test: speed up (#1121)

Full suite 178s → 96s, and a run's log 12MB → 2KB. `act/runner` was 177s of the 178s, serialised behind one docker daemon.

- Its fixtures now run in parallel, bounded by a slot count instead of `go test -parallel`, with a per-test container name prefix and a pinned `MaxParallel`.
- Fixtures asserting a job failure leaked their container and network (`AutoRemove` was at the act-CLI default), filling the daemon's address pool over time.
- Replaced sleeps used as synchronisation in the parallel-executor and cache-handler tests.
- Dropped duplicate coverage: two files re-testing `NewParallelExecutor`, a test asserting on its own semaphore, and `TestDockerActionForcePullForceRebuild`, whose config `runTest` discarded.
- `fmt-check`/`security-check` move from `make test` to a `checks` target; `security-check` no longer installs `xgo` and `gxz`.
- Test flags follow gitea: `GOTEST_FLAGS ?= -race -timeout 20m -parallel 8`, with `-cover`/`-coverprofile` left in the target. Dropped `-v`, since a failing package still prints its full output without it.

Coverage unchanged at 73.4%.

Reviewed-on: https://gitea.com/gitea/runner/pulls/1121
Reviewed-by: bircni <bircni@icloud.com>
Co-authored-by: silverwind <me@silverwind.io>

.gitea/workflows/pull-pr-title.yml

@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     timeout-minutes: 5
     steps:
-    - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+    - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7
-    - uses: actions/setup-node@v7
+    - uses: actions/setup-node@820762786026740c76f36085b0efc47a31fe5020 # v7
       with:
         node-version: 24
     - run: make lint-pr-title

.gitea/workflows/release-nightly.yml

@@ -17,14 +17,26 @@ jobs:
   goreleaser:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+      - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0
-      - uses: actions/setup-go@v6
+      # Custom publishers (the R2 mirror below) run as the very last
+      # step of goreleaser's publish pipeline, after the Gitea release
+      # has already been created and every artifact already uploaded
+      # to S3. Fail here instead, before anything is built or
+      # published, if the R2 secrets are missing.
+      - name: check R2 configuration
+        run: sh scripts/upload-r2.sh --check-config
+        env:
+          R2_ENDPOINT: ${{ secrets.R2_ENDPOINT }}
+          R2_BUCKET: ${{ secrets.R2_BUCKET }}
+          R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
+          R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
+      - uses: actions/setup-go@b7ad1dad31e06c5925ef5d2fc7ad053ef454303e # v7
         with:
           go-version-file: "go.mod"
       - name: goreleaser
-        uses: goreleaser/goreleaser-action@v7
+        uses: goreleaser/goreleaser-action@f06c13b6b1a9625abc9e6e439d9c05a8f2190e94 # v7
         with:
           distribution: goreleaser-pro
           args: release --nightly
@@ -35,6 +47,10 @@ jobs:
           AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
           S3_REGION: ${{ secrets.AWS_REGION }}
           S3_BUCKET: ${{ secrets.AWS_BUCKET }}
+          R2_ENDPOINT: ${{ secrets.R2_ENDPOINT }}
+          R2_BUCKET: ${{ secrets.R2_BUCKET }}
+          R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
+          R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
           GORELEASER_FORCE_TOKEN: "gitea"
           GITEA_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
 
@@ -58,18 +74,18 @@ jobs:
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v7
+        uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0 # all history for all branches and tags
 
       - name: Set up QEMU
-        uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@v4
+        uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@96fe6ef7f33517b61c61be40b68a1882f3264fb8 # v4
 
       - name: Set up Docker BuildX
-        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v4
+        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@bb05f3f5519dd87d3ba754cc423b652a5edd6d2c # v4
 
       - name: Login to DockerHub
-        uses: docker/login-action@v4
+        uses: docker/login-action@abd2ef45e78c5afb21d64d4ca52ee8550d9572c7 # v4
         with:
           username: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_USERNAME }}
           password: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_PASSWORD }}
@@ -83,7 +99,7 @@ jobs:
           echo REPO_VERSION=$(git describe --tags --always | sed 's/-/+/' | sed 's/^v//') >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
       - name: Build and push
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@v7
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@53b7df96c91f9c12dcc8a07bcb9ccacbed38856a # v7
         with:
           context: .
           file: ./Dockerfile

.gitea/workflows/release-tag.yml

@@ -9,21 +9,33 @@ jobs:
   goreleaser:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+      - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0 # all history for all branches and tags
-      - uses: actions/setup-go@v6
+      # Custom publishers (the R2 mirror below) run as the very last
+      # step of goreleaser's publish pipeline, after the Gitea release
+      # has already been created and every artifact already uploaded
+      # to S3. Fail here instead, before anything is built or
+      # published, if the R2 secrets are missing.
+      - name: check R2 configuration
+        run: sh scripts/upload-r2.sh --check-config
+        env:
+          R2_ENDPOINT: ${{ secrets.R2_ENDPOINT }}
+          R2_BUCKET: ${{ secrets.R2_BUCKET }}
+          R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
+          R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
+      - uses: actions/setup-go@b7ad1dad31e06c5925ef5d2fc7ad053ef454303e # v7
         with:
           go-version-file: "go.mod"
       - name: Import GPG key
         id: import_gpg
-        uses: crazy-max/ghaction-import-gpg@v7
+        uses: crazy-max/ghaction-import-gpg@2dc316deee8e90f13e1a351ab510b4d5bc0c82cd # v7
         with:
           gpg_private_key: ${{ secrets.GPG_PRIVATE_KEY }}
           passphrase: ${{ secrets.PASSPHRASE }}
           fingerprint: CC64B1DB67ABBEECAB24B6455FC346329753F4B0
       - name: goreleaser
-        uses: goreleaser/goreleaser-action@v7
+        uses: goreleaser/goreleaser-action@f06c13b6b1a9625abc9e6e439d9c05a8f2190e94 # v7
         with:
           distribution: goreleaser-pro
           args: release
@@ -34,6 +46,10 @@ jobs:
           AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
           S3_REGION: ${{ secrets.AWS_REGION }}
           S3_BUCKET: ${{ secrets.AWS_BUCKET }}
+          R2_ENDPOINT: ${{ secrets.R2_ENDPOINT }}
+          R2_BUCKET: ${{ secrets.R2_BUCKET }}
+          R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
+          R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
           GORELEASER_FORCE_TOKEN: "gitea"
           GITEA_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
           GPG_FINGERPRINT: ${{ steps.import_gpg.outputs.fingerprint }}
@@ -61,25 +77,25 @@ jobs:
       DOCKER_LATEST: latest
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v7
+        uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7
         with:
           fetch-depth: 0 # all history for all branches and tags
 
       - name: Set up QEMU
-        uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@v4
+        uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@96fe6ef7f33517b61c61be40b68a1882f3264fb8 # v4
 
       - name: Set up Docker BuildX
-        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v4
+        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@bb05f3f5519dd87d3ba754cc423b652a5edd6d2c # v4
 
       - name: Login to DockerHub
-        uses: docker/login-action@v4
+        uses: docker/login-action@abd2ef45e78c5afb21d64d4ca52ee8550d9572c7 # v4
         with:
           username: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_USERNAME }}
           password: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_PASSWORD }}
 
       - name: "Docker meta"
         id: docker_meta
-        uses: docker/metadata-action@v6
+        uses: docker/metadata-action@dc802804100637a589fabce1cb79ff13a1411302 # v6
         with:
           images: |
             ${{ env.DOCKER_ORG }}/runner
@@ -92,7 +108,7 @@ jobs:
             suffix=${{ matrix.variant.tag_suffix }},onlatest=true
 
       - name: Build and push
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@v7
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@53b7df96c91f9c12dcc8a07bcb9ccacbed38856a # v7
         with:
           context: .
           file: ./Dockerfile

.gitea/workflows/test.yml

@@ -17,8 +17,8 @@ jobs:
       # to ~/.docker with the stale credentials.
       DOCKER_CONFIG: /tmp/docker-noauth
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+      - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7
-      - uses: actions/setup-go@v6
+      - uses: actions/setup-go@b7ad1dad31e06c5925ef5d2fc7ad053ef454303e # v7
         with:
           go-version-file: 'go.mod'
       - name: prepare anonymous docker config
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ jobs:
           done
       - name: lint
         run: make lint
+      - name: checks
+        run: make checks
       - name: build
         run: make build
       - name: test

.goreleaser.yaml

@@ -93,6 +93,37 @@ blobs:
       - glob: ./**.xz
       - glob: ./**.sha256
 
+# Mirrors the S3 `blobs:` upload above into Cloudflare R2 during the
+# parallel S3+R2 period (S3 will be removed once migration completes).
+# A second `blobs:` entry is impossible here since the blob pipe
+# authenticates from the global AWS_* env with no per-entry
+# credentials; `publishers:` supports per-entry `env:` instead, so
+# it's used to invoke scripts/upload-r2.sh once per artifact. Custom
+# publishers inherit almost nothing from the environment, hence the
+# explicit R2_* forwarding below.
+#
+# This publisher fires 109 times for 73 distinct keys because
+# goreleaser's release pipe already registers `release.extra_files`
+# as UploadableFile artifacts, and `internal/exec`'s filterArtifacts
+# appends this block's own extra_files with no de-duplication. It
+# can't be globbed away, since gobwas/glob (via goreleaser/fileglob)
+# has no substring-exclusion matcher. It's harmless: PUT is
+# idempotent, and the `./**.xz` glob below is kept deliberately so
+# this publisher declares its own complete file set rather than
+# implicitly depending on the `release:` block's globs.
+publishers:
+  - name: cloudflare-r2
+    checksum: true
+    extra_files:
+      - glob: ./**.xz
+      - glob: ./**.sha256
+    cmd: sh scripts/upload-r2.sh {{ abs .ArtifactPath }} gitea-runner/{{ .Version }}/{{ .ArtifactName }}
+    env:
+      - R2_ENDPOINT={{ index .Env "R2_ENDPOINT" }}
+      - R2_BUCKET={{ index .Env "R2_BUCKET" }}
+      - R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID={{ index .Env "R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID" }}
+      - R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY={{ index .Env "R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY" }}
+
 archives:
   - format: binary
     name_template: "{{ .Binary }}"

Dockerfile

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ RUN make clean && make build
 ### DIND VARIANT
 #
 #
-FROM docker:29.6.1-dind AS dind
+FROM docker:29.6.2-dind AS dind
 
 ARG VERSION=dev
 
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ ENTRYPOINT ["s6-svscan","/etc/s6"]
 ### DIND-ROOTLESS VARIANT
 #
 #
-FROM docker:29.6.1-dind-rootless AS dind-rootless
+FROM docker:29.6.2-dind-rootless AS dind-rootless
 
 ARG VERSION=dev
 

Makefile

@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ DOCKER_ROOTLESS_REF := $(DOCKER_IMAGE):$(DOCKER_TAG)-dind-rootless
 GOLANGCI_LINT_PACKAGE ?= github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/v2/cmd/golangci-lint@v2.12.2
 GOVULNCHECK_PACKAGE ?= golang.org/x/vuln/cmd/govulncheck@v1.3.0
 
+GOTEST_FLAGS ?= -race -timeout 20m -parallel 8
+
 STATIC ?=
 EXTLDFLAGS ?=
 ifneq ($(STATIC),)
@@ -110,6 +112,9 @@ deps-tools: ## install tool dependencies
 	$(GO) install $(GOVULNCHECK_PACKAGE) & \
 	wait
 
+.PHONY: checks
+checks: tidy-check fmt-check security-check ## run the non-lint source checks
+
 .PHONY: lint
 lint: lint-go lint-go-windows ## lint everything
 
@@ -131,7 +136,7 @@ lint-pr-title: ## lint PR title against Conventional Commits (set PR_TITLE=...)
 	@node ./tools/lint-pr-title.ts
 
