GitHub Actions' free macOS minutes, explained
GitHub Actions is GitHub's built-in CI/CD system — it spins up a fresh virtual machine, runs whatever commands you tell it to, and tears the machine down when it's done. It supports Linux, Windows, and macOS runners. The macOS runners are the interesting part here, because they're actual macOS machines with Xcode's command-line build tools available, which means they can build and sign iOS apps —…
GitHub Actions is a built-in Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment system offered by GitHub. This system spins up a fresh virtual machine, runs the commands you specify, and then tears down the machine once it's done. GitHub's CI/CD system supports Linux, Windows, and macOS runners.
The virtual macOS machines have Xcode's command-line build tools, enabling them to build and sign iOS apps. This is what sets them apart from Linux and Windows runners. On a public repository, standard GitHub-hosted runners - including macOS runners - are free, regardless of the plan you're on. This includes the free plan, which is a genuine free tier, not a trial or limited allowance.
However, this unlimited free usage doesn't apply to private repositories. Instead, private repositories receive a monthly allowance of free minutes based on your plan: 2,000 free minutes for Pro and Team plans, both with 3,000 minutes included. The catch is that macOS runners, which are needed for iOS builds, cost roughly 10 times more than Linux runners. Therefore, a 6-minute macOS build consumes the same allowance as roughly 60 minutes of Linux CI.
This means a private repo effectively gets around 200 macOS-runner-minutes worth of free build time per month on a free plan, before any additional charges apply. The same applies to Pro and Team plans, which get around 300 free macOS-runner-minutes per month.
The visibility of your repository (public or private) only changes the pricing of CI minutes, not the functionality of your pipeline. Signing certificates and credentials are kept secure in encrypted GitHub secrets, regardless of visibility. However, the Apple Developer Program fee, which costs $99/year, is a separate cost that you pay directly to Apple and is not related to GitHub's billing.
This explanation does not cover other costs like the Apple Developer Program fee, storage and artifact retention, or changes in GitHub's billing numbers. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, please refer to GitHub's current billing documentation.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
