diff --git a/ansible/disable-runner.yml b/ansible/disable-runner.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f2f11fe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/disable-runner.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+---
+- name: Disable Gitea Actions runner
+  hosts: all
+  become: true
+  vars: {}
+  tasks:
+    - name: Include systemd availability check
+      ansible.builtin.include_tasks: roles/gitea-runner/tasks/systemd_check.yml
+
+    - name: Stop gitea-runner systemd instance
+      ansible.builtin.systemd:
+        name: "gitea-runner@{{ runner_name }}"
+        state: stopped
+        daemon_reload: true
+      when: systemd_available.stat.exists
+
+    - name: Include deregistration
+      ansible.builtin.include_tasks: roles/gitea-runner/tasks/deregister.yml
+      when: not skip_runner_registration | default(false)
+
+    - name: Disable gitea-runner systemd instance
+      ansible.builtin.systemd:
+        name: "gitea-runner@{{ runner_name }}"
+        enabled: false
+        daemon_reload: true
+      when: systemd_available.stat.exists
diff --git a/ansible/enable-runner.yml b/ansible/enable-runner.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..351e21d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/enable-runner.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+- name: Enable Gitea Actions runner
+  hosts: all
+  become: true
+  vars: {}
+  tasks:
+    - name: Include systemd availability check
+      ansible.builtin.include_tasks: roles/gitea-runner/tasks/systemd_check.yml
+
+    - name: Enable gitea-runner systemd instance
+      ansible.builtin.systemd:
+        name: "gitea-runner@{{ runner_name }}"
+        enabled: true
+        daemon_reload: true
+      when: systemd_available.stat.exists
diff --git a/ansible/remove-runner.yml b/ansible/remove-runner.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1ffe5b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/remove-runner.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+---
+- name: Remove Gitea Actions runner
+  hosts: all
+  become: true
+  vars: {}
+  tasks:
+    - name: Include systemd availability check
+      ansible.builtin.include_tasks: roles/gitea-runner/tasks/systemd_check.yml
+
+    - name: Stop gitea-runner systemd instance
+      ansible.builtin.systemd:
+        name: "gitea-runner@{{ runner_name }}"
+        state: stopped
+        daemon_reload: true
+      when: systemd_available.stat.exists
+
+    - name: Disable gitea-runner systemd instance
+      ansible.builtin.systemd:
+        name: "gitea-runner@{{ runner_name }}"
+        enabled: false
+        daemon_reload: true
+      when: systemd_available.stat.exists
+
+    - name: Include deregistration
+      ansible.builtin.include_tasks: roles/gitea-runner/tasks/deregister.yml
+      when: not skip_runner_registration | default(false)
+
+    - name: Remove systemd unit file (last instance)
+      ansible.builtin.file:
+        path: "/etc/systemd/system/gitea-runner@.service"
+        state: absent
+      when: remove_systemd_template | default(false)
+
+    - name: Remove runner data directory
+      ansible.builtin.file:
+        path: "{{ gitea_runner_data_dir | default('/var/lib/gitea-runner/' ~ runner_name) }}"
+        state: absent
+
+    - name: Remove runner config directory
+      ansible.builtin.file:
+        path: "{{ gitea_runner_config_dir | default('/etc/gitea-runner/' ~ runner_name) }}"
+        state: absent
diff --git a/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/defaults/main.yml b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/defaults/main.yml
index 52f3cf2..eed3ea6 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/defaults/main.yml
@@ -5,9 +5,11 @@ gitea_runner_docker_image: "gitea/runner"
 runner_labels: "ubuntu-latest:docker://runner-images:ubuntu-22.04"
 skip_runner_registration: false
 
-# Paths
-gitea_runner_data_dir: "/var/lib/gitea-runner"
-gitea_runner_config_dir: "/etc/gitea-runner"
+# Base paths (instance-scoped via runner_name)
+gitea_runner_base_data_dir: "/var/lib/gitea-runner"
+gitea_runner_base_config_dir: "/etc/gitea-runner"
+gitea_runner_data_dir: "{{ gitea_runner_base_data_dir }}/{{ runner_name }}"
+gitea_runner_config_dir: "{{ gitea_runner_base_config_dir }}/{{ runner_name }}"
 gitea_runner_binary_path: "/usr/local/bin/gitea_runner"
 
