Breaking changes
macos-26 is ready to become the default version for the macos-latest label in GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps.
Target date
This change will be rolled out over a period of several weeks beginning of June, 15th 2026. We plan to complete the migration by July 15th 2026.
The motivation for the changes
GitHub Actions have supported macos-26 in public preview since September 11, 2025, and starting from February 26, 2026 macos-26 is generally available for all customers. We have monitored customer feedback to improve the macos-26 image stability and now we are ready to set it as the latest.
Possible impact
Workflows and pipelines that depend on macOS-15-specific software may stop working.
Software difference between macOS-15 and macOS-26
| Tool name |
macOS 15 (arm64/x64) |
macOS 26 (arm64/x64) |
Notes |
| Xcode |
Xcode 16.4 (default); also 16.0–16.3 and 26.0.1/26.1.1/26.2/26.3 installed |
Xcode 26.4.1 (default); also 26.0.1/26.1.1/26.2/26.3/26.5 installed |
Default Xcode switches from 16.4 to 26.4.1. |
| Clang/LLVM (Xcode) |
Clang/LLVM 17.0.0 |
Clang/LLVM 21.0.0 |
The Xcode-provided Clang/LLVM is significantly newer on macOS-26. |
| Clang/LLVM (Homebrew) |
18.1.8 (via llvm@18) |
20.1.8 (via llvm@20) |
Homebrew LLVM major changes from 18 → 20. |
| Node.js (default) |
22.22.2 |
24.15.0 |
Default Node.js moves from 22 → 24. (Both images also have Node 24 in cached tools; macOS-15 additionally lists Node 20 in cached tools.) |
| Java |
11.0.30+7, 17.0.18+8, 21.0.11+10.0 (default), 25.0.3+9.0 |
11.0.31+11, 17.0.19+10, 21.0.11+10.0 (default), 25.0.3+9.0 |
Default stays Java 21. Java 11/17 patch versions update. |
| Android CLT |
16.0 |
16.0 |
No change. |
| Android SDK Build-tools |
37.0.0; 36.0.0/36.1.0; 35.0.0/35.0.1 |
37.0.0; 36.0.0/36.1.0; 35.0.0/35.0.1 |
No change in listed build-tools versions. |
| Android SDK Platforms / Platform-tools / NDK |
Platforms include android-37.0 etc; Platform-tools 37.0.0; NDK 27.3.13750724 (default) + 28.2.13676358 + 29.0.14206865 |
Same as macOS-15 |
No change. |
| .NET SDKs |
.NET Core SDK includes 8.0.420 (among others) and 9.0.313 |
.NET Core SDK includes 8.0.421 (among others) and 9.0.314; also includes 10.0.300 (not listed on macOS-15) |
Patch bumps (8.0.420→8.0.421, 9.0.313→9.0.314) and newer 10.0.300 appears on macOS-26. |
| Python3 |
3.14.4 |
3.14.5 |
Patch update. |
| Ruby |
3.3.11 |
3.4.9 |
Ruby major/minor shifts from 3.3 → 3.4. |
| NPM |
10.9.7 |
11.12.1 |
Major NPM update (10 → 11). |
| OpenSSL |
1.1.1w |
3.6.2 (Apr 7 2026) |
Major OpenSSL jump (1.1.1 → 3.x). This is commonly breaking for builds linking against system OpenSSL. |
Platforms affected
Runner images affected
Mitigation ways
If you see any issues with your workflows during this transition period:
- File an issue in this repository.
- Switch back to macOS-15 by specifying the
macos-15 label. We will continue to support macOS-15 for some time.
Breaking changes
macos-26is ready to become the default version for themacos-latestlabel in GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps.Target date
This change will be rolled out over a period of several weeks beginning of June, 15th 2026. We plan to complete the migration by July 15th 2026.
The motivation for the changes
GitHub Actions have supported
macos-26in public preview since September 11, 2025, and starting from February 26, 2026macos-26is generally available for all customers. We have monitored customer feedback to improve themacos-26image stability and now we are ready to set it as the latest.Possible impact
Workflows and pipelines that depend on macOS-15-specific software may stop working.
Software difference between macOS-15 and macOS-26
Platforms affected
Runner images affected
Mitigation ways
If you see any issues with your workflows during this transition period:
macos-15label. We will continue to support macOS-15 for some time.