 .PHONY: security-check
-security-check: deps-tools
+security-check:
 	GOEXPERIMENT= $(GO) run $(GOVULNCHECK_PACKAGE) -show color ./... || true
 
 .PHONY: tidy
@@ -148,8 +153,8 @@ tidy-check: tidy
 	fi
 
 .PHONY: test
-test: fmt-check security-check ## test everything (integration tests self-skip without docker/network)
+test: ## test everything (integration tests self-skip without docker/network)
-	@$(GO) test -race -timeout 20m -v -cover -coverprofile coverage.txt ./... && echo "\n==>\033[32m Ok\033[m\n" || exit 1
+	@$(GO) test $(GOTEST_FLAGS) -cover -coverprofile coverage.txt ./... && echo "\n==>\033[32m Ok\033[m\n" || exit 1
 
 .PHONY: coverage-report
 coverage-report: ## turn coverage.txt from `make test` into .tmp/coverage.md

README.md

@@ -224,6 +224,7 @@ Run one dedicated `gitea-runner cache-server` that all runners point at.
      dir: /data/actcache
      port: 8088
      external_secret: "replace-with-a-strong-random-secret"
+     # external_secret_file: /path/to/secret # secret can also be passed via a file
    ```
 
 2. Start the server:
@@ -238,6 +239,7 @@ Run one dedicated `gitea-runner cache-server` that all runners point at.
    cache:
      external_server: "http://<cache-server-host>:8088/"
      external_secret: "replace-with-a-strong-random-secret"  # must match the server
+     # external_secret_file: /path/to/secret # secret can also be passed via a file
    ```
 
 Alternatively, mount the same NFS/CIFS share on every runner and point `cache.dir` at it — simpler, but with weaker isolation between repositories.

act/artifactcache/handler_test.go

@@ -445,13 +445,6 @@ func TestHandler(t *testing.T) {
 		require.Equal(t, 404, resp.StatusCode)
 	})
 
-	t.Run("get with not exist id", func(t *testing.T) {
-		resp, err := testClient.Get(signArtifactURL(handler, 100))
-		require.NoError(t, err)
-		defer resp.Body.Close()
-		require.Equal(t, 404, resp.StatusCode)
-	})
-
 	t.Run("get with multiple keys", func(t *testing.T) {
 		version := "c19da02a2bd7e77277f1ac29ab45c09b7d46a4ee758284e26bb3045ad11d9d20"
 		key := strings.ToLower(t.Name())
@@ -469,7 +462,8 @@ func TestHandler(t *testing.T) {
 			_, err := rand.Read(contents[i])
 			require.NoError(t, err)
 			uploadCacheNormally(t, base, keys[i], version, contents[i])
-			time.Sleep(time.Second) // ensure CreatedAt of caches are different
+			// ensure CreatedAt of caches are different, in upload order
+			backdateCache(t, handler, keys[i], time.Duration(len(contents)-i)*time.Second)
 		}
 
 		reqKeys := strings.Join([]string{
@@ -554,7 +548,8 @@ func TestHandler(t *testing.T) {
 			_, err := rand.Read(contents[i])
 			require.NoError(t, err)
 			uploadCacheNormally(t, base, keys[i], version, contents[i])
-			time.Sleep(time.Second) // ensure CreatedAt of caches are different
+			// ensure CreatedAt of caches are different, in upload order
+			backdateCache(t, handler, keys[i], time.Duration(len(contents)-i)*time.Second)
 		}
 
 		reqKeys := strings.Join([]string{
@@ -607,7 +602,8 @@ func TestHandler(t *testing.T) {
 			_, err := rand.Read(contents[i])
 			require.NoError(t, err)
 			uploadCacheNormally(t, base, keys[i], version, contents[i])
-			time.Sleep(time.Second) // ensure CreatedAt of caches are different
+			// ensure CreatedAt of caches are different, in upload order
+			backdateCache(t, handler, keys[i], time.Duration(len(contents)-i)*time.Second)
 		}
 
 		reqKeys := strings.Join([]string{
@@ -646,6 +642,20 @@ func TestHandler(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }
 
+// backdateCache rewrites a cache's CreatedAt. It has one-second resolution, so age-ordering
+// tests set it directly instead of sleeping a second between uploads.
+func backdateCache(t *testing.T, handler *Handler, key string, age time.Duration) {
+	db, err := handler.openDB()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer db.Close()
+
+	var caches []*Cache
+	require.NoError(t, db.Find(&caches, bolthold.Where("Key").Eq(key)))
+	require.Len(t, caches, 1)
+	caches[0].CreatedAt = time.Now().Add(-age).Unix()
+	require.NoError(t, db.Update(caches[0].ID, caches[0]))
+}
+
 func uploadCacheNormally(t *testing.T, base, key, version string, content []byte) { //nolint:unparam // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
 	var id uint64
 	{

act/common/executor_max_parallel_test.go

@@ -1,89 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2026 The Gitea Authors. All rights reserved.
-// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
-
-package common
-
-import (
-	"context"
-	"sync"
-	"sync/atomic"
-	"testing"
-	"time"
-
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
-)
-
-// Simple fast test that verifies max-parallel: 2 limits concurrency
-func TestMaxParallel2Quick(t *testing.T) {
-	ctx := context.Background()
-
-	var currentRunning atomic.Int32
-	var maxSimultaneous atomic.Int32
-
-	executors := make([]Executor, 4)
-	for i := range 4 {
-		executors[i] = func(ctx context.Context) error {
-			current := currentRunning.Add(1)
-
-			// Update max if needed
-			for {
-				maxValue := maxSimultaneous.Load()
-				if current <= maxValue || maxSimultaneous.CompareAndSwap(maxValue, current) {
-					break
-				}
-			}
-
-			time.Sleep(10 * time.Millisecond)
-			currentRunning.Add(-1)
-			return nil
-		}
-	}
-
-	err := NewParallelExecutor(2, executors...)(ctx)
-
-	assert.NoError(t, err) //nolint:testifylint // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
-	assert.LessOrEqual(t, maxSimultaneous.Load(), int32(2),
-		"Should not exceed max-parallel: 2")
-}
-
-// Test that verifies max-parallel: 1 enforces sequential execution
-func TestMaxParallel1Sequential(t *testing.T) {
-	ctx := context.Background()
-
-	var currentRunning atomic.Int32
-	var maxSimultaneous atomic.Int32
-	var executionOrder []int
-	var orderMutex sync.Mutex
-
-	executors := make([]Executor, 5)
-	for i := range 5 {
-		taskID := i
-		executors[i] = func(ctx context.Context) error {
-			current := currentRunning.Add(1)
-
-			// Track execution order
-			orderMutex.Lock()
-			executionOrder = append(executionOrder, taskID)
-			orderMutex.Unlock()
-
-			// Update max if needed
-			for {
-				maxValue := maxSimultaneous.Load()
-				if current <= maxValue || maxSimultaneous.CompareAndSwap(maxValue, current) {
-					break
-				}
-			}
-
-			time.Sleep(20 * time.Millisecond)
-			currentRunning.Add(-1)
-			return nil
-		}
-	}
-
-	err := NewParallelExecutor(1, executors...)(ctx)
-
-	assert.NoError(t, err) //nolint:testifylint // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
-	assert.Equal(t, int32(1), maxSimultaneous.Load(),
-		"max-parallel: 1 should only run 1 task at a time")
-	assert.Len(t, executionOrder, 5, "All 5 tasks should have executed")
-}

act/common/executor_parallel_advanced_test.go

@@ -1,221 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2026 The Gitea Authors. All rights reserved.
-// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
-
-package common
-
-import (
-	"context"
-	"sync"
-	"sync/atomic"
-	"testing"
-	"time"
-
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
-)
-
-// TestMaxParallelJobExecution tests actual job execution with max-parallel
-func TestMaxParallelJobExecution(t *testing.T) {
-	t.Run("MaxParallel=1 Sequential", func(t *testing.T) {
-		var currentRunning atomic.Int32
-		var maxConcurrent int32
-		var executionOrder []int
-		var mu sync.Mutex
-
-		executors := make([]Executor, 5)
-		for i := range 5 {
-			taskID := i
-			executors[i] = func(ctx context.Context) error {
-				current := currentRunning.Add(1)
-
-				// Track max concurrent
-				for {
-					maxValue := atomic.LoadInt32(&maxConcurrent)
-					if current <= maxValue || atomic.CompareAndSwapInt32(&maxConcurrent, maxValue, current) {
-						break
-					}
-				}
-
-				mu.Lock()
-				executionOrder = append(executionOrder, taskID)
-				mu.Unlock()
-
-				time.Sleep(10 * time.Millisecond)
-				currentRunning.Add(-1)
-				return nil
-			}
-		}
-
-		ctx := context.Background()
-		err := NewParallelExecutor(1, executors...)(ctx)
-		assert.NoError(t, err) //nolint:testifylint // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
-
-		assert.Equal(t, int32(1), maxConcurrent, "Should never exceed 1 concurrent execution")
-		assert.Len(t, executionOrder, 5, "All tasks should execute")
-	})
-
-	t.Run("MaxParallel=3 Limited", func(t *testing.T) {
-		var currentRunning atomic.Int32
-		var maxConcurrent int32
-
-		executors := make([]Executor, 10)
-		for i := range 10 {
-			executors[i] = func(ctx context.Context) error {
-				current := currentRunning.Add(1)
-
-				for {
-					maxValue := atomic.LoadInt32(&maxConcurrent)
-					if current <= maxValue || atomic.CompareAndSwapInt32(&maxConcurrent, maxValue, current) {
-						break
-					}
-				}
-
-				time.Sleep(20 * time.Millisecond)
-				currentRunning.Add(-1)
-				return nil
-			}
-		}
-
-		ctx := context.Background()
-		err := NewParallelExecutor(3, executors...)(ctx)
-		assert.NoError(t, err) //nolint:testifylint // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
-
-		assert.LessOrEqual(t, int(maxConcurrent), 3, "Should never exceed 3 concurrent executions")
-		assert.GreaterOrEqual(t, int(maxConcurrent), 1, "Should have at least 1 concurrent execution")
-	})
-
-	t.Run("MaxParallel=0 Uses1Worker", func(t *testing.T) {
-		var maxConcurrent int32
-		var currentRunning atomic.Int32
-
-		executors := make([]Executor, 5)
-		for i := range 5 {
-			executors[i] = func(ctx context.Context) error {
-				current := currentRunning.Add(1)
-
-				for {
-					maxValue := atomic.LoadInt32(&maxConcurrent)
-					if current <= maxValue || atomic.CompareAndSwapInt32(&maxConcurrent, maxValue, current) {
-						break
-					}
-				}
-
-				time.Sleep(10 * time.Millisecond)
-				currentRunning.Add(-1)
-				return nil
-			}
-		}
-
-		ctx := context.Background()
-		// When maxParallel is 0 or negative, it defaults to 1
-		err := NewParallelExecutor(0, executors...)(ctx)
-		assert.NoError(t, err) //nolint:testifylint // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
-
-		assert.Equal(t, int32(1), maxConcurrent, "Should use 1 worker when max-parallel is 0")
-	})
-}
-
-// TestMaxParallelWithErrors tests error handling with max-parallel
-func TestMaxParallelWithErrors(t *testing.T) {
-	t.Run("OneTaskFailsOthersContinue", func(t *testing.T) {
-		var successCount int32
-
-		executors := make([]Executor, 5)
-		for i := range 5 {
-			taskID := i
-			executors[i] = func(ctx context.Context) error {
-				if taskID == 2 {
-					return assert.AnError
-				}
-				atomic.AddInt32(&successCount, 1)
-				return nil
-			}
-		}
-
-		ctx := context.Background()
-		err := NewParallelExecutor(2, executors...)(ctx)
-
-		// Should return the error from task 2
-		assert.Error(t, err) //nolint:testifylint // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
-
-		// Other tasks should still execute
-		assert.Equal(t, int32(4), successCount, "4 tasks should succeed")
-	})
-
-	t.Run("ContextCancellation", func(t *testing.T) {
-		ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
-
-		var startedCount int32
-		executors := make([]Executor, 10)
-		for i := range 10 {
-			executors[i] = func(ctx context.Context) error {
-				atomic.AddInt32(&startedCount, 1)
-				time.Sleep(100 * time.Millisecond)
-				return nil
-			}
-		}
-
-		// Cancel after a short delay
-		go func() {
-			time.Sleep(30 * time.Millisecond)
-			cancel()
-		}()
-
-		err := NewParallelExecutor(3, executors...)(ctx)
-		assert.Error(t, err)                     //nolint:testifylint // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
-		assert.ErrorIs(t, err, context.Canceled) //nolint:testifylint // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
-
-		// Not all tasks should start due to cancellation (but timing may vary)
-		// Just verify cancellation occurred
-		t.Logf("Started %d tasks before cancellation", startedCount)
-	})
-}
-
-// TestMaxParallelResourceSharing tests resource sharing scenarios
-func TestMaxParallelResourceSharing(t *testing.T) {
-	t.Run("SharedResourceWithMutex", func(t *testing.T) {
-		var sharedCounter int
-		var mu sync.Mutex
-
-		executors := make([]Executor, 100)
-		for i := range 100 {
-			executors[i] = func(ctx context.Context) error {
-				mu.Lock()
-				sharedCounter++
-				mu.Unlock()
-				return nil
-			}
-		}
-
-		ctx := context.Background()
-		err := NewParallelExecutor(10, executors...)(ctx)
-		assert.NoError(t, err) //nolint:testifylint // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
-
-		assert.Equal(t, 100, sharedCounter, "All tasks should increment counter")
-	})
-
-	t.Run("ChannelCommunication", func(t *testing.T) {
-		resultChan := make(chan int, 50)
-
-		executors := make([]Executor, 50)
-		for i := range 50 {
-			taskID := i
-			executors[i] = func(ctx context.Context) error {
-				resultChan <- taskID
-				return nil
-			}
-		}
-
-		ctx := context.Background()
-		err := NewParallelExecutor(5, executors...)(ctx)
-		assert.NoError(t, err) //nolint:testifylint // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
-
-		close(resultChan)
-
-		results := make(map[int]bool)
-		for result := range resultChan {
-			results[result] = true
-		}
-
-		assert.Len(t, results, 50, "All task IDs should be received")
-	})
-}

