaries/gitlab-runner-
+      when: gitlab_runner_available_archive.status == 200
+    - debug:
+        msg: Base gitlab-runner url is {{ gitlab_runner_base_url  }}
+
+    - name: Create a group for the gitlab-runner service
+      group:
+        name: gitlab-runner
+
+    - name: Create a user for the gitlab-runner service
+      user:
+        user: gitlab-runner
+        group: gitlab-runner
+        comment: GitLab Runner
+        home: /home/gitlab-runner
+        shell: /bin/bash
+
+    - name: Remove the .bash_logout file when on Ubuntu systems
+      file:
+        path: /home/gitlab-runner/.bash_logout
+        state: absent
+      when: "ansible_facts['distribution'] == 'Ubuntu'"
+
+    - name: Downloads the matching gitlab-runner
+      get_url:
+        dest: /usr/local/bin/gitlab-runner
+        url: "{{ gitlab_runner_base_url }}{{ gitlab_runner_os }}-{{ gitlab_runner_arch }}"
+        owner: gitlab-runner
+        group: gitlab-runner
+        mode: u=rwx,g=rwx,o=rx
+
+    - name: Register the gitlab-runner
+      command: "/usr/local/bin/gitlab-runner register --non-interactive --url {{ gitlab_runner_server_url }} --registration-token {{ gitlab_runner_registration_token }} --executor shell  --description '{{ ansible_facts[\"distribution\"] }} {{ ansible_facts[\"distribution_version\"] }} {{ ansible_facts[\"architecture\"] }} ({{ ansible_facts[\"os_family\"] }})'"
+
+    - name: Install the gitlab-runner service using its own functionality
+      command: /usr/local/bin/gitlab-runner install --user gitlab-runner --working-directory /home/gitlab-runner
+      register: gitlab_runner_install_service_result
+      failed_when: "gitlab_runner_install_service_result.rc != 0 and \"already exists\" not in gitlab_runner_install_service_result.stderr"
+
+    - name: Enable the gitlab-runner service
+      service:
+        name: gitlab-runner
+        state: started
+        enabled: yes
diff --git a/scripts/ci/setup/vars.yml.template b/scripts/ci/setup/vars.yml.template
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..621435d030
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/ci/setup/vars.yml.template
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# The version of the gitlab-runner to use
+gitlab_runner_version: 13.1.1
+# The base location of gitlab-runner binaries, this will be suffixed by $OS-$ARCH
+gitlab_runner_base_url: https://gitlab-runner-downloads.s3.amazonaws.com/latest/binaries/gitlab-runner-
+# The URL of the gitlab server to use, usually https://gitlab.com unless you're
+# using a private GitLab instance
+gitlab_runner_server_url: https://gitlab.com
+# Defaults to linux, checks can be used to change this
+gitlab_runner_os: linux
+# Defaults to amd64 (x86_64), checks can be used to change this
+gitlab_runner_arch: amd64
+# A unique token made available by GitLab to your project for registering runners
+gitlab_runner_registration_token: PLEASE_PROVIDE_A_VALID_TOKEN
