Linux self-hosted runners

If you want to self-host GitHub Actions runners for Linux on AWS, RunsOn supports both native x64 and arm64 runners, irrespective of your GitHub plan (even with free plans).

For instance if you want to use a 2cpu x64 runner, your workflow file would look like this:

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: runs-on=${{ github.run_id }}/runner=2cpu-linux-x64
    steps:
      - run: echo "Hello from x64!"

For an arm64 runner, you would use:

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: runs-on=${{ github.run_id }}/runner=2cpu-linux-arm64
    steps:
      - run: echo "Hello from arm64!"

The list of predefined runner names is available below, although most users will customize their runners to use a specific number of CPUs, memory, volume size, etc. using the Custom runners capabilities.

Default runners

Default images

You can opt into a specific image by setting the image label in your workflow.

x64

arm64

In case you specify the image label, make sure you have a family label that specifies instance types that support your image architecture. For instance:

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: runs-on=${{ github.run_id }}/image=ubuntu24-full-arm64/family=c7g+m7g

Custom runners

You can also create your own custom runners using inline runs-on: labels in your workflow, or by referencing a custom runner name created in the repository configuration file.

For more details:

• See the Job labels section.
• See the Repository configuration section.

Custom images

Every runner launches from an AMI. Default runners are launched using a public AMI managed by RunsOn, but you can also build and use your own custom AMIs if you’d like better control, or preinstall specific software.

For more details:

• See the Custom images section.

Examples

Disable spot pricing for critical jobs:

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: runs-on=${{ github.run_id }}/runner=2cpu-linux-x64/spot=false

Only allow instances with 4 CPUs from compute-optimized families:

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: runs-on=${{ github.run_id }}/runner=4cpu-linux-x64/family=c7

Use ubuntu22 image instead of default ubuntu24:

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: runs-on=${{ github.run_id }}/runner=2cpu-linux-x64/image=ubuntu22-full-x64

Fully custom runs-on definition, instance is launched in private subnet with static egress IP:

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: runs-on=${{ github.run_id }}/family=m7+c7+r7/image=ubuntu24-full-x64/spot=false/ssh=false/private=true

Quotas

Note that new AWS accounts have low quotas set by default for standard instances, so you might need to request an increase if you plan on launching many jobs.

How to request an increase

1. Search for “Quotas” in the AWS console.
2. Click on “Request quota increase”.
3. Select “EC2” as the service.
4. Select “G” as the instance type.
5. Fill in the form and submit (remember that you request vCPUs, not instance count).
6. Repeat for both spot and on-demand quotas.

Finding the right instance

Need help choosing the right instance type for your workload? Use the instance finder ↗ to quickly find AWS instances matching your CPU, RAM, and architecture requirements.