 # Prune configuration
diff --git a/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/handlers/main.yml b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/handlers/main.yml
index 9f49376..cff7f5c 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/handlers/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/handlers/main.yml
@@ -6,6 +6,6 @@
 
 - name: Restart gitea-runner
   ansible.builtin.systemd:
-    name: "gitea-runner-{{ runner_name }}"
+    name: "gitea-runner@{{ runner_name }}"
     state: restarted
   when: ansible_facts is defined and ansible_facts['service_mgr'] | default('') == 'systemd'
diff --git a/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/binary_update.yml b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/binary_update.yml
index dde72a1..1f18081 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/binary_update.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/binary_update.yml
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 - name: Include gitea_runner download
   ansible.builtin.include_tasks: download_gitea_runner.yml
 
-- name: Restart gitea-runner service
+- name: Restart gitea-runner systemd instance
   ansible.builtin.systemd:
-    name: "gitea-runner-{{ runner_name }}"
+    name: "gitea-runner@{{ runner_name }}"
     state: restarted
     daemon_reload: true
diff --git a/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/deregister.yml b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/deregister.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ce8cecc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/deregister.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+---
+- name: Check if runner registration file exists
+  ansible.builtin.stat:
+    path: "{{ gitea_runner_data_dir }}/.runner"
+  register: runner_file_stat
+
+- name: Read runner registration file
+  ansible.builtin.slurp:
+    src: "{{ gitea_runner_data_dir }}/.runner"
+  register: runner_file_content
+  when: runner_file_stat.stat.exists | default(false) | bool
+
+- name: Parse runner registration data
+  ansible.builtin.set_fact:
+    runner_reg: >
+      {{ (runner_file_content.content | b64decode | from_json)
+      if (runner_file_content is defined and runner_file_content.content is defined)
+      else {} }}
+  when: runner_file_stat.stat.exists | default(false) | bool
+
+- name: Deregister runner with Gitea via CLI
+  ansible.builtin.command: >
+    {{ gitea_runner_binary_path }} delete
+    --token {{ registration_token }}
+    --name {{ runner_name }}
+    --instance {{ gitea_url }}
+    --no-interactive
+  args:
+    chdir: "{{ gitea_runner_data_dir }}"
+  when:
+    - runner_file_stat.stat.exists | default(false) | bool
+    - not skip_runner_registration
+    - runner_mode == 'binary'
+  register: deregister_output
+  changed_when: deregister_output.rc == 0
+  failed_when: false
+
+- name: Deregister runner with Gitea via Docker
+  ansible.builtin.command: >
+    docker run --rm
+    --entrypoint /usr/local/bin/gitea-runner
+    -v {{ gitea_runner_data_dir }}:/data
+    -w /data
+    {{ gitea_runner_docker_image }}:{{ gitea_runner_version | regex_replace('^v', '') }}
+    delete
+    --token {{ registration_token }}
+    --name {{ runner_name }}
+    --instance {{ gitea_url }}
+    --no-interactive
+  when:
+    - runner_file_stat.stat.exists | default(false) | bool
+    - not skip_runner_registration
+    - runner_mode == 'docker'
+  register: deregister_docker_output
+  changed_when: deregister_docker_output.rc == 0
+  failed_when: false
+
+- name: Remove runner registration file
+  ansible.builtin.file:
+    path: "{{ gitea_runner_data_dir }}/.runner"
+    state: absent
+  when: runner_file_stat.stat.exists | default(false) | bool
diff --git a/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/docker_mode.yml b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/docker_mode.yml
index 853e74d..b636aa1 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/docker_mode.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/docker_mode.yml
@@ -44,26 +44,5 @@
   changed_when: "'already exists' not in register_output.stdout | default('')"
   timeout: 60
 
