diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 52a5dec..209d4ac 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -260,6 +260,7 @@ Name|Default Value|Description
 ----|-------------|-----------
 GITEA_INSTANCE_INSECURE|`false`|If `true` don't verify the TLS certificate of the Gitea instance
 GITEA_RUNNER_NAME|`<empty>`|If not specified the container's hostname is used
+GITEA_RUNNER_EPHEMERAL|`false`|If `true` or `1`, the runner will exit after completing a single job
 GITEA_RUNNER_REGISTRATION_FILE|`/data/.runner`|The JSON file that holds the result from the runner registration with the Gitea instance
 GITEA_RUNNER_REGISTRATION_TIMEOUT|`30`|In case of failure, registration is retried until this timeout in seconds is reached
 GITEA_RUNNER_REGISTRATION_RETRY_INTERVAL|`5`|Wait period in seconds between registration retries
diff --git a/image/Dockerfile b/image/Dockerfile
index f0921d9..45ba17c 100644
--- a/image/Dockerfile
+++ b/image/Dockerfile
@@ -213,6 +213,7 @@ ubuntu-20.04:docker://ghcr.io/catthehacker/ubuntu:act-20.04' \
   GITEA_RUNNER_UID=1000 \
   GITEA_RUNNER_GID=1000 \
   #
+  GITEA_RUNNER_EPHEMERAL=false \
   GITEA_RUNNER_REGISTRATION_TIMEOUT=30\
   GITEA_RUNNER_REGISTRATION_RETRY_INTERVAL=5s
 
diff --git a/image/run_runner.sh b/image/run_runner.sh
index f7605e4..376ed0a 100644
--- a/image/run_runner.sh
+++ b/image/run_runner.sh
@@ -63,6 +63,9 @@ if [[ ! -s ${GITEA_RUNNER_REGISTRATION_FILE:-.runner} ]]; then
   log INFO "  GITEA_RUNNER_NAME=$GITEA_RUNNER_NAME"
   log INFO "  GITEA_RUNNER_REGISTRATION_TOKEN=${GITEA_RUNNER_REGISTRATION_TOKEN//?/*}"
   log INFO "  GITEA_RUNNER_LABELS=$GITEA_RUNNER_LABELS"
+  if [[ $GITEA_RUNNER_EPHEMERAL == "true" || $GITEA_RUNNER_EPHEMERAL == "1" ]]; then
+    log INFO "  GITEA_RUNNER_EPHEMERAL=$GITEA_RUNNER_EPHEMERAL (runner will exit after completing one job)"
+  fi
   wait_until=$(( $(date +%s) + GITEA_RUNNER_REGISTRATION_TIMEOUT ))
   while true; do
     if act_runner register \
@@ -71,6 +74,7 @@ if [[ ! -s ${GITEA_RUNNER_REGISTRATION_FILE:-.runner} ]]; then
       --name     "$GITEA_RUNNER_NAME" \
       --labels   "$GITEA_RUNNER_LABELS" \
       --config "$effective_config_file" \
+      "$([[ $GITEA_RUNNER_EPHEMERAL == "true" || $GITEA_RUNNER_EPHEMERAL == "1" ]] && echo --ephemeral)" \
       --no-interactive; then
       break;
     fi