Maximize GitHub Runner Space

Free up disk space on ubuntu-latest GitHub-hosted runners before your heavy build, test, or container jobs start.

This action removes optional preinstalled SDKs, toolchains, and caches so your workflow has more space for what it actually needs.

Warning

This action is intentionally destructive. It can remove tools your later steps expect. Run it early and only remove components you do not need.

Table of Contents

• Why use this action?
• Quick start
• Cleanup Profiles
• Inputs reference
• Compatibility
• Contributing
• Security
• Support
• License

Why use this action?

GitHub-hosted Ubuntu runners often start with many gigabytes consumed by preinstalled software. That is convenient for general use, but it can block large workflows (for example, Docker image builds, Android/iOS builds, or large monorepo test runs).

This action helps by:

• Reporting disk usage before and after cleanup.
• Supporting an aggressive default max mode (remove almost everything, with optional skips).
• Supporting an opt-in custom mode (remove only selected components).
• Running cleanup tasks in parallel to reduce runtime.

Quick start

Use this action near the top of your job, right after checkout, using one of the following cleanup profiles:

Option A: Maximum Cleanup (Default)

name: CI
on: [push]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2

      - name: Free Runner Space
        # NOTE: Use a specific tag or commit shasum for immutability
        uses: justinthelaw/maximize-github-runner-space@latest
        with:
          skip-components: java,browsers

      - name: Continue With Your Build
        run: echo "Build steps go here"

Option B: Custom Cleanup

name: CI
on: [push]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2

      - name: Free Runner Space
        # NOTE: Use a specific tag or commit shasum for immutability
        uses: justinthelaw/maximize-github-runner-space@latest
        with:
          cleanup-profile: custom
          remove-android: "true"
          remove-codeql: "true"
          remove-cached-tools: "true"
          remove-docker-images: "true"

      - name: Continue With Your Build
        run: echo "Build steps go here"

Cleanup Profiles

cleanup-profile: max

• Default behavior.
• Enables all cleanup components.
• Use skip-components to keep specific tools.
• Best choice when disk pressure is severe and you know exactly what must remain installed.

cleanup-profile: custom

• Nothing is removed unless a remove-* input is set to 'true'.
• Best choice when you want precise control.

skip-components accepts a comma-separated list. Current component names:

• dotnet
• android
• haskell
• codeql
• cached-tools
• swapfile
• swift
• julia
• java
• browsers
• powershell
• docker-images
• large-packages

Inputs reference

Estimated savings are based on the latest passing CI matrix runs for this repository and should be treated as directional guidance (runner image updates can shift these numbers over time).

Input	Default	Description
cleanup-profile	max	Cleanup mode: max (default) or custom.
skip-components	N/A	Comma-separated components to keep when cleanup-profile=max.
remove-dotnet	false	Remove .NET runtime and libraries (~1.5–2.0 GB).
remove-android	false	Remove Android SDKs and tools (~10–14 GB).
remove-haskell	false	Remove GHC (Haskell) artifacts (~2–4 GB).
remove-codeql	false	Remove CodeQL action bundles (~2–3 GB).
remove-cached-tools	false	Remove setup-action tool cache (~5–8 GB).
remove-swapfile	false	Disable and remove swapfile (~4 GB).
remove-swift	false	Remove Swift toolchain files (~2.0–2.5 GB).
remove-julia	false	Remove Julia binaries and libraries (~300–700 MB).
remove-java	false	Purge OpenJDK packages (~1.0–1.5 GB).
remove-browsers	false	Purge browsers and webdriver packages (~1.5–2.0 GB).
remove-powershell	false	Purge the PowerShell package (~150–250 MB).
remove-docker-images	false	Remove cached Docker images (~3–6 GB).
remove-large-packages	false	Purge additional large apt packages (~1–3 GB).

Compatibility

• Designed for GitHub-hosted Ubuntu runners.
• Uses system tools such as bash, sudo, apt-get, and docker.
• Not intended for Windows or macOS runners.

Contributing

See docs/CONTRIBUTING.md for development and release workflow details.

Security

See docs/SECURITY.md for the security policy and reporting guidance.

Support

See docs/SUPPORT.md for help and support guidance.

License

This project is licensed under the terms of the LICENSE file.