GitHub Actions retires the macOS 14 runner image on 2 November 2026, with failing brownout windows from 5 October

GitHub Actions retires the macOS 14 runner image on 2 November 2026, with failing brownout windows from 5 October

2 October 2026 — GitHub said on 1 October 2026 that the macOS 14 image for GitHub-hosted Actions runners is retired on 2 November 2026. The labels affected are macos-14, macos-14-large and macos-14-xlarge. Before that date GitHub runs scheduled brownouts, during which jobs that ask for those labels fail, so that teams find the workflows they missed.

Not yet independently verified. This rests on GitHub’s own changelog; no independent report was checked. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

The brownout windows

Each brownout runs from 14:00 UTC to 00:00 UTC the next day:

• 5 to 6 October
• 12 to 13 October
• 16 to 17 October
• 19 to 20 October
• 23 to 24 October
• 26 to 27 October
• 29 to 30 October
• 30 to 31 October

For teams in Asia the windows fall in the evening and night; in the Americas they cover most of the working day.

Where to move

GitHub recommends macos-latest (now macOS 26) or macos-15, and for larger runners macos-latest-xlarge (macOS 26) or macos-15-xlarge. A move across two macOS versions can change the default Xcode, SDKs and preinstalled tools, so build iOS and macOS apps on the new image before the first brownout rather than during it.

A second change on the same day

GitHub also said that check, workflow-run and status records now follow the single Actions retention setting ("Check, workflow run, status, artifact and log retention"), with clean-up effective from 1 October 2026, and that changing the setting does not bring back data already deleted. If audits or release evidence depend on old check results, export them or raise the retention period now.

What to do

• Search every repository for runs-on: macos-14 (including the large and xlarge labels) and matrix entries that include it.
• Pin the replacement deliberately: macos-15 for predictability, macos-latest if you accept moving with GitHub's default.
• Run the changed workflows before 5 October, and fix Xcode or SDK selection where builds break.
• Check self-hosted pools too, if they mirror GitHub's labels.
• Review your Actions retention setting against what auditors or customers expect you to keep.

Sources

• GitHub changelog: GitHub Actions macOS 14 runner image retirement — 1 October 2026
• GitHub changelog: Actions retention now covers checks, runs and statuses — 1 October 2026