This version of GitHub Enterprise Server will be discontinued on 2026-03-17. No patch releases will be made, even for critical security issues. For better performance, improved security, and new features, upgrade to the latest version of GitHub Enterprise Server. For help with the upgrade, contact GitHub Enterprise support.

GitHub-hosted runners

GitHub offers hosted virtual machines to run workflows. The virtual machine contains an environment of tools, packages, and settings available for GitHub Actions to use.

Note

GitHub Enterprise Server users should use self-hosted runners. GitHub-hosted runners are not supported.

Overview of GitHub-hosted runners

Runners are the machines that execute jobs in a GitHub Actions workflow. For example, a runner can clone your repository locally, install testing software, and then run commands that evaluate your code.

GitHub provides runners that you can use to run your jobs, or you can host your own runners. With the exception of single-CPU runners, each GitHub-hosted runner is a new virtual machine (VM) hosted by GitHub. Single-CPU runners are hosted in a container on a shared VM—see GitHub-hosted runners reference.

Each runner comes with the runner application and other tools preinstalled. GitHub-hosted runners are available with Ubuntu Linux, Windows, or macOS operating systems. When you use a GitHub-hosted runner, machine maintenance and upgrades are taken care of for you.