Which Windows Versions Do Runners Support?

WarpBuild Windows GitHub Actions runners run two Windows Server versions: Windows Server 2022, which the warp-windows-latest-x64- labels resolve to today, and Windows Server 2025, which has its own dated labels. Every Windows label is x86-64 and every image family runs the same four shapes, 4, 8, 16, and 32 vCPU, priced from $0.016 to $0.128 per minute (cloud runners documentation, checked on 2026-08-13).

Answer

WarpBuild provides Linux x64, Linux ARM64, macOS, and Windows runners. The Windows line splits into three image families across the two Windows Server versions, and the twelve labels below are the full set.

Every row comes from the cloud runners documentation, checked on 2026-08-13. The Windows runner catalog page carries the same rows with the alias column and the per-size cost models.

Selecting a version is one line of YAML:

name: windows-build

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:

jobs:
  build-2022:
    runs-on: warp-windows-latest-x64-8x
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: dotnet build Contoso.sln --configuration Release

  build-2025:
    runs-on: warp-windows-2025-x64-8x
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: dotnet build Contoso.sln --configuration Release

Both jobs run the same steps on the same shape at the same rate. The only variable that changes between them is the Windows Server version underneath, which is what makes a two-job matrix the cheapest way to test a version move before the production lane follows.

Per-minute rates for every platform are on the pricing page.

Detail

What each image family carries

The Windows version is one half of the answer and the Visual Studio generation on top of it is the other half. The three families line up like this:

Sources: the cloud runners documentation for labels and images, checked on 2026-08-13. Toolset versions for the Windows Server 2022 image are in the preinstalled software documentation, which links to GitHub's own image readme in actions/runner-images.

The latest alias and the pinned labels

warp-windows-latest-x64-<size> resolves to Windows Server 2022 today. The warp-windows-2022-x64-<size> aliases point at the same machines, so a repository that wants the version held steady through a future latest rollover writes the dated alias in runs-on. Windows Server 2025 has no latest alias at all: warp-windows-2025-x64-<size> is already a pinned label, which is why moving to it is a deliberate edit rather than something that happens under a running workflow (cloud runners documentation).

The vs2026 labels are transitional

The warp-windows-2025-vs2026-x64-<size> labels use the same Windows Server 2025 base image with Visual Studio 2026 installed in place of Visual Studio 2022, while the plain warp-windows-2025-x64-<size> labels stay on Visual Studio 2022 (cloud runners documentation). Visual Studio 2026 may become the default for the Windows Server 2025 runners in a later update, mirroring GitHub's own rollout of the Windows Server 2025 with Visual Studio 2026 image. Treat the vs2026 label as a way to prove a Visual Studio 2026 toolset on a branch or a scheduled job, and keep the production lane on a dated label until it passes. The Visual Studio images page goes through the toolset differences step by step.

The 2 vCPU size was removed

Windows 2 vCPU runners were removed on June 8, 2026, so 4 vCPU is the smallest Windows shape in the catalog and any workflow still naming a 2x Windows label needs an edit (cloud runners documentation). The removal applies to all three image families, so there is no Windows Server 2025 escape hatch at that size. The smallest Windows runner size answer covers what to move those jobs to.

Versions that are not in the catalog

The Windows catalog carries Windows Server 2022 and Windows Server 2025 only. Windows Server 2019 has no label, and neither do the client editions of Windows. Every Windows label is x86-64 as well, so a job that needs a different architecture goes to the Linux or macOS lines (cloud runners documentation). GitHub publishes its own list of hosted Windows images in the GitHub-hosted runners reference, which is the place to check which upstream image a workflow is being moved off.

What the version choice costs

Nothing. The rate depends only on the shape, so a Windows Server 2025 runner costs the same as the Windows Server 2022 runner of the same size. At the entry shape, warp-windows-latest-x64-4x (4 vCPU, 16 GB) costs $0.016 per minute against $0.022 per minute for the 4-core Windows larger runner (4 vCPU, 16 GB): 27 percent lower list price. GitHub list price checked on 2026-08-13 in the GitHub Actions minute multipliers reference, with shapes from the GitHub-hosted runners reference.

Worked at a round volume: 10,000 Windows minutes a month on the 4 vCPU shape is $160.00 at the WarpBuild rate against $220.00 at the GitHub list rate, a $60.00 monthly difference at identical hardware. Running the same 10,000 minutes on Windows Server 2025 instead of Windows Server 2022 changes neither number.

The surrounding product surface

Snapshot runners list Linux x64 and Linux ARM64 as their platforms (snapshot runners documentation), so a Windows job selects a plain warp-windows label and reaches for actions/cache in the workflow for NuGet packages and build output.

Related Questions

Which Windows version does warp-windows-latest-x64 resolve to?

Windows Server 2022. The warp-windows-2022-x64-<size> aliases point at the same machines, so write the dated alias when you want the version to stay fixed through a future latest rollover. The Windows runner catalog lists every alias.

Is Windows Server 2019 available?

No. The Windows catalog carries Windows Server 2022 and Windows Server 2025 images only. A workflow pinned to a 2019 image moves to warp-windows-latest-x64-<size> or warp-windows-2025-x64-<size>, both documented in the cloud runners reference.

What is the difference between the 2025 and 2025-vs2026 labels?

The base operating system is the same Windows Server 2025 image. The warp-windows-2025-x64-<size> labels carry Visual Studio 2022 and the warp-windows-2025-vs2026-x64-<size> labels carry Visual Studio 2026, which makes the vs2026 labels the way to test the newer toolset before it becomes the default. All three families run the same four shapes at the same rates, from 4 vCPU with 16GB at $0.016 per minute to 32 vCPU with 128GB at $0.128 per minute, and the Visual Studio images page has the toolset details.

Pick a version from the Windows runner catalog, price it against your own Windows minutes on the pricing page, and check the toolset on the Visual Studio images page before you move a build.