act/common/executor_test.go

@@ -9,9 +9,9 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"reflect"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"testing"
-	"time"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
@@ -82,44 +82,45 @@ func TestNewConditionalExecutor(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(1, falseCount)
 }
 
-func TestNewParallelExecutor(t *testing.T) {
+// concurrencyProbe returns an executor recording the peak number of concurrent copies. Copies
-	assert := assert.New(t)
+// block until wantActive are in flight so the peak is exact without sleeping, and later copies
+// find the gate already open so the last one still finishes with no partner left.
+func concurrencyProbe(wantActive int32) (exec Executor, count, maxActive *atomic.Int32) {
+	var counted, active, peak atomic.Int32
+	var once sync.Once
+	reached := make(chan struct{})
 
-	ctx := context.Background()
+	return func(ctx context.Context) error {
-
+		counted.Add(1)
-	var count, activeCount, maxCount atomic.Int32
+		running := active.Add(1)
-	emptyWorkflow := NewPipelineExecutor(func(ctx context.Context) error {
-		count.Add(1)
-
-		active := activeCount.Add(1)
 		for {
-			m := maxCount.Load()
+			seen := peak.Load()
-			if active <= m || maxCount.CompareAndSwap(m, active) {
+			if running <= seen || peak.CompareAndSwap(seen, running) {
 				break
 			}
 		}
-		time.Sleep(2 * time.Second)
+		if running >= wantActive {
-		activeCount.Add(-1)
+			once.Do(func() { close(reached) })
-
+		}
+		<-reached
+		active.Add(-1)
 		return nil
-	})
+	}, &counted, &peak
+}
 
-	err := NewParallelExecutor(2, emptyWorkflow, emptyWorkflow, emptyWorkflow)(ctx)
+func TestNewParallelExecutor(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
 
-	assert.Equal(int32(3), count.Load(), "should run all 3 executors")
+	exec, count, maxActive := concurrencyProbe(2)
-	assert.Equal(int32(2), maxCount.Load(), "should run at most 2 executors in parallel")
+	require.NoError(t, NewParallelExecutor(2, exec, exec, exec)(ctx))
-	assert.NoError(err) //nolint:testifylint // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
+	assert.Equal(t, int32(3), count.Load(), "should run all 3 executors")
+	assert.Equal(t, int32(2), maxActive.Load(), "should run at most 2 executors in parallel")
 
-	// Reset to test running the executor with 0 parallelism
+	// parallelism below 1 falls back to a single worker
-	count.Store(0)
+	exec, count, maxActive = concurrencyProbe(1)
-	activeCount.Store(0)
+	require.NoError(t, NewParallelExecutor(0, exec, exec, exec)(ctx))
-	maxCount.Store(0)
+	assert.Equal(t, int32(3), count.Load(), "should run all 3 executors")
-
+	assert.Equal(t, int32(1), maxActive.Load(), "should run at most 1 executor in parallel")
-	errSingle := NewParallelExecutor(0, emptyWorkflow, emptyWorkflow, emptyWorkflow)(ctx)
-
-	assert.Equal(int32(3), count.Load(), "should run all 3 executors")
-	assert.Equal(int32(1), maxCount.Load(), "should run at most 1 executors in parallel")
-	assert.NoError(errSingle)
 }
 
 func TestNewParallelExecutorEmpty(t *testing.T) {
@@ -173,6 +174,23 @@ func TestNewParallelExecutorCanceled(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Error(errExpected, err) //nolint:testifylint // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
 }
 
+func TestNewParallelExecutorRunsRemainingAfterFailure(t *testing.T) {
+	var successCount atomic.Int32
+	executors := make([]Executor, 5)
+	for i := range executors {
+		executors[i] = func(ctx context.Context) error {
+			if i == 2 {
+				return errors.New("fake error")
+			}
+			successCount.Add(1)
+			return nil
+		}
+	}
+
+	require.Error(t, NewParallelExecutor(2, executors...)(context.Background()))
+	assert.Equal(t, int32(4), successCount.Load(), "a failing executor must not stop the others")
+}
+
 func TestExecutorConditionalsAndFinally(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx := context.Background()
 	var calls []string

act/container/docker_create_flags.go

@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+// Copyright 2026 The Gitea Authors. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+
+//go:build !(WITHOUT_DOCKER || !(linux || darwin || windows || netbsd))
+
+package container
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"slices"
+
+	"github.com/kballard/go-shellquote"
+	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
+)
+
+const (
+	pullPolicyAlways  = "always"
+	pullPolicyMissing = "missing"
+	pullPolicyNever   = "never"
+)
+
+var pullPolicies = []string{pullPolicyAlways, pullPolicyMissing, pullPolicyNever}
+
+// createFlags are the flags docker/cli registers on the `create` and `run` commands
+// instead of in addFlags, so they are not part of containerOptions.
+type createFlags struct {
+	platform     string
+	pull         string
+	name         string
+	useAPISocket bool
+}
+
+func registerCreateFlags(flags *pflag.FlagSet) *createFlags {
+	cf := new(createFlags)
+	flags.StringVar(&cf.platform, "platform", "", "Set platform if server is multi-platform capable")
+	flags.StringVar(&cf.pull, "pull", pullPolicyMissing, `Pull image before creating ("always", "missing", "never")`)
+	flags.StringVar(&cf.name, "name", "", "Assign a name to the container")
+	flags.BoolVar(&cf.useAPISocket, "use-api-socket", false, "Bind mount Docker API socket and required auth")
+	// Accepted without effect: pull progress is only logged at debug level, and docker
+	// no longer implements content trust.
+	flags.BoolP("quiet", "q", false, "Suppress the pull output")
+	flags.Bool("disable-content-trust", true, "Skip image verification (deprecated)")
+	return cf
+}
+
+// parseContainerOptions parses a container options string. The flags are returned even
+// on error, holding whatever was read before the failure.
+func parseContainerOptions(options string) (*pflag.FlagSet, *containerOptions, *createFlags, error) {
+	flags := pflag.NewFlagSet("container_flags", pflag.ContinueOnError)
+	flags.SetOutput(io.Discard)
+	copts := addFlags(flags)
+	cf := registerCreateFlags(flags)
+
+	args, err := shellquote.Split(options)
+	if err != nil {
+		return flags, copts, cf, fmt.Errorf("Cannot split container options: '%s': '%w'", options, err)
+	}
+
+	if err := flags.Parse(args); err != nil {
+		return flags, copts, cf, fmt.Errorf("Cannot parse container options: '%s': '%w'", options, err)
+	}
+
+	return flags, copts, cf, nil
+}
+
+// createFlagsFromOptions reads the create-level flags that have to be known before the
+// container is created. Malformed options keep the defaults here and are reported by
+// mergeContainerConfigs at create time.
+func createFlagsFromOptions(options string) *createFlags {
+	_, _, cf, _ := parseContainerOptions(options)
+	return cf
+}
+
+func (cf *createFlags) validate() error {
+	if !slices.Contains(pullPolicies, cf.pull) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("invalid --pull option %q: must be one of %q", cf.pull, pullPolicies)
+	}
+
+	if cf.useAPISocket {
+		return errors.New("--use-api-socket is not supported, use the runner's container.docker_host setting to expose a docker socket")
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}

act/container/docker_create_flags_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+// Copyright 2026 The Gitea Authors. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+
+package container
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+func TestCreateFlagsFromOptions(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, tc := range []struct {
+		options  string
+		platform string
+		pull     string
+	}{
+		{"", "", pullPolicyMissing},
+		{"-v /a:/b --platform=linux/arm64 --pull always", "linux/arm64", pullPolicyAlways},
+		{"--platform linux/arm/v7 --pull never", "linux/arm/v7", pullPolicyNever},
+		{`--platform "linux/amd64`, "", pullPolicyMissing}, // malformed, defaults kept
+	} {
+		t.Run(tc.options, func(t *testing.T) {
+			cf := createFlagsFromOptions(tc.options)
+			assert.Equal(t, tc.platform, cf.platform)
+			assert.Equal(t, tc.pull, cf.pull)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCreateFlagsValidate(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, tc := range []struct {
+		options string
+		wantErr string
+	}{
+		{"--quiet --disable-content-trust --name mine", ""},
+		{"--pull sometimes", `invalid --pull option "sometimes"`},
+		{"--use-api-socket", "--use-api-socket is not supported"},
+	} {
+		t.Run(tc.options, func(t *testing.T) {
+			err := createFlagsFromOptions(tc.options).validate()
+			if tc.wantErr == "" {
+				require.NoError(t, err)
+				return
+			}
+			require.ErrorContains(t, err, tc.wantErr)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNewContainerAppliesCreateFlags(t *testing.T) {
+	input := &NewContainerInput{Platform: "linux/amd64", Options: "--platform linux/arm64 --pull never"}
+	cr := NewContainer(input).(*containerReference)
+	assert.Equal(t, "linux/arm64", input.Platform)
+	assert.Equal(t, pullPolicyNever, cr.pullPolicy)
+
+	kept := &NewContainerInput{Platform: "linux/amd64", Options: "--privileged"}
+	NewContainer(kept)
+	assert.Equal(t, "linux/amd64", kept.Platform)
+}

act/container/docker_run.go

@@ -35,7 +35,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/go-git/go-git/v5/plumbing/format/gitignore"
 	"github.com/gobwas/glob"
 	"github.com/joho/godotenv"
-	"github.com/kballard/go-shellquote"
 	"github.com/moby/moby/api/pkg/stdcopy"
 	"github.com/moby/moby/api/types/container"
 	"github.com/moby/moby/api/types/mount"
@@ -43,7 +42,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/moby/moby/api/types/system"
 	"github.com/moby/moby/client"
 	specs "github.com/opencontainers/image-spec/specs-go/v1"
-	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
 )
 
