diff --git a/.runner.backup b/.runner.backup
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b8dc1a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.runner.backup
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+{
+  "WARNING": "This file is automatically generated by act-runner. Do not edit it manually unless you know what you are doing. Removing this file will cause act runner to re-register as a new runner.",
+  "id": 18,
+  "uuid": "a35806c0-29be-4c15-b5d9-cc265ac762ba",
+  "name": "community-rule-runner-mac",
+  "token": "b40fd7ddc8b53bc652640beb0a6837aba10ef967",
+  "address": "https://git.medlab.host",
+  "labels": [
+    "self-hosted:host",
+    "macos-latest:host"
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/config/gitea-runner.yaml b/config/gitea-runner.yaml
index 90e9875..3036440 100644
--- a/config/gitea-runner.yaml
+++ b/config/gitea-runner.yaml
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 log:
-  level: info
+  level: debug
 
 runner:
   file: .runner
diff --git a/runner.log b/runner.log
index 630efea..b900d70 100644
--- a/runner.log
+++ b/runner.log
@@ -1,2 +1,4 @@
-time="2026-01-29T20:06:23-07:00" level=info msg="Starting runner daemon"
-time="2026-01-29T20:06:23-07:00" level=info msg="runner: community-rule-runner-mac, with version: v0.2.6, with labels: [self-hosted macos-latest], declare successfully"
+time="2026-01-29T20:16:26-07:00" level=info msg="log level changed to debug" func="[initLogging]" file="[daemon.go:158]"
+time="2026-01-29T20:16:26-07:00" level=info msg="Starting runner daemon" func="[func6]" file="[daemon.go:38]"
+time="2026-01-29T20:16:26-07:00" level=debug msg="gc: 2026-01-29 20:16:26.704803 -0700 MST m=+0.007200001" func="[gcCache]" file="[handler.go:439]" module=artifactcache
+time="2026-01-29T20:16:26-07:00" level=info msg="runner: community-rule-runner-mac, with version: v0.2.6, with labels: [self-hosted macos-latest], declare successfully" func="[func6]" file="[daemon.go:109]"
diff --git a/scripts/register-runner.sh b/scripts/register-runner.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..7db6615
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/register-runner.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Script to register Gitea runner
+# Usage: ./scripts/register-runner.sh <registration_token>
+
+if [ -z "$1" ]; then
+    echo "❌ Error: Registration token required"
+    echo ""
+    echo "To get a registration token:"
+    echo "1. Go to: https://git.medlab.host/CommunityRule/community-rule/settings/actions/runners"
+    echo "2. Click 'New Runner' or find the registration token"
+    echo "3. Run: ./scripts/register-runner.sh YOUR_TOKEN"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+TOKEN=$1
+INSTANCE="https://git.medlab.host"
+NAME="community-rule-runner-mac"
+LABELS="self-hosted,macos-latest"
+
+echo "🚀 Registering runner..."
+echo "Instance: $INSTANCE"
+echo "Name: $NAME"
+echo "Labels: $LABELS"
+echo ""
+
+./act_runner register \
+    --instance "$INSTANCE" \
+    --token "$TOKEN" \
+    --name "$NAME" \
+    --labels "$LABELS" \
+    --no-interactive
+
+if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
+    echo ""
+    echo "✅ Runner registered successfully!"
+    echo "You can now start it with: ./scripts/start-runner.sh"
+else
+    echo ""
+    echo "❌ Registration failed. Please check the token and try again."
+    exit 1
+fi
diff --git a/scripts/verify-runner.sh b/scripts/verify-runner.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..887ddac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/verify-runner.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+echo "🔍 Verifying Gitea Runner Status"
+echo "================================="
+echo ""
+
+# Check if runner is registered
+if [ ! -f .runner ]; then
+    echo "❌ Runner not registered - .runner file not found"
+    echo "   Run: ./scripts/register-runner.sh <token>"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "✅ Runner registration file exists"
+RUNNER_ID=$(cat .runner | grep -o '"id": [0-9]*' | cut -d' ' -f2)
+echo "   Runner ID: $RUNNER_ID"
+echo ""
+
+# Check if runner is running
+if pgrep -f "act_runner daemon" > /dev/null; then
+    RUNNER_PID=$(pgrep -f "act_runner daemon")
+    echo "✅ Runner process is running (PID: $RUNNER_PID)"
+else
+    echo "⚠️  Runner process is NOT running"
+    echo "   Start it with: ./scripts/start-runner.sh"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo ""
+echo "📝 Recent logs (checking for polling activity):"
+if [ -f runner.log ]; then
+    echo "---"
+    tail -20 runner.log | grep -E "(polling|fetch|task|job|online|error|Error)" || tail -10 runner.log
+    echo "---"
+    echo ""
+    echo "Look for messages like:"
+    echo "  - 'fetching task' or 'polling' (good - runner is active)"
+    echo "  - 'error' or 'Error' (bad - check the full log)"
+else
+    echo "⚠️  No log file found"
+fi
+
+echo ""
+echo "🔗 Check runner status in Gitea:"
+echo "   https://git.medlab.host/CommunityRule/community-rule/settings/actions/runners"
+echo ""
+echo "The runner should show as 'Idle' (online) if it's working correctly."