Runner capabilities
Compare optional RunsOn runner capabilities across Linux, Windows, Flex, and Fleet.
Capabilities are optional features you can layer on top of a runner. In Flex, a workflow usually opts in with a job label. In Fleet, the platform team enables them on a Terraform-owned runner fleet. Integration-specific guides document exceptions such as Dependabot and CodeQL code scanning, which also require GitHub settings.
Platform availability#
| Capability | Linux | Windows | Flex | Fleet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Static IPs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Nested virtualization | KVM, x64 | Hyper-V, x64 | Yes | Yes |
| Remote access | SSM and SSH | SSM and SSH | Yes | Yes |
| AI agents | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Local storage (NVMe) | Yes, on instance-store types (usually d variants) | Yes, on instance-store types (usually d variants) | Yes | Yes |
| YOLO mode (tmpfs) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Shared volumes (EFS) | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Sticky disks (EBS) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Docker Hub pull-through | Transparent mirror | Explicit ECR paths | Terraform only | Yes |
| Local OTEL collector | OTLP/HTTP | OTLP/HTTP | Yes | Yes |
Some capabilities also depend on the selected EC2 instance type, runner image, or stack configuration. Each guide lists those requirements.
Static IPs Static egress IPs for RunsOn Flex and Fleet runners through private subnets, NAT gateways, and Elastic IPs. Local storage (NVMe) Use local NVMe on EC2 instance-store types for build workspaces, temporary files, and Docker layers on Linux and Windows. YOLO mode (tmpfs) How to use the tmpfs feature with RunsOn, for faster builds Shared volumes (EFS) How to use the EFS file system with RunsOn, for storing files across GitHub Actions workflow jobs Sticky disks (EBS) Keep build caches on a persistent EBS disk and restore them at native filesystem speed on Flex and Fleet. CodeQL code scanning Run GitHub CodeQL code scanning on RunsOn Fleet or Flex self-hosted runners, with default setup or advanced setup. Dependabot Run Dependabot update jobs on RunsOn Flex or Fleet self-hosted runners. Docker Hub pull-through Mirror Docker Hub and other public registries through ECR in your own account, so runners pull images over the VPC and never hit 429 rate limits. Local OTEL collector Send workflow traces, logs, and metrics to the local OTLP endpoint on RunsOn runners. RunsOn captures them and forwards them to your backend. Nested virtualization When to use Linux KVM or Windows Hyper-V inside RunsOn runners, and the EC2 constraints that matter. Remote access Use SSM and optional SSH access to troubleshoot RunsOn Flex and Fleet runner instances. AI agents Run AI-assisted CI on RunsOn runners — IAM access to invoke Amazon Bedrock models, and self-hosted execution for GitHub's Copilot coding agent.