# Cloud CI/CD lets you throw money out the window

> Why we replaced cloud CI for iOS and Flutter builds with self-hosted GitHub Actions runners on Mac minis, and how impaktfull_cli sets one up.

By Koen Van Looveren, impaktfull · Published 2025-06-10

Source: https://www.impaktfull.com/blog/cloud-ci-cd-lets-you-throw-money-out-the-window

If you build iOS apps and pay for a cloud CI service, you have probably asked yourself: why am I spending this much, just to run builds? We asked the same at impaktfull. Then we did something about it.

## The problem with cloud CI

Cloud CI/CD platforms are convenient, but they come with:

- **High costs**, especially for macOS runners: on GitHub a macOS minute costs [about ten times a Linux minute](https://docs.github.com/en/billing/reference/actions-minute-multipliers).
- **Queues**: waiting for a free runner before your build even starts.
- **Limited customisation** of the machine and its tools.
- **No persistent environment**: every build installs and caches everything again.

It hurts most when you iterate fast and push several builds a day.

## Mac minis with self-hosted GitHub runners

We switched to self-hosted GitHub Actions runners on Mac minis. The result:

- As many builds a day as we want, without paying per minute.
- No waiting in a queue.
- A fixed, one-time hardware cost.
- Full control over the tools and their versions.

In return you look after the machines yourself: power, macOS and Xcode updates, and the occasional reboot. And only use self-hosted runners for private repositories: [GitHub advises against them for public ones](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/hosting-your-own-runners/managing-self-hosted-runners/about-self-hosted-runners#self-hosted-runner-security), because anyone could run code on your machine through a pull request.

The only hurdle: setting up each machine by hand was slow, error-prone and boring.

## That is why we built impaktfull_cli

To automate that setup and make every machine the same, we built [impaktfull_cli](https://github.com/impaktfull/dart_impaktfull_cli): a CLI that turns a clean Mac into a CI-ready machine. Install it:

```bash
curl -fsSL https://cli.impaktfull.com/install.sh | bash
```

Then run one command:

```bash
impaktfull_cli ci_cd setup
```

That command:

- installs and configures Homebrew, CocoaPods, FVM and Flutter;
- installs Java, lcov, Rosetta and sentry-cli, and points Flutter to the right JDK;
- sets up a working Zsh environment with autosuggestions;
- helps you select Xcode;
- creates an SSH key and tells you where to add it on GitHub;
- installs the GitHub Actions runner and registers the machine as a self-hosted runner.
![The output of impaktfull_cli ci_cd setup in a terminal, every step marked as finished](https://www.impaktfull.com/images/blogs/cloud-ci-cd-lets-you-throw-money-out-the-window/ci-cd-setup.webp)

*impaktfull_cli ci_cd setup on a new Mac mini*

## Transparent, step by step

You run one command, but the CLI logs every step: what it installs, which configuration files it changes, and how it sets paths and environment variables. You stay in control; it does the boring part.

## Why it works for us

- **No cost per build minute**: the machines are paid for once.
- **As many runners as we need**, without licences per runner.
- **Freedom** to set up the CI environment exactly as our projects need it.
- **Every machine the same**, so a build that works on one works on all.

Once Xcode is installed, a new Mac mini is ready in about five minutes. More on [why we build our own CLIs](https://www.impaktfull.com/blog/the-power-of-custom-clis).

## Try it

Using GitHub Actions and want lower CI costs? Get started on [GitHub](https://github.com/impaktfull/dart_impaktfull_cli), on [pub.dev](https://pub.dev/packages/impaktfull_cli) or in [the documentation](https://docs.page/impaktfull/impaktfull_cli). And if you would rather have it set up for you: we set up [builds and releases](https://www.impaktfull.com/service/apps) like this for every app we make.

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impaktfull builds and runs apps, websites, platforms and AI agents, from Antwerp, Belgium. More at https://www.impaktfull.com.