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Smart Storage Optimizer for CI/CD Runners
A lightweight agent for self-hosted build servers that intelligently manages container caches and aggressively cleans up abandoned assets to prevent disk exhaustion. It guarantees build pipelines never fail due to 'out of space' errors.
Why this matters
You manage the internal build infrastructure for a busy engineering team. Every few weeks, someone merges a PR and the pipeline inexplicably fails with a 'no space left on device' error. You discover the self-hosted runner is choked with gigabytes of stale images, dangling volumes, and exited containers from previous test runs. You string together shell scripts to periodically clear them out, but they often delete cached layers you actually wanted to keep, slowing down subsequent builds. You are constantly balancing between paying for massive EBS volumes and dealing with the friction of broken pipelines.
- · Built for DevOps engineers and platform teams managing self-hosted CI/CD infrastructure.
- · Most likely monetization: SaaS subscription based on the number of monitored runners.
The Pain · Narrative
You manage the internal build infrastructure for a busy engineering team. Every few weeks, someone merges a PR and the pipeline inexplicably fails with a 'no space left on device' error. You discover the self-hosted runner is choked with gigabytes of stale images, dangling volumes, and exited containers from previous test runs. You string together shell scripts to periodically clear them out, but they often delete cached layers you actually wanted to keep, slowing down subsequent builds. You are constantly balancing between paying for massive EBS volumes and dealing with the friction of broken pipelines.
Score Breakdown
Market Signal
Go-to-Market
DevOps engineers running self-hosted GitLab Runners or GitHub Actions for mid-sized tech companies
~50,000 teams globally actively managing their own build infrastructure
Hacker News launch alongside a technical blog post about CI/CD storage costs
$29/month per 10 build nodes
10 companies installing the agent and completing a 14-day trial
MVP Scope · 1–2 weeks
- Design the YAML configuration schema for retention rules
- Write a lightweight Go CLI that connects to the local daemon socket
- Implement the logic to fetch and parse disk usage statistics
- Create the filtering logic to identify stale assets based on the YAML rules
- Build a dry-run mode that simply logs what would be deleted
- Implement the actual deletion commands with safety checks
- Create a background daemon mode that runs the check on a schedule
- Set up an external webhook feature to alert when disk space hits critical thresholds
- Package the tool as a single binary and an easy install script
- Write documentation and set up a simple landing page focused on build server uptime
Differentiation
Why This Might Fail
Self-rebuttal — the most important trust signal
- 1DevOps engineers might view this as a trivial problem that a simple cron job already solves 'well enough'
- 2The security risk of giving a third-party tool root access to the daemon socket might block enterprise adoption
- 3Cloud providers could drop the cost of runner storage so low that optimizing it is no longer worth the effort
Evidence Summary
How AI synthesized this insight — no verbatim quotes
Discussions reveal developers frequently share complex, custom shell scripts just to manage disk space. Many users explicitly search for ways to filter old data by timeframes or retention counts rather than wiping everything. The sheer volume of shared workarounds indicates a persistent workflow gap where native cleanup tools fall short of real-world operational requirements.
Action Plan
Validate this opportunity before writing code
Recommended Next Step
Build
Strong demand signals detected. Real pain, real willingness to pay — start building an MVP.
Landing Page Copy Kit
Ready-to-paste copy based on real Reddit community language — no editing required
Headline
Smart Storage Optimizer for CI/CD Runners
Sub-headline
A lightweight agent for self-hosted build servers that intelligently manages container caches and aggressively cleans up abandoned assets to prevent disk exhaustion. It guarantees build pipelines never fail due to 'out of space' errors.
Who It's For
For DevOps engineers and platform teams managing self-hosted CI/CD infrastructure
Feature List
✓ Declarative retention policies via YAML ✓ Predictive disk exhaustion alerts ✓ Safe garbage collection that ignores active builds
Where to Validate
Share your landing page in r/Stack Exchange · docker — that's exactly where these pain points were discovered.
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