 // drainGracePeriod bounds how long we wait for an output-copy goroutine to
@@ -57,6 +55,12 @@ const drainGracePeriod = 2 * time.Second
 func NewContainer(input *NewContainerInput) ExecutionsEnvironment {
 	cr := new(containerReference)
 	cr.input = input
+	// Resolved up front because the image pull runs before the container is created.
+	cf := createFlagsFromOptions(input.Options)
+	if cf.platform != "" {
+		cr.input.Platform = cf.platform
+	}
+	cr.pullPolicy = cf.pull
 	return cr
 }
 
@@ -137,6 +141,11 @@ func (cr *containerReference) Start(attach bool) common.Executor {
 }
 
 func (cr *containerReference) Pull(forcePull bool) common.Executor {
+	if cr.pullPolicy == pullPolicyNever {
+		return common.NewInfoExecutor("docker pull skipped image=%s, --pull=never in the options", cr.input.Image)
+	}
+	forcePull = forcePull || cr.pullPolicy == pullPolicyAlways
+
 	return common.
 		NewInfoExecutor("docker pull image=%s platform=%s username=%s forcePull=%t", cr.input.Image, cr.input.Platform, cr.input.Username, forcePull).
 		Then(
@@ -232,11 +241,12 @@ func (cr *containerReference) ReplaceLogWriter(stdout, stderr io.Writer) (io.Wri
 }
 
 type containerReference struct {
-	cli   client.APIClient
+	cli        client.APIClient
-	id    string
+	id         string
-	input *NewContainerInput
+	input      *NewContainerInput
-	UID   int
+	pullPolicy string
-	GID   int
+	UID        int
+	GID        int
 	// attachDone is closed by the attach() streaming goroutine once it has
 	// drained and flushed the container's output. wait() blocks on it so the
 	// tail of the log lands before the step proceeds.
@@ -411,17 +421,13 @@ func (cr *containerReference) mergeContainerConfigs(ctx context.Context, config
 	}
 
 	// parse configuration from CLI container.options
-	flags := pflag.NewFlagSet("container_flags", pflag.ContinueOnError)
+	flags, copts, cf, err := parseContainerOptions(input.Options)
-	copts := addFlags(flags)
-
-	optionsArgs, err := shellquote.Split(input.Options)
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("Cannot split container options: '%s': '%w'", input.Options, err)
+		return nil, nil, err
 	}
 
-	err = flags.Parse(optionsArgs)
+	if err := cf.validate(); err != nil {
-	if err != nil {
+		return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("Cannot process container options: '%s': '%w'", input.Options, err)
-		return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("Cannot parse container options: '%s': '%w'", input.Options, err)
 	}
 
 	// FIXME: If everything is fine after gitea/act v0.260.0, remove the following comment.
@@ -476,6 +482,9 @@ func (cr *containerReference) mergeContainerConfigs(ctx context.Context, config
 	}
 	hostConfig.Binds = binds
 	hostConfig.Mounts = mounts
+	if cf.name != "" {
+		logger.Warn("--name in the options will be ignored.")
+	}
 	if len(copts.netMode.Value()) > 0 {
 		logger.Warn("--network and --net in the options will be ignored.")
 	}

act/model/action.go

@@ -76,17 +76,19 @@ func (a ActionRunsUsing) IsComposite() bool {
 
 // ActionRuns are a field in Action
 type ActionRuns struct {
-	Using      ActionRunsUsing   `yaml:"using"`
+	Using          ActionRunsUsing   `yaml:"using"`
-	Env        map[string]string `yaml:"env"`
+	Env            map[string]string `yaml:"env"`
-	Main       string            `yaml:"main"`
+	Main           string            `yaml:"main"`
-	Pre        string            `yaml:"pre"`
+	Pre            string            `yaml:"pre"`
-	PreIf      string            `yaml:"pre-if"`
+	PreIf          string            `yaml:"pre-if"`
-	Post       string            `yaml:"post"`
+	Post           string            `yaml:"post"`
-	PostIf     string            `yaml:"post-if"`
+	PostIf         string            `yaml:"post-if"`
-	Image      string            `yaml:"image"`
+	Image          string            `yaml:"image"`
-	Entrypoint string            `yaml:"entrypoint"`
+	PreEntrypoint  string            `yaml:"pre-entrypoint"`
-	Args       []string          `yaml:"args"`
+	Entrypoint     string            `yaml:"entrypoint"`
-	Steps      []Step            `yaml:"steps"`
+	PostEntrypoint string            `yaml:"post-entrypoint"`
+	Args           []string          `yaml:"args"`
+	Steps          []Step            `yaml:"steps"`
 }
 
 // Action describes a metadata file for GitHub actions. The metadata filename must be either action.yml or action.yaml. The data in the metadata file defines the inputs, outputs and main entrypoint for your action.

act/model/action_test.go

@@ -61,3 +61,22 @@ runs:
 		t.Fatalf("error = %q, want invalid value", err)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestReadActionDockerEntrypoints(t *testing.T) {
+	action, err := ReadAction(strings.NewReader(`
+runs:
+  using: docker
+  image: Dockerfile
+  pre-entrypoint: pre.sh
+  post-entrypoint: post.sh
+`))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if action.Runs.PreEntrypoint != "pre.sh" {
+		t.Fatalf("pre-entrypoint = %q, want pre.sh", action.Runs.PreEntrypoint)
+	}
+	if action.Runs.PostEntrypoint != "post.sh" {
+		t.Fatalf("post-entrypoint = %q, want post.sh", action.Runs.PostEntrypoint)
+	}
+}

act/runner/action.go

@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ func runActionImpl(step actionStep, actionDir string, remoteAction *remoteAction
 			if remoteAction == nil {
 				location = containerActionDir
 			}
-			return execAsDocker(ctx, step, actionName, actionDir, location, remoteAction == nil)
+			return execAsDocker(ctx, step, actionName, actionDir, location, remoteAction == nil, stepStageMain)
 		case x.IsComposite():
 			if err := maybeCopyToActionDir(ctx, step, actionDir, actionPath, containerActionDir); err != nil {
 				return err
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@ func dockerActionImageTag(repository, actionName string, localAction bool) strin
 }
 
 // TODO: break out parts of function to reduce complexicity
-func execAsDocker(ctx context.Context, step actionStep, actionName, actionDir, basedir string, localAction bool) error {
+func execAsDocker(ctx context.Context, step actionStep, actionName, actionDir, basedir string, localAction bool, stage stepStage) error {
 	logger := common.Logger(ctx)
 	rc := step.getRunContext()
 	action := step.getActionModel()
@@ -386,16 +386,9 @@ func execAsDocker(ctx context.Context, step actionStep, actionName, actionDir, b
 		cmd = action.Runs.Args
 		evalDockerArgs(ctx, step, action, &cmd)
 	}
-	entrypoint := strings.Fields(eval.Interpolate(ctx, step.getStepModel().With["entrypoint"]))
+	entrypoint, err := dockerEntrypoint(ctx, step, eval, stage)
-	if len(entrypoint) == 0 {
+	if err != nil {
-		if action.Runs.Entrypoint != "" {
+		return err
-			entrypoint, err = shellquote.Split(action.Runs.Entrypoint)
-			if err != nil {
-				return err
-			}
-		} else {
-			entrypoint = nil
-		}
 	}
 	stepContainer := newStepContainer(ctx, step, image, cmd, entrypoint)
 	return common.NewPipelineExecutor(
@@ -409,6 +402,30 @@ func execAsDocker(ctx context.Context, step actionStep, actionName, actionDir, b
 	).Finally(stepContainer.Close())(ctx)
 }
 
+// dockerEntrypoint returns the entrypoint the action's image runs with for the given
+// stage. Only the main stage honours the `entrypoint` input.
+func dockerEntrypoint(ctx context.Context, step actionStep, eval ExpressionEvaluator, stage stepStage) ([]string, error) {
+	runs := step.getActionModel().Runs
+
+	var entrypoint string
+	switch stage {
+	case stepStagePre:
+		entrypoint = runs.PreEntrypoint
+	case stepStagePost:
+		entrypoint = runs.PostEntrypoint
+	default:
+		if fields := strings.Fields(eval.Interpolate(ctx, step.getStepModel().With["entrypoint"])); len(fields) > 0 {
+			return fields, nil
+		}
+		entrypoint = runs.Entrypoint
+	}
+
+	if entrypoint == "" {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	return shellquote.Split(entrypoint)
+}
+
 func evalDockerArgs(ctx context.Context, step step, action *model.Action, cmd *[]string) {
 	rc := step.getRunContext()
 	stepModel := step.getStepModel()
@@ -559,44 +576,57 @@ func hasPreStep(step actionStep) common.Conditional {
 		return action.Runs.Using.IsComposite() ||
 			(action.Runs.Using.IsNode() &&
 				action.Runs.Pre != "") ||
+			(action.Runs.Using.IsDocker() &&
+				action.Runs.PreEntrypoint != "") ||
 			(action.Runs.Using == model.ActionRunsUsingGo &&
 				action.Runs.Pre != "")
 	}
 }
 
+// actionStagePaths resolves where a step's action lives and where the job container sees
+// it, for the pre and post stage.
+func actionStagePaths(step actionStep) (actionDir, actionPath, actionName, containerActionDir string) {
+	rc := step.getRunContext()
+	stepModel := step.getStepModel()
+
+	if _, ok := step.(*stepActionRemote); ok {
+		actionDir = fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", rc.ActionCacheDir(), stepModel.UsesHash())
+		actionPath = newRemoteAction(stepModel.Uses).Path
+	} else {
+		actionDir = filepath.Join(rc.Config.Workdir, stepModel.Uses)
+	}
+
+	actionName, containerActionDir = getContainerActionPaths(stepModel, path.Join(actionDir, actionPath), rc)
+	return actionDir, actionPath, actionName, containerActionDir
+}
+
+// execDockerActionStage runs a docker action's image for its pre or post stage.
+func execDockerActionStage(ctx context.Context, step actionStep, stage stepStage) error {
+	actionDir, actionPath, actionName, containerActionDir := actionStagePaths(step)
+
+	_, remote := step.(*stepActionRemote)
+	location := containerActionDir
+	if remote {
+		location = path.Join(actionDir, actionPath)
+	}
+	return execAsDocker(ctx, step, actionName, actionDir, location, !remote, stage)
+}
+
 func runPreStep(step actionStep) common.Executor {
 	return func(ctx context.Context) error {
 		logger := common.Logger(ctx)
 		logger.Debugf("run pre step for '%s'", step.getStepModel())
 
 		rc := step.getRunContext()
-		stepModel := step.getStepModel()
 		action := step.getActionModel()
 
+		actionDir, actionPath, _, containerActionDir := actionStagePaths(step)
+
 		x := action.Runs.Using
 		switch {
 		case x.IsNode():
 			// defaults in pre steps were missing, however provided inputs are available
 			populateEnvsFromInput(ctx, step.getEnv(), action, rc)
-			// todo: refactor into step
-			var actionDir string
-			var actionPath string
-			if _, ok := step.(*stepActionRemote); ok {
-				actionPath = newRemoteAction(stepModel.Uses).Path
-				actionDir = fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", rc.ActionCacheDir(), stepModel.UsesHash())
-			} else {
-				actionDir = filepath.Join(rc.Config.Workdir, stepModel.Uses)
-				actionPath = ""
-			}
-
-			var actionLocation string
-			if actionPath != "" {
-				actionLocation = path.Join(actionDir, actionPath)
-			} else {
-				actionLocation = actionDir
-			}
-
-			_, containerActionDir := getContainerActionPaths(stepModel, actionLocation, rc)
 
 			if err := maybeCopyToActionDir(ctx, step, actionDir, actionPath, containerActionDir); err != nil {
 				return err
@@ -609,6 +639,12 @@ func runPreStep(step actionStep) common.Executor {
 
 			return rc.execJobContainer(containerArgs, *step.getEnv(), "", "")(ctx)
 
