ubuntu-latest default Node.js 20.20.2 unsupported

[MikeMcC399]

Description

Node.js 20 transitioned into end-of-life on 2026-04-30, with the lowest supported Node.js version moving up to Node.js 22.

Node.js 20 is now unsupported according to the Node.js organization.

ubuntu-latest, equivalent to ubuntu-24.04, sets Node.js 20 as the default installed version. macOS and Windows latest runner images already use Node.js 22.

ubuntu-latest should provide a runner image that sets the installed Node.js version to 22 to align with other *-latest tags.

Runner	Alias	Node.js default
ubuntu-24.04	ubuntu-latest	20.20.1 20.20.2
macos-15	macos-latest	22.22.0 22.22.2
windows-2025	windows-latest	22.22.0 22.22.2

Platforms affected

• Azure DevOps
• GitHub Actions - Standard Runners
• GitHub Actions - Larger Runners

Runner images affected

• Ubuntu 22.04
• Ubuntu 24.04
• Ubuntu Slim
• macOS 14
• macOS 14 Arm64
• macOS 15
• macOS 15 Arm64
• macOS 26
• macOS 26 Arm64
• Windows Server 2022
• Windows Server 2025
• Windows Server 2025 with Visual Studio 2026

Image version and build link

Image: ubuntu-24.04
Version: 20260309.50.1
Included Software: https://github.com/actions/runner-images/blob/ubuntu24/20260309.50/images/ubuntu/Ubuntu2404-Readme.md
Image Release: https://github.com/actions/runner-images/releases/tag/ubuntu24%2F20260309.50

Is it regression?

No

Expected behavior

Provide an ubuntu-latest image which defaults to a Node.js version that has continued support after 2026-04-30. That would be either Node.js 22 (Maintenance LTS) or Node.js 24 (Active LTS).

Actual behavior

The default installed version of ubuntu-latest is Node.js 20.20.2 which is now unsupported.

Repro steps

name: ci
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Node version
        run: node -v

[v-SergeiRadich]

Hi!

We will take a look at it!

[MikeMcC399]

• There is also Support Ubuntu 26.04 #13855 to consider, however this won't be fast enough to set ubuntu-latest to a future ubuntu-26.04 before the end of April 2026.

[simonkurtz-MSFT]

Thank you for highlighting this, @MikeMcC399.

This should probably Active LTS, which is presently 24.14.1. Node 24 support is expected through April 2028. More info here.

Hi @v-sergei-pyshnoi, would you be able to provide an update as to when this may roll? We are coming up on EOL fast. Thank you.

[MikeMcC399]

Ideally, this issue should be resolved by the EOL date of Node.js 20 on 2026-04-30

Failing that, then at least there should be an attempt to align it with the June 2, 2026 date mentioned in the updated
blog post https://github.blog/changelog/2025-09-19-deprecation-of-node-20-on-github-actions-runners/ for consistency in that direction.

[MikeMcC399]

@v-GeorgyPuzakov

We've now reached the EOL date 2026-04-30 of Node.js 20.

Do you have a plan to update the default Node.js version in ubuntu-24.04 / ubuntu-24.04-arm to a supported version?