---
name: depot-github-runners
description: >
  Configures Depot-managed GitHub Actions runners as a drop-in replacement for GitHub-hosted
  runners. Use when setting up or migrating GitHub Actions workflows to use Depot runners,
  choosing runner sizes (CPU/RAM), configuring runs-on labels, setting up ARM or Windows or
  macOS runners, troubleshooting GitHub Actions runner issues, configuring egress filtering,
  using Depot Cache with GitHub Actions, or running Dagger/Dependabot on Depot runners.
  Also use when the user mentions depot-ubuntu, depot-windows, depot-macos runner labels,
  or asks about faster/cheaper GitHub Actions runners. Not for Depot CI, the separate engine
  that reads .depot/workflows/ — that is the depot-ci skill.
---

# Depot GitHub Actions Runners

Depot provides managed, ephemeral, single-tenant GitHub Actions runners. Drop-in replacement for GitHub-hosted runners — change the `runs-on` label and everything else stays the same.

**Requirement:** Repository must be owned by a GitHub organization (not a personal account).

<!-- PostHog-local section. Keep it when resyncing from upstream; see UPSTREAM.md. -->

## Depot runners are not Depot CI

Depot runners keep GitHub Actions as the engine, so the workflow lives in `.github/workflows/` and the checks still come from the `github-actions` app.
Depot CI is a different product: it reads `.depot/workflows/`, which GitHub Actions ignores, and posts its own check runs from the `depot-code-access` app.
Use the `depot-ci` skill for that one.

Its [references/posthog-check-run-semantics.md](../depot-ci/references/posthog-check-run-semantics.md) compares what each engine reports for a skipped, empty-matrix or `continue-on-error` job, and how GitHub and the Trunk merge queue score those conclusions.

<!-- End PostHog-local section. -->

## Setup

1. Depot dashboard → GitHub Actions → Connect to GitHub → Install Depot GitHub App
2. For public repos: GitHub org settings → Actions → Runner groups → Default → "Allow public repositories"
3. Update `runs-on` in your workflow files

## Org Context Check for Multi-Org Users

If a user belongs to multiple organizations and expected repos/settings/runners are not visible, verify Depot org context first:

```bash
depot org show              # Current org ID
depot org list              # Orgs the user belongs to
depot org switch <org-id>   # Optional: set default org
```

For commands that support it, pass `--org <org-id>` to target the org where the workflow/repo lives.

## Runner Labels

Use a single label. Format: `depot-{os}-{version}[-{arch}][-{size}]`

### Ubuntu (x86, AMD)

| Label                   | CPUs | RAM    | Disk   | $/min  | Minutes multiplier |
| ----------------------- | ---- | ------ | ------ | ------ | ------------------ |
| `depot-ubuntu-24.04`    | 2    | 8 GB   | 100 GB | $0.004 | 1x                 |
| `depot-ubuntu-24.04-4`  | 4    | 16 GB  | 130 GB | $0.008 | 2x                 |
| `depot-ubuntu-24.04-8`  | 8    | 32 GB  | 150 GB | $0.016 | 4x                 |
| `depot-ubuntu-24.04-16` | 16   | 64 GB  | 180 GB | $0.032 | 8x                 |
| `depot-ubuntu-24.04-32` | 32   | 128 GB | 200 GB | $0.064 | 16x                |
| `depot-ubuntu-24.04-64` | 64   | 256 GB | 250 GB | $0.128 | 32x                |

The minutes multiplier is the billing driver: billed minutes = elapsed minutes × multiplier, so larger runners consume your included minutes faster.

Ubuntu 22.04 also available: `depot-ubuntu-22.04`, `depot-ubuntu-22.04-4`, etc.

### Ubuntu (ARM — Graviton4)

Same sizes and pricing as Intel. Add `-arm` suffix:
`depot-ubuntu-24.04-arm`, `depot-ubuntu-24.04-arm-4`, `depot-ubuntu-24.04-arm-8`, etc.

### Windows Server

| Label                                | CPUs | RAM       | $/min         | Minutes multiplier |
| ------------------------------------ | ---- | --------- | ------------- | ------------------ |
| `depot-windows-2025`                 | 2    | 8 GB      | $0.008        | 2x                 |
| `depot-windows-2025-4`               | 4    | 16 GB     | $0.016        | 4x                 |
| `depot-windows-2025-8` through `-64` | 8–64 | 32–256 GB | $0.032–$0.256 | 8x–64x             |

Windows Server 2022 also available: `depot-windows-2022`, etc.
**Windows limitation:** No Hyper-V (AWS EC2 limitation), so Docker workloads that require it are unlikely to work.

### macOS (Apple M2 on macOS 14/15, M4 on macOS 26)

| Label                                   | CPUs | RAM   | Disk   | $/min |
| --------------------------------------- | ---- | ----- | ------ | ----- |
| `depot-macos-26`                        | 8    | 24 GB | 400 GB | $0.08 |
| `depot-macos-15` / `depot-macos-latest` | 8    | 24 GB | 400 GB | $0.08 |
| `depot-macos-14`                        | 8    | 24 GB | 400 GB | $0.08 |

macOS is NOT fully elastic — fixed pool with FIFO queuing.

