Microsoft brings Windows on Arm runner support to GitHub Actions for all public repositories

Remember when self-hosted runners for Windows on Arm first came out back in September 2022? At the time, it was a niche but important step for teams working with Arm-based Windows devices.

Before that, if you wanted to test or build software on Windows running on Arm hardware, you had to set up your own infrastructure from scratch, often relying on workarounds or separate machines. The release of those self-hosted runners gave developers a way to bring Arm into their CI workflows without reinventing the wheel.

Then, in mid-2024, GitHub started a public beta for Arm-based Linux and Windows runners, and by September 2024, the concept had grown more robust with general availability.

Now, Microsoft is expanding the Windows on Arm runner support to all public GitHub repositories, including accounts on the GitHub Free tier. This announcement comes months after Microsoft made the Windows on Arm ISO available for download.

Redmond has been investing in improving the tools you need to target Arm-powered Copilot+ PCs. The new Windows 11 Arm image for GitHub runners comes with a whole host of tools and software for various development environments.

For example, if you are a C# developer using Visual Studio tools, setting up a workflow is as simple as adding the "windows-11-arm" runner target in your YAML file.

Here are some key benefits Microsoft highlighted:

1. Expanded Architecture Support: With the continued growth of Windows on Arm devices, especially the Qualcomm powered Copilot+ PCs, developers can easily extend support to this platform without requiring additional infrastructure.
2. Improved Continuous Integration Workflows: Adding Arm runners to your pipeline allows for consistent testing and building across both Arm and Intel architectures to pick up regressions as early as possible.
3. Direct Benefits for Open-source Projects: The availability of Arm runners for all public repositories, including free tier accounts, reinforces GitHub’s commitment to supporting innovation in the open-source community.

Windows on Arm itself has been receiving a lot of attention lately, especially from developers. Just weeks ago, Google expanded Drive for Windows on Arm to the stable channel, following a host of other apps like Signal and Adobe Illustrator.