diff --git a/ansible/playbooks/09_gitea_setup.yml b/ansible/playbooks/09_gitea_setup.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9b158fe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/playbooks/09_gitea_setup.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+---
+- name: Deploy Gitea and Act Runner on Utility VM
+  hosts: utility.lab.local
+  gather_facts: true
+  become: false
+
+  vars:
+    gitea_container_dir: "/home/{{ admin_user }}/containers/gitea"
+    runner_dir: "/home/{{ admin_user }}/containers/act_runner"
+
+  tasks:
+    - name: Create Gitea persistent volume directories
+      ansible.builtin.file:
+        path: "{{ item }}"
+        state: directory
+      loop:
+        - "{{ gitea_container_dir }}/data"
+        - "{{ gitea_container_dir }}/config"
+
+    - name: Deploy pre-seeded Gitea Configuration
+      become: true
+      ansible.builtin.template:
+        src: "./templates/app.ini.j2"
+        dest: "{{ gitea_container_dir }}/config/app.ini"
+        owner: 100999
+        group: 100999
+        mode: "0644"
+
+    - name: Enable systemd lingering for the administrator user
+      become: true
+      ansible.builtin.command:
+        cmd: "loginctl enable-linger {{ admin_user }}"
+      changed_when: false
+
+    - name: Deploy Gitea Systemd Service
+      become: true
+      ansible.builtin.template:
+        src: "./templates/gitea.service.j2"
+        dest: "/etc/systemd/system/gitea.service"
+        mode: "0644"
+
+    - name: Enable and start Gitea system service
+      become: true
+      ansible.builtin.systemd_service:
+        name: gitea.service
+        state: restarted
+        enabled: true
+        daemon_reload: true
+
+    - name: Wait for Gitea to become responsive
+      ansible.builtin.wait_for:
+        port: 3000
+        delay: 2
+        timeout: 60
+
+
+    - name: Install build tool dependencies
+      become: true
+      ansible.builtin.package:
+        name:
+          - unzip
+          - git
+          - python3-pip
+        state: present
+
+    - name: Install Ansible-Lint via pip
+      become: true
+      ansible.builtin.pip:
+        name: ansible-lint
+        state: present
+        extra_args: --break-system-packages
+
+    - name: Download and install Terraform CLI
+      become: true
+      ansible.builtin.unarchive:
+        src: "https://releases.hashicorp.com/terraform/1.8.5/terraform_1.8.5_linux_amd64.zip"
+        dest: "/usr/local/bin"
+        remote_src: true
+        mode: "0755"
+
+    - name: Download and install TFLint
+      become: true
+      ansible.builtin.unarchive:
+        src: "https://github.com/terraform-linters/tflint/releases/download/v0.50.1/tflint_linux_amd64.zip"
+        dest: "/usr/local/bin"
+        remote_src: true
+        mode: "0755"
+
+
+    - name: Create Gitea Runner directories
+      become: true
+      ansible.builtin.file:
+        path: "{{ item.path }}"
+        state: directory
+        owner: "{{ item.owner }}"
+        group: "{{ item.owner }}"
+        mode: "0755"
+      loop:
+        - { path: "{{ runner_dir }}", owner: "{{ admin_user }}" }
+        - { path: "/etc/act_runner", owner: "root" }
+
+    - name: Deploy Gitea Runner config file
+      become: true
+      ansible.builtin.template:
+        src: "./templates/act_runner_config.yaml.j2"
+        dest: "/etc/act_runner/config.yaml"
+        mode: "0644"
+
+    - name: Download Gitea Runner binary
+      become: true
+      ansible.builtin.get_url:
+        url: "https://dl.gitea.com/gitea-runner/2.1.0/gitea-runner-2.1.0-linux-amd64"
+        dest: "/usr/local/bin/gitea-runner"
+        mode: "0755"
+
+    - name: Generate Gitea runner registration token
+      ansible.builtin.command:
+        cmd: "podman exec -w / -u git gitea gitea --config /etc/gitea/app.ini actions generate-runner-token"
+      register: gitea_runner_token_cmd
+      changed_when: false
+
+    - name: Check if Gitea Runner is already registered
+      ansible.builtin.stat:
+        path: "{{ runner_dir }}/.runner"
+      register: runner_state_file
+
+    - name: Register Gitea Runner with Gitea
+      ansible.builtin.command:
+        cmd: >
+          /usr/local/bin/gitea-runner register
+          --instance http://localhost:3000