### Aliases

`depot-ubuntu-latest` → Ubuntu 24.04, `depot-windows-latest` → Windows 2025, `depot-macos-latest` → macOS 15

## Migration Example

```yaml
jobs:
  build:
    # Before:
    # runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    # After:
    runs-on: depot-ubuntu-24.04-4
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test
```

## Common Mistakes

```yaml
# ❌ WRONG — multiple labels cause stability issues
runs-on: [self-hosted, depot-ubuntu-24.04]

# ✅ CORRECT — always use a single Depot runner label
runs-on: depot-ubuntu-24.04-4
```

## Caching

Actions using the GitHub Actions cache API automatically use **Depot Cache** — no config changes needed. This includes `actions/cache`, `actions/setup-node`, `actions/setup-python`, `actions/setup-java`, and any action using `@actions/cache`.

**Pre-configured build tool caches** (zero config on Depot runners):

| Tool      | What's pre-configured                                          |
| --------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Turborepo | `TURBO_API` env var set — just run `turbo build`               |
| Bazel     | `~/.bazelrc` pre-populated — just run `bazel build //...`      |
| sccache   | `SCCACHE_WEBDAV_ENDPOINT` set — use `RUSTC_WRAPPER: 'sccache'` |
| Maven     | `settings.xml` pre-populated (cache id `depot-cache`)          |
| Pants     | `pants.toml` pre-configured — just run `pants package ::`      |
| moonrepo  | Env vars set — just run `moon run build`                       |

Cache behavior: repository-scoped, no branch isolation, encrypted, up to 1000 MiB/s throughput, configurable retention (7/14/30 days).

To disable auto-cache: org settings → turn off "Allow Actions jobs to automatically connect to Depot Cache."

## Dagger Integration

**Deprecated:** Dagger Engine support on Depot GitHub Actions Runners is being deprecated and will be removed in a future update. Don't recommend this integration for new workflows.

```yaml
runs-on: depot-ubuntu-latest,dagger=0.18.4
```

Launches a dedicated Dagger Engine VM with persistent NVMe cache. Dagger CLI pre-installed. Additional $0.04/min.

## Egress Filtering (Linux Only)

Configure in org settings → GitHub Actions Runners → Egress Rules. Set default rule to Allow or Deny, then add specific allow/deny rules for IPs, CIDRs, or hostnames. Deny rules take precedence over Allow rules. Loopback traffic (127.0.0.1, ::1) is always allowed, and Depot auto-allowlists depot.dev domains, GitHub Actions service IPs, and AWS service IPs. Hostnames in rules are resolved and pinned in `/etc/hosts`. Container builds with `depot build` work with egress filtering enabled — Depot adds BuildKit machine IPs to the allowlist as they're allocated. Not supported on macOS or Windows. Incompatible with Tailscale.

## Access Private Endpoints with Tailscale

Use Tailscale when jobs need to reach private services (internal APIs, databases, private subnets) without static IP allowlists.

How it works on Depot:

- Depot GitHub Actions runners join your tailnet as ephemeral nodes at job start.
- Access is controlled with your Tailscale ACLs (recommended tag: `tag:depot-runner`).
- No workflow YAML changes are required just to connect runners to private endpoints.

Setup:

1. In Tailscale ACLs, create a runner tag (for example `tag:depot-runner`) under `tagOwners`.
2. Create a Tailscale OAuth client with `Keys > Auth Keys` write scope and choose that tag.
3. In Depot org settings, open Tailscale settings and connect using the OAuth client ID/secret.
4. Add ACLs allowing `tag:depot-runner` to access target hosts/subnets.

ACL examples:

```json
{
  "acls": [
    {
      "action": "accept",
      "src": ["tag:depot-runner"],
      "dst": ["database-hostname"]
    }
  ]
}
```

```json
{
  "acls": [
    {
      "action": "accept",
      "src": ["tag:depot-runner"],
      "dst": ["192.0.2.0/24:*"]
    }
  ]
}
```

Reference docs:

- https://depot.dev/docs/github-actions/how-to-guides/access-private-resources
- https://depot.dev/docs/integrations/tailscale

## Dependabot

Enable "Dependabot on self-hosted runners" in GitHub org settings. Jobs auto-run on `depot-ubuntu-latest`.

**Important:** OIDC is not supported for Dependabot. Use `token:` input with a `DEPOT_TOKEN` secret instead.

## SSH Debugging

```yaml
steps:
  - uses: actions/checkout@v4
  - uses: mxschmitt/action-tmate@v3
  - run: npm test
```

## Troubleshooting

| Error                                                                    | Fix                                                                                                                                  |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| "No space left on device"                                                | OS uses ~70 GB disk; upgrade to larger runner or clean disk in workflow                                                              |
| "Failed to open the device 'kvm'" / "Could not access KVM kernel module" | Runners don't provide `/dev/kvm`; move KVM/QEMU/Android-emulator jobs to Depot CI, where nested virtualization is enabled by default |
| "Lost communication with server"                                         | Check status.depot.dev; check org usage caps                                                                                         |
| "Operation was canceled"                                                 | Manual cancel, concurrency cancel-in-progress, or OOM — check memory in dashboard                                                    |
| "Unable to get ACTIONS_ID_TOKEN_REQUEST_URL"                             | Dependabot doesn't support OIDC — use `DEPOT_TOKEN` secret                                                                           |
| Workflows not starting                                                   | Verify single runner label; check runner group allows the repo; verify Depot GitHub App permissions                                  |
| Stuck workflows                                                          | Force cancel via GitHub API: `POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/runs/{id}/force-cancel`                                             |