depot-github-runners

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Translated

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.

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Sourcedepot/skills
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NPX Install

npx skill4agent add depot/skills depot-github-runners

Tags

Translated version includes tags in frontmatter
github-actions-runnersdepot-managed-runnersci-cd-optimizationcache-configurationtroubleshooting

SKILL.md Content

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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).

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

Runner Labels

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

Ubuntu (Intel x86 — AMD EPYC)

LabelCPUsRAMDisk$/min
depot-ubuntu-24.04
28 GB100 GB$0.004
depot-ubuntu-24.04-4
416 GB130 GB$0.008
depot-ubuntu-24.04-8
832 GB150 GB$0.016
depot-ubuntu-24.04-16
1664 GB180 GB$0.032
depot-ubuntu-24.04-32
32128 GB200 GB$0.064
depot-ubuntu-24.04-64
64256 GB250 GB$0.128
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

LabelCPUsRAM$/min
depot-windows-2025
28 GB$0.008
depot-windows-2025-4
416 GB$0.016
depot-windows-2025-8
through 
-64
8–6432–256 GB$0.032–$0.256
Windows Server 2022 also available: 
depot-windows-2022
, etc. Windows limitation: No Hyper-V. Docker does not work on Windows runners.

macOS (Apple M2)

LabelCPUsRAM$/min
depot-macos-15
/ 
depot-macos-latest
824 GB$0.08
depot-macos-14
824 GB$0.08
macOS is NOT fully elastic — fixed pool with FIFO queuing. Startup plan+ only.

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):
ToolWhat'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 ::
moonrepoEnv 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

yaml
runs-on: depot-ubuntu-latest,dagger=0.15.1
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. Not supported on macOS or Windows. Incompatible with 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

ErrorFix
"No space left on device"OS uses ~70 GB disk; upgrade to larger runner or clean disk in workflow
"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 startingVerify single runner label; check runner group allows the repo; verify Depot GitHub App permissions
Stuck workflowsForce cancel via GitHub API: 
POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/actions/runs/{id}/force-cancel