+          --token {{ gitea_runner_token_cmd.stdout | trim }}
+          --name utility-runner
+          --labels "linux_amd64:host,self-hosted:host"
+          --no-interactive
+        chdir: "{{ runner_dir }}"
+      when: not runner_state_file.stat.exists
+
+    - name: Deploy Gitea Runner Systemd Service
+      become: true
+      ansible.builtin.template:
+        src: "./templates/act_runner.service.j2"
+        dest: "/etc/systemd/system/act_runner.service"
+        mode: "0644"
+
+    - name: Enable and start Gitea Runner service
+      become: true
+      ansible.builtin.systemd_service:
+        name: act_runner.service
+        state: restarted
+        enabled: true
+        daemon_reload: true
diff --git a/ansible/playbooks/templates/act_runner.service.j2 b/ansible/playbooks/templates/act_runner.service.j2
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..56d095e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/playbooks/templates/act_runner.service.j2
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Gitea Act Runner
+After=network-online.target gitea.service
+Wants=gitea.service
+
+[Service]
+Type=simple
+User={{ admin_user }}
+Group={{ admin_user }}
+WorkingDirectory=/home/{{ admin_user }}/containers/act_runner
+ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/gitea-runner daemon --config /etc/act_runner/config.yaml
+Restart=always
+RestartSec=10
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
diff --git a/ansible/playbooks/templates/act_runner_config.yaml.j2 b/ansible/playbooks/templates/act_runner_config.yaml.j2
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7b8f01b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/playbooks/templates/act_runner_config.yaml.j2
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+log:
+    level: info
+
+runner:
+    file: .runner
+    capacity: 2
+    envs: {}
+    timeout: 3h
+
+container:
+    network: ""
+
+host:
+    enable: true
diff --git a/ansible/playbooks/templates/app.ini.j2 b/ansible/playbooks/templates/app.ini.j2
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b0bbaff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/playbooks/templates/app.ini.j2
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+APP_NAME = Gitea: Git with a cup of tea
+RUN_USER = git
+RUN_MODE = prod
+
+[database]
+DB_TYPE = sqlite3
+PATH = /var/lib/gitea/data/gitea.db
+
+[repository]
+ROOT = /var/lib/gitea/git/repositories
+
+[server]
+SSH_DOMAIN = 172.30.1.80
+HTTP_PORT = 3000
+ROOT_URL = http://172.30.1.80:3000/
+DISABLE_SSH = false
+SSH_PORT = 2222
+LFS_START_SERVER = true
+
+[security]
+INSTALL_LOCK = true
+SECRET_KEY = {{ gitea_secret_key | default('GiteaSecretKeyChangeMeDefault123') }}
+
+[service]
+DISABLE_REGISTRATION = false
diff --git a/ansible/playbooks/templates/gitea.service.j2 b/ansible/playbooks/templates/gitea.service.j2
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..48f9b5a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/playbooks/templates/gitea.service.j2
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Gitea Git Server
+After=network-online.target
+Wants=network-online.target
+
+[Service]
+Type=simple
+User={{ admin_user }}
+Group={{ admin_user }}
+WorkingDirectory=/home/{{ admin_user }}/containers/gitea
+ExecStartPre=-/usr/bin/podman rm -f gitea
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/podman run --name gitea --rm \
+    -p 3000:3000 \
+    -p 2222:22 \
+    -v /home/{{ admin_user }}/containers/gitea/data:/var/lib/gitea:z,U \
+    -v /home/{{ admin_user }}/containers/gitea/config:/etc/gitea:z,U \
+    -e GITEA__security__INSTALL_LOCK=true \
+    -e GITEA__database__DB_TYPE=sqlite3 \
+    -e GITEA__database__PATH=/var/lib/gitea/data/gitea.db \
+    docker.io/gitea/gitea:1.22-rootless
+ExecStop=/usr/bin/podman -t 10 gitea
+ExecStopPost=-/usr/bin/podman rm -f gitea
+Restart=always
+RestartSec=10
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
diff --git a/ansible/site.yml b/ansible/site.yml
index 1a94cf3..f26ad34 100644
--- a/ansible/site.yml
+++ b/ansible/site.yml
@@ -26,3 +26,7 @@
 - name: Grafana/Prometheus Setup
   import_playbook: ./playbooks/07_observability.yml
   tags: observability
+
+- name: Gitea & Act Runner Setup
+  import_playbook: ./playbooks/09_gitea_setup.yml
+  tags: gitea