Add Ubuntu 26.04 (Resolute) GitHub Runner

[reneleonhardt]

Why are you starting this discussion?

Product Feedback

What GitHub Actions topic or product is this about?

Actions Runner Image

Discussion Details

We saw the extremely slow adoption of Ubuntu 24.04 after it's release due to several bugs two years ago.
Early availability of ubuntu-26.04-beta images for amd64 and arm64 would make upgrading and collecting feedback much easier.

Ubuntu 26.04 is in Feature Freeze, Beta is planned for 2026-03-23 (in one month), Final for 2026-04-23 (in two months).
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/ubuntu-26-04-lts-the-roadmap/72740
https://packages.ubuntu.com/search?suite=resolute&section=all&arch=any&searchon=names&keywords=libc

Please note that Beta images like ubuntu-slim and macos-26 are nothing new for GitHub Runners.
https://github.blog/changelog/2025-10-28-1-vcpu-linux-runner-now-available-in-github-actions-in-public-preview/
https://github.com/actions/runner-images#beta

The purpose of a Beta is to collect feedback on an image before it is released to GA.
The goal of a Beta is to identify and fix any potential issues that exist on that image.
Customers choosing to use Beta images are encouraged to provide feedback in the runner-images repo by creating an issue.

Some of the new features are AMD ROCm native packages for improved performance and AI workloads.

Key Server Features

Better performance for cloud and DevOps workloads includes optimized networking, storage, and container support, making it ideal for production servers. Enhanced virtualization and long-term kernel stability ensure reliability for hosting applications and infrastructure.

Security Enhancements

Expect stronger defaults like memory-safe Rust-based utilities (e.g., sudo-rs), improved sandboxing, TPM-backed encryption, and updated OpenSSH/OpenSSL with post-quantum algorithms. Intel Trust Domain Extensions add secure, isolated VMs using AES-128 hardware encryption.

Performance Optimizations

Improved boot speed, system responsiveness, and amd64v3 packages optimize newer CPUs for faster apps and efficiency, while maintaining older hardware support. This benefits server tasks like DevOps without disrupting stability.

https://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/releases/26.04/

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[reneleonhardt]

Update 2026-02-27:
Last Snapshot 4 released https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2026-February/043504.html

Now that we're in feature freeze, I'll request y'all to start squashing all the bugs you'd like to see fixed for the 26.04 LTS final release.