-- name: Check if gitea_runner container exists
-  ansible.builtin.command: docker inspect -f '{{ '{{' }} .State.Running {{ '}}' }}' gitea-runner-{{ runner_name }}
-  register: container_check
-  changed_when: false
-  failed_when: container_check.rc != 0 and 'no such object' not in container_check.stderr
-
-- name: Run gitea_runner daemon container
-  ansible.builtin.command: >
-    docker run -d
-    --name gitea-runner-{{ runner_name }}
-    --restart unless-stopped
-    --entrypoint /usr/local/bin/gitea-runner
-    -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
-    -v {{ gitea_runner_data_dir }}:/data
-    -w /data
-    {{ gitea_runner_docker_image }}:{{ gitea_runner_version | regex_replace('^v', '') }}
-    daemon
-    --config /data/config.yaml
-  when:
-    - container_check.rc != 0
-    - not skip_runner_registration
-  register: docker_run
-  changed_when: docker_run.rc == 0
+- name: Include service setup
+  ansible.builtin.include_tasks: service.yml
diff --git a/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/docker_update.yml b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/docker_update.yml
index a598735..549d322 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/docker_update.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/docker_update.yml
@@ -4,20 +4,9 @@
   changed_when: "'Downloaded newer image' in pull_result.stdout or 'Status: Downloaded' in pull_result.stdout"
   register: pull_result
 
-- name: Stop and remove existing gitea_runner container
-  ansible.builtin.command: docker rm -f gitea-runner-{{ runner_name }}
-  changed_when: remove.rc == 0
-  failed_when: remove.rc != 0 and 'No such container' not in remove.stderr
-  register: remove
-
-- name: Run updated gitea_runner daemon container
-  ansible.builtin.command: >
-    docker run -d
-    --name gitea-runner-{{ runner_name }}
-    --restart unless-stopped
-    -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
-    -v {{ gitea_runner_data_dir }}:/data
-    {{ gitea_runner_docker_image }}:{{ gitea_runner_version | regex_replace('^v', '') }} daemon
-    --config /data/config.yaml
-  register: docker_run
-  changed_when: docker_run.rc == 0
+- name: Restart gitea-runner systemd instance
+  ansible.builtin.systemd:
+    name: "gitea-runner@{{ runner_name }}"
+    state: restarted
+    daemon_reload: true
+  when: systemd_available.stat.exists
diff --git a/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/integration_test.yml b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/integration_test.yml
index 8e5a170..4999c6c 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/integration_test.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/integration_test.yml
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
 
 - name: Verify runner service active (Binary mode)
   ansible.builtin.systemd:
-    name: gitea-runner
+    name: "gitea-runner@{{ runner_name }}"
     state: started
   register: service_check
   when: runner_mode == 'binary'
diff --git a/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/service.yml b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/service.yml
index 9a158ba..c40cfa6 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/service.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/tasks/service.yml
@@ -1,16 +1,16 @@
 ---
-- name: Create systemd service file
+- name: Create systemd template service file
   ansible.builtin.template:
-    src: gitea-runner.service.j2
-    dest: "/etc/systemd/system/gitea-runner-{{ runner_name }}.service"
+    src: gitea-runner@.service.j2
+    dest: "/etc/systemd/system/gitea-runner@.service"
     mode: "0644"
   notify:
     - Reload systemd
     - Restart gitea-runner
 
