Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsYes. Organizations on GitHub Free can use runner groups with self-hosted runners. A runner group controls which repositories or organizations may use its runners; it does not make GitHub-hosted larger runners available on Free.
What runner groups do
A runner group collects self-hosted runners and sets an access boundary around them. Administrators can control which repositories or organizations may use a group, direct workflow jobs to a named group, and set concurrency limits to manage runner capacity. GitHub describes runner groups as a way to manage permissions and control access across an organization. GitHub’s October 17, 2024 announcement
Each runner group needs a repository-access policy. A newly registered runner goes into the default group unless a different group is specified; an administrator can move it later. GitHub’s runner-group documentation
How to restrict a self-hosted runner to selected repositories
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In your organization, open Settings, then go to Actions and Runner groups.
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Create a group or select an existing one, and configure its repository-access policy to allow only the repositories that should use its runners. The policy is the control that limits which repositories can access the group.
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Assign the self-hosted runner to that group. If it was registered into the default group, move it to the selected group.
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In the workflow job, target the group with
runs-on, for example:runs-on: { group: production-runners }. Use the group name you configured. GitHub documents routing jobs to a runner group in its workflow syntax guidance.
Use the narrowest repository policy that fits the workflow. A group setting determines who may use its runners; the workflow’s runs-on setting determines which group a job requests.
What Free includes—and what it does not
| Runner setup | GitHub Free organizations | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Runner groups for self-hosted runners | Available | Organizations on all plans, including Free, can create and manage additional groups. GitHub documentation |
| GitHub-hosted larger runners | Not available | GitHub lists larger runners as available only to organizations and enterprises on Team or Enterprise Cloud plans. GitHub larger-runner documentation |
The Free-plan announcement is specifically about grouping self-hosted runners. It should not be read as a change to eligibility for GitHub-hosted larger runners.
Security considerations for self-hosted runners
Runner groups restrict access, but they do not make untrusted workflow code safe to execute on a machine you manage. GitHub warns: “We recommend that you only use self-hosted runners with private repositories.” Its stated concern is that code from a fork of a public repository can run on a self-hosted machine through a pull request that executes workflow code. GitHub’s self-hosted runner security guidance
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Be especially cautious with workflows triggered by pull requests from forks of public repositories.
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Do not treat repository access controls as a substitute for assessing what code a workflow can execute on the runner.
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Use self-hosted runners only where you can manage the security exposure of the repository and its workflow triggers.
Self-hosted runner billing from March 1, 2026
GitHub’s December 16, 2025 pricing announcement says that, beginning March 1, 2026, self-hosted runner usage subject to the new cloud platform charge is billed at $0.002 per minute, counts against included plan minutes, and remains free for public repositories. This is a per-minute rate for applicable usage, not a claim that every self-hosted run is billed. Check GitHub’s announcement for the charge’s scope and terms: GitHub Actions pricing update.
This pricing change is separate from whether an organization can use runner groups: Free organizations can use groups with self-hosted runners, while runner-group access policies govern which repositories may use them.
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