--- title: Node 20 GitHub Actions Deprecated: Workflow Migration Guide description: GitHub has deprecated the Node 20 runtime used to execute JavaScript-based GitHub Actions, announced in a changelog dated September 19, 2025, ahead of Node... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/node-20-github-actions-deprecated-workflow-migration-guide-mzgd7stse twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Node 20 GitHub Actions Deprecated: Workflow Migration Guide | daily.dev og:description: GitHub has deprecated the Node 20 runtime used to execute JavaScript-based GitHub Actions, announced in a changelog dated September 19, 2025, ahead of Node... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/node-20-github-actions-deprecated-workflow-migration-guide-mzgd7stse og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/MzGd7stSE.png og:image:alt: Node 20 GitHub Actions Deprecated: Workflow Migration Guide og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Node 20 GitHub Actions Deprecated: Workflow Migration Guide **[SitePoint](https://daily.dev/sources/sitepoint)** · 15 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary GitHub has deprecated the Node 20 runtime used to execute JavaScript-based GitHub Actions, announced in a changelog dated September 19, 2025, ahead of Node 20's active LTS end in April 2026. This affects the runtime that executes action code via the action.yml runs.using field, not the Node version a workflow installs for project builds or tests via actions/setup-node. Teams must audit workflows for actions declaring runs.using: node20, update third-party action version pins to Node 24-compatible releases, change runs.using to node24 in custom action.yml files, and audit native module (node-gyp, .node bindings) and engines field compatibility. No hard removal date has been announced yet, but once set, actions still targeting Node 20 will fail outright. Troubleshooting guidance covers the 'built using Node 20' warning, GLIBC version mismatches on self-hosted runners, and platform-specific failures on Windows/macOS. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What does the Node 20 deprecation on GitHub Actions runners actually affect? It affects only the runtime that executes JavaScript-based actions, controlled by the runs.using field in action.yml, not the Node.js version a workflow installs via actions/setup-node for project builds or tests. A project can still test against Node 20 in its CI matrix indefinitely; that installation is unrelated to the action execution runtime being deprecated. _Teams untangling runtime versions from project Node versions can track GitHub Actions changes on daily.dev._ ### How do I update a custom GitHub Action from Node 20 to Node 24? Change the runs.using field in action.yml from node20 to node24, which is the only required edit for simple JavaScript actions using just @actions/core and standard Node APIs. Also confirm self-hosted runner binaries support node24 by checking actions/runner releases, and tag a pre-migration release so consumers can roll back if Node 24 issues surface. _daily.dev helps maintainers stay ahead of action runtime migrations like this one._ ### Why would a GitHub Action fail after upgrading its runtime from Node 20 to Node 24? Native or compiled modules using node-gyp or N-API can break because they compile against the Node.js C++ ABI, and jumping across Node 21 through 24 crosses multiple major versions with V8 and OpenSSL changes plus removed deprecated APIs like url.parse. Engines fields restricting Node versions in package.json can also block installation under engine-strict settings. _Developers debugging native module breakage after a Node runtime bump can find practical fixes on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Node 20 is no longer available in GitHub Actions](https://daily.dev/posts/node-20-is-no-longer-available-in-github-actions-9ufpapdh7) · GitHub Changelog · 3 upvotes · 2 comments - [GitHub Actions: Early September 2026 updates](https://daily.dev/posts/github-actions-early-september-2026-updates-j7wehb8aq) · GitHub Changelog · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Node Weekly Issue 599: November 4, 2025](https://daily.dev/posts/node-weekly-issue-599-november-4-2025-c9iw0tvod) · Node Weekly · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Node.js 20 — Here’s What’s Actually Worth Caring About](https://daily.dev/posts/node-js-20-here-s-what-s-actually-worth-caring-about-6lpzz9vwc) · Medium · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Let’s talk about GitHub Actions](https://daily.dev/posts/let-s-talk-about-github-actions-pbltd2cg3) · GitHub Blog · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#security](https://daily.dev/tags/security), [#nodejs](https://daily.dev/tags/nodejs), [#cicd](https://daily.dev/tags/cicd), [#github-actions](https://daily.dev/tags/github-actions) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/node-20-github-actions-deprecated-workflow-migration-guide-mzgd7stse) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Node 20 GitHub Actions Deprecated: Workflow Migration Guide","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/node-20-github-actions-deprecated-workflow-migration-guide-mzgd7stse","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/node-20-github-actions-deprecated-workflow-migration-guide-mzgd7stse"},"datePublished":"2026-10-01T18:07:06.466Z","dateModified":"2026-10-01T18:15:12.037Z","description":"GitHub has deprecated the Node 20 runtime used to execute JavaScript-based GitHub Actions, announced in a changelog dated September 19, 2025, ahead of Node...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/0b25ca3ad1abfb9d72c3781e31b4a709?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/0b25ca3ad1abfb9d72c3781e31b4a709?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"SitePoint","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"SitePoint","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/sitepoint","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/sitepoint"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/node-20-github-actions-deprecated-workflow-migration-guide-mzgd7stse","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"security,nodejs,cicd,github-actions","timeRequired":"PT15M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"SitePoint","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/sitepoint"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Node 20 GitHub Actions Deprecated: Workflow Migration Guide"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/node-20-github-actions-deprecated-workflow-migration-guide-mzgd7stse#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What does the Node 20 deprecation on GitHub Actions runners actually affect?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It affects only the runtime that executes JavaScript-based actions, controlled by the runs.using field in action.yml, not the Node.js version a workflow installs via actions/setup-node for project builds or tests. 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