-- name: Enable and start gitea-runner service
+- name: Enable and start gitea-runner instance
   ansible.builtin.systemd:
-    name: "gitea-runner-{{ runner_name }}"
+    name: "gitea-runner@{{ runner_name }}"
     state: started
     enabled: true
     daemon_reload: true
diff --git a/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/templates/gitea-runner@.service.j2 b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/templates/gitea-runner@.service.j2
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..52ee713
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/roles/gitea-runner/templates/gitea-runner@.service.j2
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Gitea Actions Runner %i ({% if runner_mode == 'docker' %}docker{% else %}binary{% endif %})
+After=network.target{% if runner_mode == 'docker' %} docker.service
+Requires=docker.service{% endif %}
+
+[Service]
+Type=simple
+{% if runner_mode == 'docker' %}
+ExecStartPre=-/usr/bin/docker rm -f gitea-runner-%i
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/docker run -d --name gitea-runner-%i \
+  --restart=no \
+  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
+  -v {{ gitea_runner_base_data_dir }}/%i:/data \
+  -w /data \
+  {{ gitea_runner_docker_image }}:{{ gitea_runner_version | regex_replace('^v', '') }} \
+  daemon --config /data/config.yaml
+ExecStop=/usr/bin/docker stop -t 30 gitea-runner-%i
+ExecStopPost=-/usr/bin/docker rm -f gitea-runner-%i
+Restart=on-failure
+RestartSec={{ gitea_runner_service_restart_sec }}
+{% else %}
+ExecStart={{ gitea_runner_binary_path }} daemon --config {{ gitea_runner_base_config_dir }}/%i/config.yaml
+WorkingDirectory={{ gitea_runner_base_data_dir }}/%i
+ExecStop=/bin/kill -TERM $MAINPID
+TimeoutStopSec=30
+Restart=on-failure
+RestartSec={{ gitea_runner_service_restart_sec }}
+User={{ gitea_runner_service_user }}
+Group=docker
+{% endif %}
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
diff --git a/ansible/start-runner.yml b/ansible/start-runner.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4008620
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/start-runner.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+---
+- name: Start Gitea Actions runner
+  hosts: all
+  become: true
+  vars: {}
+  tasks:
+    - name: Include systemd availability check
+      ansible.builtin.include_tasks: roles/gitea-runner/tasks/systemd_check.yml
+
+    - name: Check if runner is already registered
+      ansible.builtin.stat:
+        path: "{{ gitea_runner_data_dir | default('/var/lib/gitea-runner/' ~ runner_name) }}/.runner"
+      register: runner_registered
+
+    - name: Include registration if not registered
+      ansible.builtin.include_tasks: roles/gitea-runner/tasks/register.yml
+      when:
+        - not runner_registered.stat.exists
+        - not skip_runner_registration | default(false)
+
+    - name: Start gitea-runner systemd instance
+      ansible.builtin.systemd:
+        name: "gitea-runner@{{ runner_name }}"
+        state: started
+        daemon_reload: true
+      when: systemd_available.stat.exists
diff --git a/ansible/status-runner.yml b/ansible/status-runner.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8ccb666
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/status-runner.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+---
+- name: Status of Gitea Actions runner
+  hosts: all
+  become: true
+  vars: {}
+  tasks:
+    - name: Include systemd availability check
+      ansible.builtin.include_tasks: roles/gitea-runner/tasks/systemd_check.yml
+
+    - name: Check systemd status
+      ansible.builtin.systemd:
+        name: "gitea-runner@{{ runner_name }}"
+      register: service_status
+      when: systemd_available.stat.exists
+
+    - name: Report systemd status
+      ansible.builtin.debug:
+        msg: >
+          Service gitea-runner@{{ runner_name }}:
+          ActiveState={{ service_status.status.ActiveState | default('unknown') }},
+          SubState={{ service_status.status.SubState | default('unknown') }},
+          LoadState={{ service_status.status.LoadState | default('unknown') }}
+      when: systemd_available.stat.exists
+
+    - name: Check runner registration file
+      ansible.builtin.stat:
+        path: "{{ gitea_runner_data_dir | default('/var/lib/gitea-runner/' ~ runner_name) }}/.runner"
+      register: runner_file_stat
+
+    - name: Report runner registration
+      ansible.builtin.debug:
+        msg: "Runner registration file exists: {{ runner_file_stat.stat.exists | default(false) }}"
+
+    - name: Check container status (Docker mode)
+      ansible.builtin.shell: |
+        docker ps --filter "name=gitea-runner-{{ runner_name }}" --format "{{ '{{.Status}}' }}"
+      register: docker_check
+      changed_when: false
+      when: runner_mode | default('docker') == 'docker'
+
+    - name: Report container status
+      ansible.builtin.debug:
+        msg: "Container status: {{ docker_check.stdout | default('not running') }}"
+      when: runner_mode | default('docker') == 'docker'
diff --git a/ansible/stop-runner.yml b/ansible/stop-runner.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a30ec06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/stop-runner.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+- name: Stop Gitea Actions runner
+  hosts: all
+  become: true
+  vars: {}
+  tasks:
+    - name: Include systemd availability check
+      ansible.builtin.include_tasks: roles/gitea-runner/tasks/systemd_check.yml
+
+    - name: Stop gitea-runner systemd instance
+      ansible.builtin.systemd:
+        name: "gitea-runner@{{ runner_name }}"
+        state: stopped
+        daemon_reload: true
+      when: systemd_available.stat.exists