GitHub Actions February 2026 Update Complete Guide - Custom Runner Autoscaling, Enhanced Security, New Images

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Introduction to GitHub Actions: Easy Guide - DEV Community

📸 Introduction to GitHub Actions: Easy Guide - DEV Community

GitHub Actions February 2026 Update — What's New?

In early February 2026, GitHub announced a major update to the Actions platform. The core of this update focuses on three key areas: custom runner autoscaling (public preview), expanded security controls across all plans, and early access to new Windows and macOS runner images. Among these, the runner scale set client is particularly noteworthy as a game-changing feature for enterprise teams, enabling GitHub Actions runner autoscaling on self-hosted infrastructure without Kubernetes.

GitHub actions example - DEV Community

📸 GitHub actions example - DEV Community

1. GitHub Actions Runner Scale Set Client (Public Preview)

Teams that previously relied only on GitHub-hosted runners or Actions Runner Controller (ARC, Kubernetes-based) can now build custom autoscaling solutions without Kubernetes. The new runner scale set client is a standalone Go-based module that integrates directly with GitHub's scale set API.

GitHub Actions available! | SimpleLocalize

📸 GitHub Actions available! | SimpleLocalize

Key Features

  • Platform-Agnostic Design: Supports containers, virtual machines, and bare metal servers. Works with Windows, Linux, and macOS
  • Complete Provisioning Control: Teams define how runners are created, scaled, and destroyed
  • Native Multi-Label Support: Assign multiple labels to a single scale set → optimize resources for various build types
  • Agentic Scenario Support: Fully compatible with GitHub Copilot coding agent workflows
  • Real-Time Telemetry: Built-in metrics for monitoring job execution and runner performance
# Runner scale set client basic configuration example
runner_scale_set_config:
  github_config_url: "https://github.com/YOUR_ORG/YOUR_REPO"
  runner_scale_set_name: "custom-runners"
  max_runners: 20
  min_runners: 2
  runner_group: "Default"
  labels:
    - "self-hosted"
    - "linux"
    - "x64"
Actions Runner Controller - GitHub Docs

📸 Actions Runner Controller - GitHub Docs

Relationship with ARC

The scale set client is not a replacement for ARC (Actions Runner Controller). ARC remains the recommended solution for Kubernetes environments, while the scale set client offers a new option for environments outside of Kubernetes. Note that ARC's multi-label support is scheduled to be added in version 0.14.0 in March 2026.

2. Allowed Actions Settings — Expanded to All Plans

The Allowed Actions security control, previously available only on GitHub Enterprise Cloud and Server, is now available on all plans (including free).

How to Configure Allowed Actions

  • Allow All Actions: Default setting, all public actions can be used
  • Allow Local Actions Only: Only actions within the repository/organization can run
  • Allow Selectively: Only GitHub official actions, verified publisher actions, and specific actions are permitted
# .github/workflows/example.yml
# After setting organization policy to allow only specific actions
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4      # GitHub official ✅
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4    # GitHub official ✅
      # Unauthorized third-party actions will be blocked during workflow execution

This significantly reduces the risk of supply chain attacks. In fact, several GitHub Actions supply chain attack incidents that occurred in 2024 could have been prevented with this setting.

3. Early Access to New Runner Images

Windows Server 2025 + Visual Studio 2026

The windows-2025-vs2026 image is now in public preview as a GitHub-hosted runner. You can immediately leverage the latest Windows development stack in CI/CD, including .NET 10, WinUI 3, and MSIX packaging.

jobs:
  windows-build:
    runs-on: windows-2025-vs2026    # New image
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: .NET 10 build
        run: dotnet build --configuration Release

macOS 26 Intel Image

The macos-26 Intel image is also available for early access on GitHub-hosted runners. You can test iOS and macOS app builds in CI using Xcode 17.3 and the macOS 26 SDK.

jobs:
  ios-build:
    runs-on: macos-26              # New image
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: iOS app build
        run: xcodebuild build -scheme MyApp

GitHub Actions 2026 — Practical Tips

  • Optimize Runner Costs: Use scale set client with spot instances → save up to 70% on costs
  • Enhance Security: Manage allowed actions list at organization level → block unauthorized third-party actions
  • Agentic Workflows: Build AI-based automated PR creation and review pipelines with Copilot coding agents + scale set client
  • Early Adopter for New Images: Test builds with new images before production to pre-verify OS upgrade compatibility

Conclusion

The February 2026 GitHub Actions update is a meaningful release that simultaneously strengthens three pillars: infrastructure flexibility, security, and latest OS support. In particular, the runner scale set client opens up enterprise-grade autoscaling to small and medium teams that find Kubernetes adoption challenging. The expansion of security controls to free plans is also a feature that all teams interested in supply chain security can implement immediately.

📎 References

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