+		case x.IsDocker():
+			// defaults in pre steps were missing, however provided inputs are available
+			populateEnvsFromInput(ctx, step.getEnv(), action, rc)
+
+			return execDockerActionStage(ctx, step, stepStagePre)
+
 		case x.IsComposite():
 			if step.getCompositeSteps() == nil {
 				step.getCompositeRunContext(ctx)
@@ -622,25 +658,6 @@ func runPreStep(step actionStep) common.Executor {
 		case x == model.ActionRunsUsingGo:
 			// defaults in pre steps were missing, however provided inputs are available
 			populateEnvsFromInput(ctx, step.getEnv(), action, rc)
-			// todo: refactor into step
-			var actionDir string
-			var actionPath string
-			if _, ok := step.(*stepActionRemote); ok {
-				actionPath = newRemoteAction(stepModel.Uses).Path
-				actionDir = fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", rc.ActionCacheDir(), stepModel.UsesHash())
-			} else {
-				actionDir = filepath.Join(rc.Config.Workdir, stepModel.Uses)
-				actionPath = ""
-			}
-
-			var actionLocation string
-			if actionPath != "" {
-				actionLocation = path.Join(actionDir, actionPath)
-			} else {
-				actionLocation = actionDir
-			}
-
-			_, containerActionDir := getContainerActionPaths(stepModel, actionLocation, rc)
 
 			if err := maybeCopyToActionDir(ctx, step, actionDir, actionPath, containerActionDir); err != nil {
 				return err
@@ -693,6 +710,8 @@ func hasPostStep(step actionStep) common.Conditional {
 		return action.Runs.Using.IsComposite() ||
 			(action.Runs.Using.IsNode() &&
 				action.Runs.Post != "") ||
+			(action.Runs.Using.IsDocker() &&
+				action.Runs.PostEntrypoint != "") ||
 			(action.Runs.Using == model.ActionRunsUsingGo &&
 				action.Runs.Post != "")
 	}
@@ -704,28 +723,9 @@ func runPostStep(step actionStep) common.Executor {
 		logger.Debugf("run post step for '%s'", step.getStepModel())
 
 		rc := step.getRunContext()
-		stepModel := step.getStepModel()
 		action := step.getActionModel()
 
-		// todo: refactor into step
+		actionDir, actionPath, _, containerActionDir := actionStagePaths(step)
-		var actionDir string
-		var actionPath string
-		if _, ok := step.(*stepActionRemote); ok {
-			actionPath = newRemoteAction(stepModel.Uses).Path
-			actionDir = fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", rc.ActionCacheDir(), stepModel.UsesHash())
-		} else {
-			actionDir = filepath.Join(rc.Config.Workdir, stepModel.Uses)
-			actionPath = ""
-		}
-
-		var actionLocation string
-		if actionPath != "" {
-			actionLocation = path.Join(actionDir, actionPath)
-		} else {
-			actionLocation = actionDir
-		}
-
-		_, containerActionDir := getContainerActionPaths(stepModel, actionLocation, rc)
 
 		x := action.Runs.Using
 		switch {
@@ -740,6 +740,11 @@ func runPostStep(step actionStep) common.Executor {
 
 			return rc.execJobContainer(containerArgs, *step.getEnv(), "", "")(ctx)
 
+		case x.IsDocker():
+			populateEnvsFromSavedState(step.getEnv(), step, rc)
+
+			return execDockerActionStage(ctx, step, stepStagePost)
+
 		case x.IsComposite():
 			if err := maybeCopyToActionDir(ctx, step, actionDir, actionPath, containerActionDir); err != nil {
 				return err

act/runner/action_test.go

@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ func TestExecAsDockerAutoRemove(t *testing.T) {
 		cm.On("Start", true).Return(func(context.Context) error { return nil })
 		cm.On("Close").Return(func(context.Context) error { return nil })
 
-		require.NoError(t, execAsDocker(context.Background(), step, "action", t.TempDir(), t.TempDir(), false))
+		require.NoError(t, execAsDocker(context.Background(), step, "action", t.TempDir(), t.TempDir(), false, stepStageMain))
 		cm.AssertExpectations(t)
 		assert.Equal(t, tc.removes, removes)
 	}
@@ -465,7 +465,7 @@ func TestExecAsDockerHoldsCloneLockForRemoteUncached(t *testing.T) {
 	defer cancel()
 
 	done := make(chan error, 1)
-	go func() { done <- execAsDocker(ctx, step, "test-action", actionDir, actionDir, false) }()
+	go func() { done <- execAsDocker(ctx, step, "test-action", actionDir, actionDir, false, stepStageMain) }()
 
 	select {
 	case <-innerEntered:
@@ -541,3 +541,86 @@ func TestDockerActionImageTag(t *testing.T) {
 		dockerActionImageTag("owner/repo", "./sub", true),
 	)
 }
+
+// Only the entrypoint is stage specific: every stage of a docker action receives runs.args
+// and runs.env, and the `entrypoint` input applies to the main stage alone.
+func TestExecAsDockerStageEntrypoint(t *testing.T) {
+	orig := ContainerNewContainer
+	defer func() { ContainerNewContainer = orig }()
+
+	for _, tc := range []struct {
+		name           string
+		stage          stepStage
+		wantEntrypoint []string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:           "main stage prefers the entrypoint input",
+			stage:          stepStageMain,
+			wantEntrypoint: []string{"input.sh"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:           "pre stage uses runs.pre-entrypoint",
+			stage:          stepStagePre,
+			wantEntrypoint: []string{"pre.sh", "--verbose"},
+		},
+		{
+			name:           "post stage uses runs.post-entrypoint",
+			stage:          stepStagePost,
+			wantEntrypoint: []string{"post.sh"},
+		},
+	} {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			cm := &containerMock{}
+			var input *container.NewContainerInput
+			ContainerNewContainer = func(in *container.NewContainerInput) container.ExecutionsEnvironment {
+				input = in
+				return cm
+			}
+
+			step := &stepActionRemote{
+				Step: &model.Step{ID: "1", Uses: "org/action@v1", With: map[string]string{"entrypoint": "input.sh"}},
+				RunContext: &RunContext{
+					Config:       &Config{},
+					Run:          &model.Run{JobID: "1", Workflow: &model.Workflow{Jobs: map[string]*model.Job{"1": {}}}},
+					JobContainer: cm,
+				},
+				action: &model.Action{Runs: model.ActionRuns{
+					Using:          "docker",
+					Image:          "docker://node:14",
+					PreEntrypoint:  "pre.sh --verbose",
+					Entrypoint:     "main.sh",
+					PostEntrypoint: "post.sh",
+					Args:           []string{"hello"},
+					Env:            map[string]string{"MY_VAR": "world"},
+				}},
+				env: map[string]string{},
+			}
+
+			cm.On("Pull", false).Return(func(context.Context) error { return nil })
+			cm.On("Remove").Return(func(context.Context) error { return nil })
+			cm.On("Create", []string(nil), []string(nil)).Return(func(context.Context) error { return nil })
+			cm.On("Start", true).Return(func(context.Context) error { return nil })
+			cm.On("Close").Return(func(context.Context) error { return nil })
+
+			require.NoError(t, execAsDocker(context.Background(), step, "action", t.TempDir(), t.TempDir(), false, tc.stage))
+			require.NotNil(t, input)
+			assert.Equal(t, tc.wantEntrypoint, input.Entrypoint)
+			assert.Equal(t, []string{"hello"}, input.Cmd)
+			assert.Contains(t, input.Env, "MY_VAR=world")
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDockerActionHasPreAndPostStep(t *testing.T) {
+	newStep := func(runs model.ActionRuns) actionStep {
+		return &stepActionRemote{action: &model.Action{Runs: runs}}
+	}
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	assert.False(t, hasPreStep(newStep(model.ActionRuns{Using: "docker", Image: "Dockerfile"}))(ctx))
+	assert.False(t, hasPostStep(newStep(model.ActionRuns{Using: "docker", Image: "Dockerfile"}))(ctx))
+
+	withStages := model.ActionRuns{Using: "docker", Image: "Dockerfile", PreEntrypoint: "pre.sh", PostEntrypoint: "post.sh"}
+	assert.True(t, hasPreStep(newStep(withStages))(ctx))
+	assert.True(t, hasPostStep(newStep(withStages))(ctx))
+}

act/runner/command.go

@@ -154,30 +154,25 @@ func parseKeyValuePairs(kvPairs, separator string) map[string]string {
 	return rtn
 }
 
+// A Replacer never rescans what it wrote, so "%250A" stays a literal "%0A".
+var (
+	commandDataEscaper       = strings.NewReplacer("%", "%25", "\r", "%0D", "\n", "%0A")
+	commandDataUnescaper     = strings.NewReplacer("%25", "%", "%0D", "\r", "%0A", "\n")
+	commandPropertyUnescaper = strings.NewReplacer("%25", "%", "%0D", "\r", "%0A", "\n", "%3A", ":", "%2C", ",")
+)
+
+// escapeCommandData encodes the data part of a "::cmd::" or "##[cmd]" line the runner writes itself,
+// so the log renderer decodes it back. Lines forwarded from step output are already escaped.
+func escapeCommandData(arg string) string {
+	return commandDataEscaper.Replace(arg)
+}
+
 func UnescapeCommandData(arg string) string {
-	escapeMap := map[string]string{
+	return commandDataUnescaper.Replace(arg)
-		"%25": "%",
-		"%0D": "\r",
-		"%0A": "\n",
-	}
-	for k, v := range escapeMap {
-		arg = strings.ReplaceAll(arg, k, v)
-	}
-	return arg
 }
 
 func unescapeCommandProperty(arg string) string {
-	escapeMap := map[string]string{
+	return commandPropertyUnescaper.Replace(arg)
-		"%25": "%",
-		"%0D": "\r",
-		"%0A": "\n",
-		"%3A": ":",
-		"%2C": ",",
-	}
-	for k, v := range escapeMap {
-		arg = strings.ReplaceAll(arg, k, v)
-	}
-	return arg
 }
 
 func unescapeKvPairs(kvPairs map[string]string) map[string]string {

act/runner/command_test.go

@@ -214,3 +214,10 @@ func TestSaveState(t *testing.T) {
 
 	assert.Equal(t, "state-value", rc.IntraActionState["step"]["state-name"])
 }
+
+func TestEscapeCommandData(t *testing.T) {
+	a := assert.New(t)
+
+	a.Equal("a%25b%0Dc%0Ad%250A", escapeCommandData("a%b\rc\nd%0A"))
+	a.Equal("a%b\rc\nd%0A", UnescapeCommandData("a%25b%0Dc%0Ad%250A"))
+}

act/runner/expression.go

@@ -95,9 +95,7 @@ func (rc *RunContext) NewExpressionEvaluatorWithEnv(ctx context.Context, env map
 		Inputs:    inputs,
 		HashFiles: getHashFilesFunction(ctx, rc),
 	}
-	if rc.JobContainer != nil {
+	ee.Runner = rc.getRunnerContext(ctx)
-		ee.Runner = rc.JobContainer.GetRunnerContext(ctx)
-	}
 	return expressionEvaluator{
 		interpreter: exprparser.NewInterpeter(ee, exprparser.Config{
 			Run:        rc.Run,
@@ -149,9 +147,7 @@ func (rc *RunContext) NewStepExpressionEvaluator(ctx context.Context, step step)
 		Inputs:    inputs,
 		HashFiles: getHashFilesFunction(ctx, rc),
 	}
-	if rc.JobContainer != nil {
+	ee.Runner = rc.getRunnerContext(ctx)
-		ee.Runner = rc.JobContainer.GetRunnerContext(ctx)
-	}
 	return expressionEvaluator{
 		interpreter: exprparser.NewInterpeter(ee, exprparser.Config{
 			Run:        rc.Run,

act/runner/helpers_test.go

@@ -5,11 +5,9 @@ package runner
 
 import (
 	"context"
-	"net"
 	"os/exec"
 	"runtime"
 	"testing"
-	"time"
 
