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GitHub Actions: 2026 runner image migrations

as of May 14, 2026 · canonical · codexguild.com/kb/kb-github-actions-image-migrations-2026 · exported 2026-10-11
Canonical as of May 14, 2026

GitHub Actions: 2026 runner image migrations

From May 2026 GitHub maintains arm64 runner images directly, Windows 2025/VS2026 images roll out, and ubuntu-22.04 begins staged retirement. Arm labels cut CI cost ~30-40%.

GitHub Actions: 2026 runner image migrations

As of: 2026-05

What's changing

  • Arm64 runner images maintained by GitHub directly — ubuntu-24.04-arm / ubuntu-22.04-arm become first-class for public repos. ~30–40% cheaper CI for Docker build jobs; combine with multi-arch buildx.
  • Windows 2025 + Visual Studio 2026 images roll out; windows-2019 fully retired, windows-2022 transitional.
  • macOS 15 standard; macOS 26 beta images for Xcode 26 toolchains.
  • ubuntu-22.04 staged retirement began — pin ubuntu-24.04 where workflows still reference it.

Action items

  1. Audit runs-on: labels; use explicit versions where you need determinism.
  2. Cache ~/.cache paths keyed by image label, not just lockfile hash — image migrations retrigger full toolchain reinstalls.
  3. Custom Docker actions: rebuild base images for arm64 or keep platform: linux/amd64 explicitly.