 	"gitea.com/gitea/runner/act/container"
 
@@ -42,18 +40,6 @@ func requireDocker(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-// requireNetwork skips the test unless github.com is reachable. A few tests exercise behaviour
-// that inherently needs the network (force-pulling an image, resolving a remote short-sha ref);
-// gating lets the rest of the suite run offline without these failing.
-func requireNetwork(t *testing.T) {
-	t.Helper()
-	conn, err := net.DialTimeout("tcp", "github.com:443", 3*time.Second)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Skipf("skipping: network unavailable: %v", err)
-	}
-	_ = conn.Close()
-}
-
 // requireHostTools skips the test unless every named executable is on PATH. Used by the
 // self-hosted (host environment) suite, which runs steps directly on the host.
 func requireHostTools(t *testing.T, tools ...string) {

act/runner/job_executor.go

@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ func reportStepError(ctx context.Context, rc *RunContext, err error) {
 		rc.markInterrupted(ctx.Err())
 		return
 	}
-	common.Logger(ctx).Errorf("##[error]%v", err)
+	common.Logger(ctx).Errorf("##[error]%s", escapeCommandData(err.Error()))
 	common.SetJobError(ctx, err)
 	rc.markFailed()
 }

act/runner/job_executor_test.go

@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestJobExecutor(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
 	// Dryrun only checks syntax/planning; all cases resolve locally, so this runs offline.
 	tables := []TestJobFileInfo{
 		{workdir, "uses-and-run-in-one-step", "push", "Invalid run/uses syntax for job:test step:Test", platforms, secrets},
@@ -46,6 +47,7 @@ func TestJobExecutor(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx := common.WithDryrun(context.Background(), true)
 	for _, table := range tables {
 		t.Run(table.workflowPath, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
 			table.runTest(ctx, t, &Config{})
 		})
 	}

act/runner/logger.go

@@ -175,6 +175,10 @@ func AppendSecretMasker(oldnew []string, v string) []string {
 		// formatted JSON secrets could otherwise mask {,[,],} everywhere
 		if len(tm) > 1 {
 			ret = append(ret, tm, "***")
+			// command data reaches the log escaped, so "pass%word" also arrives as "pass%25word"
+			if strings.ContainsAny(tm, "%\r\n") {
+				ret = append(ret, escapeCommandData(tm), "***")
+			}
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -230,6 +234,11 @@ type jobLogFormatter struct {
 func (f *jobLogFormatter) Format(entry *logrus.Entry) ([]byte, error) {
 	b := &bytes.Buffer{}
 
+	// the web renderer decodes command data, so this local view has to as well
+	if _, _, _, ok := tryParseRawActionCommand(entry.Message + "\n"); ok {
+		entry.Message = UnescapeCommandData(entry.Message)
+	}
+
 	if f.isColored(entry) {
 		f.printColored(b, entry)
 	} else {

act/runner/logger_test.go

@@ -4,11 +4,13 @@
 package runner
 
 import (
+	"io"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
 func TestValueMasker(t *testing.T) {
@@ -33,6 +35,12 @@ func TestValueMasker(t *testing.T) {
 			masks:      []string{"PRIVATE_KEY_BEGIN\ndsdfseffefsefes\ndsdfseffefsefes\ndsdfseffefsefes\ndsdfseffefsefes\ndsdfseffefsefes\ndsdfseffefsefes\ndsdfseffefsefes\ndsdfseffefsefes\ndsdfseffefsefes\nPRIVATE_KEY_END"},
 			disallowed: []string{"KEY", "dsdfseffefsefes", "PRIVATE_KEY_END"},
 		},
+		{
+			name:       "Secret containing a percent sign",
+			lines:      "##[error]login failed for pass%25word",
+			secrets:    map[string]string{"TOKEN": "pass%word"},
+			disallowed: []string{"pass%25word"},
+		},
 	}
 	for _, entry := range table {
 		t.Run(entry.name, func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -50,3 +58,17 @@ func TestValueMasker(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func TestJobLogFormatterDecodesCommandData(t *testing.T) {
+	logger := logrus.New()
+	logger.Out = io.Discard
+	format := func(message string) string {
+		out, err := (&jobLogFormatter{}).Format(&logrus.Entry{Logger: logger, Message: message, Data: logrus.Fields{rawOutputField: true}})
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		return string(out)
+	}
+
+	assert.Contains(t, format("##[error]deploy 50%25 traffic"), "##[error]deploy 50% traffic")
+	// a plain line is not command data and keeps its literal escapes
+	assert.Contains(t, format("progress 50%25 done"), "progress 50%25 done")
+}

act/runner/run_context.go

@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ func (rc *RunContext) startHostEnvironment() common.Executor {
 			AllocatePTY: rc.Config.AllocatePTY,
 		}
 		rc.cleanUpJobContainer = rc.JobContainer.Remove()
-		for k, v := range rc.JobContainer.GetRunnerContext(ctx) {
+		for k, v := range rc.getRunnerContext(ctx) {
 			if v, ok := v.(string); ok {
 				rc.Env["RUNNER_"+strings.ToUpper(k)] = v
 			}
@@ -454,37 +454,7 @@ func (rc *RunContext) startJobContainer() common.Executor {
 			rc.ServiceContainers = append(rc.ServiceContainers, c)
 		}
 
-		rc.cleanUpJobContainer = func(ctx context.Context) error {
+		rc.cleanUpJobContainer = rc.cleanupJobResources(networkName, createAndDeleteNetwork)
-			reuseJobContainer := func(ctx context.Context) bool {
-				return rc.Config.ReuseContainers
-			}
-
-			if rc.JobContainer != nil {
-				return rc.JobContainer.Remove().IfNot(reuseJobContainer).
-					Then(container.NewDockerVolumeRemoveExecutor(rc.jobContainerName(), false)).IfNot(reuseJobContainer).
-					Then(container.NewDockerVolumeRemoveExecutor(rc.jobContainerName()+"-env", false)).IfNot(reuseJobContainer).
-					Then(func(ctx context.Context) error {
-						if len(rc.ServiceContainers) > 0 {
-							logger.Infof("Cleaning up services for job %s", rc.JobName)
-							if err := rc.stopServiceContainers()(ctx); err != nil {
-								logger.Errorf("Error while cleaning services: %v", err)
-							}
-						}
-						if createAndDeleteNetwork {
-							// clean network if it has been created by act
-							// if using service containers
-							// it means that the network to which containers are connecting is created by `runner`,
-							// so, we should remove the network at last.
-							logger.Infof("Cleaning up network for job %s, and network name is: %s", rc.JobName, networkName)
-							if err := container.NewDockerNetworkRemoveExecutor(networkName)(ctx); err != nil {
-								logger.Errorf("Error while cleaning network: %v", err)
-							}
-						}
-						return nil
-					})(ctx)
-			}
-			return nil
-		}
 
 		// For Gitea, `jobContainerNetwork` should be the same as `networkName`
 		jobContainerNetwork := networkName
@@ -539,6 +509,41 @@ func (rc *RunContext) startJobContainer() common.Executor {
 	}
 }
 
+// cleanupJobResources removes everything the job created, continuing past failures.
+// Only job container and volume errors are returned, the rest are logged.
+func (rc *RunContext) cleanupJobResources(networkName string, createAndDeleteNetwork bool) common.Executor {
+	return func(ctx context.Context) error {
+		logger := common.Logger(ctx)
+		removeJobContainer := rc.JobContainer != nil && !rc.Config.ReuseContainers
+
+		var errs []error
+		if removeJobContainer {
+			errs = append(errs, rc.JobContainer.Remove()(ctx))
+		}
+		if len(rc.ServiceContainers) > 0 {
+			logger.Infof("Cleaning up services for job %s", rc.JobName)
+			if err := rc.stopServiceContainers()(ctx); err != nil {
+				logger.Errorf("Error while cleaning services: %v", err)
+			}
+		}
+		if removeJobContainer {
+			// after the containers using them, services can hold these via `--volumes-from`
+			name := rc.jobContainerName()
+			errs = append(errs,
+				container.NewDockerVolumeRemoveExecutor(name, false)(ctx),
+				container.NewDockerVolumeRemoveExecutor(name+"-env", false)(ctx))
+		}
+		if createAndDeleteNetwork {
+			// last, once every container has detached
+			logger.Infof("Cleaning up network for job %s, and network name is: %s", rc.JobName, networkName)
+			if err := container.NewDockerNetworkRemoveExecutor(networkName)(ctx); err != nil {
+				logger.Errorf("Error while cleaning network: %v", err)
+			}
+		}
+		return errors.Join(errs...)
+	}
+}
+
 func (rc *RunContext) execJobContainer(cmd []string, env map[string]string, user, workdir string) common.Executor { //nolint:unparam // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
 	return func(ctx context.Context) error {
 		return rc.JobContainer.Exec(cmd, env, user, workdir)(ctx)
@@ -981,6 +986,21 @@ func (rc *RunContext) getStepsContext() map[string]*model.StepResult {
 	return rc.StepResults
 }
 
+// getRunnerContext returns the `runner` context: what the execution environment knows
+// (os, arch, temp, tool_cache) plus what only the runner process knows.
+func (rc *RunContext) getRunnerContext(ctx context.Context) map[string]any {
+	runnerContext := map[string]any{}
+	if rc.JobContainer != nil {
+		maps0.Copy(runnerContext, rc.JobContainer.GetRunnerContext(ctx))
+	}
+	runnerContext["name"] = rc.Config.RunnerName
+	runnerContext["environment"] = "self-hosted"
+	if rc.Config.RunnerDebug() {
+		runnerContext["debug"] = "1"
+	}
+	return runnerContext
+}
+
 func (rc *RunContext) getGithubContext(ctx context.Context) *model.GithubContext {
 	logger := common.Logger(ctx)
 	ghc := &model.GithubContext{
@@ -1165,7 +1185,7 @@ func nestedMapLookup(m map[string]any, ks ...string) (rval any) {
 	}
 }
 
-func (rc *RunContext) withGithubEnv(ctx context.Context, github *model.GithubContext, env map[string]string) map[string]string { //nolint:unparam // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
+func (rc *RunContext) withGithubEnv(ctx context.Context, github *model.GithubContext, env map[string]string) {
 	env["CI"] = "true"
 	env["GITHUB_WORKFLOW"] = github.Workflow
 	env["GITHUB_RUN_ID"] = github.RunID
@@ -1207,23 +1227,71 @@ func (rc *RunContext) withGithubEnv(ctx context.Context, github *model.GithubCon
 		env["GITHUB_RUN_ATTEMPT"] = github.RunAttempt
 	}
 
+	env["RUNNER_NAME"] = rc.Config.RunnerName
+	env["RUNNER_ENVIRONMENT"] = "self-hosted"
+	if workspace := parentDir(github.Workspace); workspace != "" {
+		env["RUNNER_WORKSPACE"] = workspace
+	}
+	if rc.Config.RunnerDebug() {
+		env["RUNNER_DEBUG"] = "1"
+	}
+
 	if rc.Config.ArtifactServerPath != "" {
 		setActionRuntimeVars(rc, env)
 	}
 
-	for _, platformName := range rc.runsOnPlatformNames(ctx) {
+	if imageOS := rc.imageOS(ctx); imageOS != "" {
-		if platformName != "" {
+		env["ImageOS"] = imageOS
-			if platformName == "ubuntu-latest" {
+	}
-				// hardcode current ubuntu-latest since we have no way to check that 'on the fly'
+}
-				env["ImageOS"] = "ubuntu20"
+
-			} else {
+// parentDir returns the directory containing p, or "" when p names no parent. Both
-				platformName = strings.SplitN(strings.Replace(platformName, `-`, ``, 1), `.`, 2)[0]
+// separators are accepted rather than filepath's, as p may describe a container while
-				env["ImageOS"] = platformName
+// the runner itself runs on Windows, or the other way round.
-			}
+func parentDir(p string) string {
-		}
+	if slash := strings.LastIndexAny(p, `/\`); slash > 0 {
+		return p[:slash]
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
+// imageOS returns ImageOS, which setup-* actions use to tell one runner image release
+// from another. The resolved image tag is preferred over the runs-on label because it
+// still names a release when the label is a rolling one such as ubuntu-latest.
+func (rc *RunContext) imageOS(ctx context.Context) string {
+	if rc.Run.Job().RunsOn() == nil {
+		// A composite action runs on a synthetic job, and resolving its image would only
+		// log that runs-on is missing.
+		return ""
+	}
+	if imageOS := imageOSFromImage(rc.platformImage(ctx)); imageOS != "" {
+		return imageOS
 	}
 
-	return env
+	for _, platformName := range slices.Backward(rc.runsOnPlatformNames(ctx)) {
+		if platformName == "ubuntu-latest" {
+			// Rolling label whose image names no release either, so keep the historical value.
+			return "ubuntu20"
+		} else if platformName != "" {
+			return strings.SplitN(strings.Replace(platformName, `-`, ``, 1), `.`, 2)[0]
+		}
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
+// imageOSTag matches an image reference tagged with an OS family ImageOS can report plus
+// its release, such as "docker.gitea.com/runner-images:ubuntu-24.04". Anything else
+// ("ubuntu-latest", "app:22.04", "catthehacker/ubuntu:act-22.04", or a registry port) is
+// left to the runs-on label rather than turned into a bogus OS.
+var imageOSTag = regexp.MustCompile(`:(ubuntu|win|macos)-?([0-9]+)[^/]*$`)
+
+// imageOSFromImage derives ImageOS from an image reference, e.g.
+// "docker.gitea.com/runner-images:ubuntu-24.04" yields "ubuntu24".
+func imageOSFromImage(image string) string {
+	if match := imageOSTag.FindStringSubmatch(image); match != nil {
+		return match[1] + match[2]
+	}
+	return ""
 }
 
 func setActionRuntimeVars(rc *RunContext, env map[string]string) {

act/runner/run_context_test.go

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ package runner
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"runtime"
@@ -451,6 +452,46 @@ func TestRunContextValidVolumes(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Len(t, rc.validVolumes(), len(got), "repeated calls must be stable, not accumulate")
 }
 
+func TestCleanupJobResourcesCleansServicesWithoutJobContainer(t *testing.T) {
+	service := &containerMock{}
+	service.On("Remove").Return(func(context.Context) error { return nil }).Once()
+	service.On("Close").Return(func(context.Context) error { return nil }).Once()
+
+	rc := &RunContext{
+		Config:            &Config{},
+		ServiceContainers: []container.ExecutionsEnvironment{service},
+	}
+
+	err := rc.cleanupJobResources("external-network", false)(context.Background())
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	service.AssertExpectations(t)
+}
+
+// cleanup used to bail out on a previous step's error and on a cancelled context
+func TestCleanupJobResourcesContinuesAfterFailure(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("DOCKER_HOST", "unix:///nonexistent.sock")
+
+	jobContainer := &containerMock{}
+	jobContainer.On("Remove").Return(func(context.Context) error { return errors.New("removal failed") }).Once()
+	service := &containerMock{}
+	service.On("Remove").Return(func(context.Context) error { return nil }).Once()
+	service.On("Close").Return(func(context.Context) error { return nil }).Once()
+
+	rc := &RunContext{
+		Name:              "job",
+		Config:            &Config{},
+		Run:               &model.Run{Workflow: &model.Workflow{Name: "wf"}, JobID: "job"},
+		JobContainer:      jobContainer,
+		ServiceContainers: []container.ExecutionsEnvironment{service},
+	}
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	cancel()
+	require.Error(t, rc.cleanupJobResources("job-network", true)(ctx))
+	jobContainer.AssertExpectations(t)
+	service.AssertExpectations(t)
+}
+
 // TestInterpolateOutputsIsPerMatrixCombo guards the matrix-output fix: combinations share one
 // *model.Job, so each must interpolate from its own pristine snapshot. Otherwise the first
 // combo's resolved value freezes the shared template and later combos can't resolve their own.
@@ -899,3 +940,117 @@ func TestRunContext_cleanupFailedStart(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.NotPanics(t, func() { (&RunContext{}).cleanupFailedStart(context.Background()) })
 	})
 }
+
+func TestImageOSFromImage(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, tc := range []struct {
+		image string
+		want  string
+	}{
+		{"", ""},
+		{"docker.gitea.com/runner-images:ubuntu-24.04", "ubuntu24"},
+		{"docker.gitea.com/runner-images:ubuntu-latest", ""},
+		{"runner-images:ubuntu22.04", "ubuntu22"},
+		{"node:20", ""},
+		{"ubuntu:22.04", ""},
+		{"ubuntu", ""},
+		{"catthehacker/ubuntu:act-22.04", ""},
+		{"myco/ubuntu:v2.1", ""},
+		{"myco/ubuntu:v22.04", ""},
+		{"app:release-1", ""},
+		{"app:1.2.3", ""},
+		{"app:build-2.1", ""},
+		{"registry.example.com:5000/runner-images", ""},
+		{"registry.example.com:5000/runner-images:ubuntu-24.04", "ubuntu24"},
+	} {
+		t.Run(tc.image, func(t *testing.T) {
+			assert.Equal(t, tc.want, imageOSFromImage(tc.image))
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func createRunsOnRunContext(t *testing.T, runsOn string) *RunContext {
+	return createIfTestRunContext(map[string]*model.Job{
+		"job1": createJob(t, "runs-on: "+runsOn, ""),
+	})
+}
+
+func TestRunContextImageOS(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	t.Run("prefers the release in the resolved image tag", func(t *testing.T) {
+		rc := createRunsOnRunContext(t, "ubuntu-latest")
+		rc.Config.Platforms = map[string]string{
+			"ubuntu-latest": "docker.gitea.com/runner-images:ubuntu-24.04",
+		}
+		assert.Equal(t, "ubuntu24", rc.imageOS(ctx))
+	})
+
+	t.Run("falls back to the runs-on label", func(t *testing.T) {
+		rc := createRunsOnRunContext(t, "ubuntu-22.04")
+		rc.Config.Platforms = map[string]string{"ubuntu-22.04": "some-image"}
+		assert.Equal(t, "ubuntu22", rc.imageOS(ctx))
+	})
+
+	t.Run("keeps the historical value for a rolling label with no release", func(t *testing.T) {
+		assert.Equal(t, "ubuntu20", createRunsOnRunContext(t, "ubuntu-latest").imageOS(ctx))
+	})
+
+	t.Run("is empty for the synthetic job of a composite action", func(t *testing.T) {
+		rc := createIfTestRunContext(map[string]*model.Job{"job1": {}})
+		assert.Empty(t, rc.imageOS(ctx))
+	})
+}
+
+func TestRunContextGetRunnerContext(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	t.Run("adds the runner values the container cannot know", func(t *testing.T) {
+		rc := createRunsOnRunContext(t, "ubuntu-latest")
+		rc.Config.RunnerName = "runner-1"
+
+		runnerContext := rc.getRunnerContext(ctx)
+		assert.Equal(t, "runner-1", runnerContext["name"])
+		assert.Equal(t, "self-hosted", runnerContext["environment"])
+		assert.NotContains(t, runnerContext, "debug")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("reports debug when step debugging is on", func(t *testing.T) {
+		rc := createRunsOnRunContext(t, "ubuntu-latest")
+		rc.Config.Secrets = map[string]string{"ACTIONS_STEP_DEBUG": "true"}
+
+		assert.Equal(t, "1", rc.getRunnerContext(ctx)["debug"])
+	})
+
+	t.Run("keeps the execution environment values", func(t *testing.T) {
+		rc := createRunsOnRunContext(t, "ubuntu-latest")
+		rc.JobContainer = &container.HostEnvironment{TmpDir: "/tmp/act", ToolCache: "/tmp/tool_cache"}
+
+		runnerContext := rc.getRunnerContext(ctx)
+		assert.Equal(t, "/tmp/act", runnerContext["temp"])
+		assert.Equal(t, "/tmp/tool_cache", runnerContext["tool_cache"])
+		assert.NotEmpty(t, runnerContext["os"])
+	})
+}
+
+func TestParentDir(t *testing.T) {
+	assert.Empty(t, parentDir(""))
+	assert.Empty(t, parentDir("repo"))
+	assert.Empty(t, parentDir("/repo"))
+	assert.Equal(t, "/workspace/owner", parentDir("/workspace/owner/repo"))
+	assert.Equal(t, `C:\workspace\owner`, parentDir(`C:\workspace\owner\repo`))
+}
+
+func TestRunContextWithGithubEnvRunnerValues(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	rc := createRunsOnRunContext(t, "ubuntu-latest")
+	rc.Config.RunnerName = "runner-1"
+	rc.Config.Secrets = map[string]string{"ACTIONS_STEP_DEBUG": "true"}
+
+	env := map[string]string{}
+	rc.withGithubEnv(ctx, &model.GithubContext{Workspace: "/workspace/owner/repo"}, env)
+
+	assert.Equal(t, "runner-1", env["RUNNER_NAME"])
+	assert.Equal(t, "self-hosted", env["RUNNER_ENVIRONMENT"])
+	assert.Equal(t, "/workspace/owner", env["RUNNER_WORKSPACE"])
+	assert.Equal(t, "1", env["RUNNER_DEBUG"])
+}

act/runner/runner.go

@@ -92,6 +92,14 @@ type Config struct {
 	InsecureSkipTLS                   bool                         // whether to skip verifying TLS certificate of the Gitea instance
 	MaxParallel                       int                          // max parallel jobs to run across all workflows (0 = no limit, uses CPU count)
 	AllocatePTY                       bool                         // allocate a pseudo-TTY for each step's process
+	RunnerName                        string                       // name this runner registered with, reported as `runner.name`, defaults to the hostname
+}
+
+// RunnerDebug reports whether debug logging is on, exposed as `runner.debug` and
+// RUNNER_DEBUG. Only the secret also makes the reporter keep ::debug:: output, the env
+// is accepted for `exec` and for runners configured with it.
+func (c Config) RunnerDebug() bool {
+	return c.Secrets["ACTIONS_STEP_DEBUG"] == "true" || c.Env["ACTIONS_STEP_DEBUG"] == "true"
 }
 
 // GetToken: Adapt to Gitea
@@ -137,6 +145,11 @@ func New(runnerConfig *Config) (Runner, error) {
 }
 
 func (runner *runnerImpl) configure() (Runner, error) {
+	if runner.config.RunnerName == "" {
+		// Callers that do not register, such as `exec`, still get a `runner.name`.
+		runner.config.RunnerName, _ = os.Hostname()
+	}
+
 	runner.eventJSON = "{}"
 	if runner.config.EventJSON != "" {
 		runner.eventJSON = runner.config.EventJSON

act/runner/runner_max_parallel_test.go

@@ -1,109 +0,0 @@
-// Copyright 2026 The Gitea Authors. All rights reserved.
-// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
-
-package runner
-
-import (
-	"sync"
-	"testing"
-	"time"
-
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
-)
-
-// TestMaxParallelConfig tests that MaxParallel config is properly set
-func TestMaxParallelConfig(t *testing.T) {
-	t.Run("MaxParallel set to 2", func(t *testing.T) {
-		config := &Config{
-			Workdir:     "testdata",
-			MaxParallel: 2,
-		}
-
-		runner, err := New(config)
-		assert.NoError(t, err) //nolint:testifylint // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
-		assert.NotNil(t, runner)
-
-		// Verify config is properly stored
-		runnerImpl, ok := runner.(*runnerImpl)
-		assert.True(t, ok)
-		assert.Equal(t, 2, runnerImpl.config.MaxParallel)
-	})
-
-	t.Run("MaxParallel set to 0 (no limit)", func(t *testing.T) {
-		config := &Config{
-			Workdir:     "testdata",
-			MaxParallel: 0,
-		}
-
-		runner, err := New(config)
-		assert.NoError(t, err) //nolint:testifylint // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
-		assert.NotNil(t, runner)
-
-		runnerImpl, ok := runner.(*runnerImpl)
-		assert.True(t, ok)
-		assert.Equal(t, 0, runnerImpl.config.MaxParallel)
-	})
-
-	t.Run("MaxParallel not set (defaults to 0)", func(t *testing.T) {
-		config := &Config{
-			Workdir: "testdata",
-		}
-
-		runner, err := New(config)
-		assert.NoError(t, err) //nolint:testifylint // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
-		assert.NotNil(t, runner)
-
-		runnerImpl, ok := runner.(*runnerImpl)
-		assert.True(t, ok)
-		assert.Equal(t, 0, runnerImpl.config.MaxParallel)
-	})
-}
-
-// TestMaxParallelConcurrencyTracking tests that max-parallel actually limits concurrent execution
-func TestMaxParallelConcurrencyTracking(t *testing.T) {
-	// This is a unit test for the parallel executor logic
-	// We test that when MaxParallel is set, it limits the number of workers
-
-	var mu sync.Mutex
-	var maxConcurrent int
-	var currentConcurrent int
-
-	// Create a function that tracks concurrent execution
-	trackingFunc := func() {
-		mu.Lock()
-		currentConcurrent++
-		if currentConcurrent > maxConcurrent {
-			maxConcurrent = currentConcurrent
-		}
-		mu.Unlock()
-
-		// Simulate work
-		time.Sleep(50 * time.Millisecond)
-
-		mu.Lock()
-		currentConcurrent--
-		mu.Unlock()
-	}
-
-	// Run multiple tasks with limited parallelism
-	maxConcurrent = 0
-	currentConcurrent = 0
-
-	// This simulates what NewParallelExecutor does with a semaphore
-	var wg sync.WaitGroup
-	semaphore := make(chan struct{}, 2) // Limit to 2 concurrent
-
-	for range 6 {
-		wg.Go(func() {
-			semaphore <- struct{}{}        // Acquire
-			defer func() { <-semaphore }() // Release
-			trackingFunc()
-		})
-	}
-
-	wg.Wait()
-
-	// With a semaphore of 2, max concurrent should be <= 2
-	assert.LessOrEqual(t, maxConcurrent, 2, "Maximum concurrent executions should not exceed limit")
-	assert.GreaterOrEqual(t, maxConcurrent, 1, "Should have at least 1 concurrent execution")
-}

act/runner/runner_test.go

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import (
 	"path"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"runtime"
+	"slices"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
@@ -163,6 +164,12 @@ func TestGraphEvent(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Empty(t, plan.Stages)
 }
 
+// these two build the same action Dockerfiles into one image tag, so they cannot overlap
+var sharedImageWorkflows = []string{"local-action-dockerfile", "local-action-via-composite-dockerfile"}
+
+// bounds concurrent plans: each job holds a network, and the daemon's address pool is finite
+var planSlots = make(chan struct{}, 4)
+
 type TestJobFileInfo struct {
 	workdir      string
 	workflowPath string
@@ -182,12 +189,19 @@ func (j *TestJobFileInfo) runTest(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, cfg *Config
 
 	fullWorkflowPath := filepath.Join(workdir, j.workflowPath)
 	runnerConfig := &Config{
-		Workdir:               workdir,
+		Workdir:     workdir,
-		BindWorkdir:           false,
+		BindWorkdir: false,
-		EventName:             j.eventName,
+		EventName:   j.eventName,
-		EventPath:             cfg.EventPath,
+		EventPath:   cfg.EventPath,
-		Platforms:             j.platforms,
+		Platforms:   j.platforms,
-		ReuseContainers:       false,
+		// fixtures reuse workflow and job names, so parallel tests would collide without this
+		ContainerNamePrefix: strings.ReplaceAll(t.Name(), "/", "-"),
+		ReuseContainers:     false,
+		// as the shipped runner does, else a fixture asserting a job failure keeps its
+		// container, and its network, on the daemon forever
+		AutoRemove: true,
+		// 0 would run jobs runtime.NumCPU()-wide, making the network peak machine-dependent
+		MaxParallel:           2,
 		ForceRebuild:          true,
 		Env:                   cfg.Env,
 		Secrets:               cfg.Secrets,
@@ -210,7 +224,11 @@ func (j *TestJobFileInfo) runTest(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, cfg *Config
 	plan, err := planner.PlanEvent(j.eventName)
 	assert.True(t, (err == nil) != (plan == nil), "PlanEvent should return either a plan or an error") //nolint:testifylint // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
 	if err == nil && plan != nil {
-		err = runner.NewPlanExecutor(plan)(ctx)
+		err = func() error {
+			planSlots <- struct{}{}
+			defer func() { <-planSlots }()
+			return runner.NewPlanExecutor(plan)(ctx)
+		}()
 		if j.errorMessage == "" {
 			assert.NoError(t, err, fullWorkflowPath) //nolint:testifylint // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
 		} else {
@@ -227,6 +245,7 @@ type TestConfig struct {
 
 func TestRunEvent(t *testing.T) {
 	requireDocker(t)
+	t.Parallel()
 
 	ctx := context.Background()
 
@@ -315,6 +334,9 @@ func TestRunEvent(t *testing.T) {
 				// host /proc bind mounts are Linux-Docker-only
 				requireLinuxDocker(t)
 			}
+			if !slices.Contains(sharedImageWorkflows, table.workflowPath) {
+				t.Parallel()
+			}
 
 			config := &Config{
 				Secrets: table.secrets,
@@ -445,6 +467,7 @@ func TestRunEventHostEnvironment(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestDryrunEvent(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
 	// Dryrun plans without containers or network (shells and local actions only).
 	ctx := common.WithDryrun(context.Background(), true)
 
@@ -464,6 +487,7 @@ func TestDryrunEvent(t *testing.T) {
 
 	for _, table := range tables {
 		t.Run(table.workflowPath, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
 			table.runTest(ctx, t, &Config{})
 		})
 	}
@@ -474,33 +498,11 @@ func TestDryrunEvent(t *testing.T) {
 // workflow's outputs via `needs`).
 func TestReusableWorkflowCaller(t *testing.T) {
 	requireDocker(t)
+	t.Parallel()
 	table := TestJobFileInfo{workdir, "uses-workflow", "push", "", platforms, map[string]string{"secret": "keep_it_private"}}
 	table.runTest(context.Background(), t, &Config{Secrets: table.secrets})
 }
 
-func TestDockerActionForcePullForceRebuild(t *testing.T) {
-	requireDocker(t)
-	requireNetwork(t) // force-pulls a docker action image
-
-	ctx := context.Background()
-
-	config := &Config{
-		ForcePull:    true,
-		ForceRebuild: true,
-	}
-
-	tables := []TestJobFileInfo{
-		{workdir, "local-action-dockerfile", "push", "", platforms, secrets},
-		{workdir, "local-action-via-composite-dockerfile", "push", "", platforms, secrets},
-	}
-
-	for _, table := range tables {
-		t.Run(table.workflowPath, func(t *testing.T) {
-			table.runTest(ctx, t, config)
-		})
-	}
-}
-
 type maskJobLoggerFactory struct {
 	Output bytes.Buffer
 }
@@ -513,6 +515,7 @@ func (f *maskJobLoggerFactory) WithJobLogger() *log.Logger {
 }
 
 func TestMaskValues(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
 	assertNoSecret := func(text, secret string) { //nolint:unparam // pre-existing issue from nektos/act
 		found := strings.Contains(text, "composite secret")
 		if found {
@@ -543,6 +546,7 @@ func TestMaskValues(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestRunEventSecrets(t *testing.T) {
 	requireDocker(t)
+	t.Parallel()
 	workflowPath := "secrets"
 
 	tjfi := TestJobFileInfo{
@@ -598,6 +602,7 @@ func TestRunWithService(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestRunActionInputs(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
 	requireDocker(t)
 	workflowPath := "input-from-cli"
 
@@ -617,6 +622,7 @@ func TestRunActionInputs(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestRunEventPullRequest(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
 	requireDocker(t)
 
 	workflowPath := "pull-request"
@@ -633,6 +639,7 @@ func TestRunEventPullRequest(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestRunMatrixWithUserDefinedInclusions(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
 	requireDocker(t)
 	workflowPath := "matrix-with-user-inclusions"
 

act/runner/step.go

@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ func runStepExecutor(step step, stage stepStage, executor common.Executor) commo
 			}
 
 			if continueOnError {
-				logger.Errorf("##[error]%v", err)
+				logger.Errorf("##[error]%s", escapeCommandData(err.Error()))
 				logger.Infof("Failed but continue next step")
 				err = nil
 				stepResult.Conclusion = model.StepStatusSuccess

act/runner/step_run.go

@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ func (sr *stepRun) printRunScriptActionDetails(ctx context.Context) {
 
 	normalized := strings.TrimRight(strings.ReplaceAll(sr.interpolatedScript, "\r\n", "\n"), "\n")
 
-	rawLogger.Infof("::group::Run %s", sr.runScriptGroupTitle(normalized))
+	rawLogger.Infof("::group::Run %s", escapeCommandData(sr.runScriptGroupTitle(normalized)))
 
 	if normalized != "" {
 		for line := range strings.SplitSeq(normalized, "\n") {
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ func printRunActionHeader(ctx context.Context, step *model.Step, env map[string]
 	if step.Name != "" {
 		title = step.Name
 	}
-	rawLogger.Infof("::group::Run %s", title)
+	rawLogger.Infof("::group::Run %s", escapeCommandData(title))
 
 	if len(step.With) > 0 {
 		rawLogger.Infof("with:")

act/runner/step_test.go

@@ -167,6 +167,9 @@ func TestSetupEnv(t *testing.T) {
 	delete((env), "GITHUB_REPOSITORY")
 	delete((env), "GITHUB_REPOSITORY_OWNER")
 	delete((env), "GITHUB_ACTOR")
+	// Host-dependent, asserted in TestRunContextWithGithubEnvRunnerValues instead.
+	delete((env), "RUNNER_NAME")
+	delete((env), "RUNNER_WORKSPACE")
 
 	assert.Equal(t, map[string]string{
 		"ACT":                      "true",
@@ -192,6 +195,7 @@ func TestSetupEnv(t *testing.T) {
 		"GITHUB_WORKFLOW":          "",
 		"INPUT_STEP_WITH":          "with-value",
 		"RC_KEY":                   "rcvalue",
+		"RUNNER_ENVIRONMENT":       "self-hosted",
 		"RUNNER_PERFLOG":           "/dev/null",
 		"RUNNER_TRACKING_ID":       "",
 	}, env)

act/runner/testdata/actions/action1/Dockerfile

@@ -1 +1 @@
-FROM ubuntu:24.04
+FROM ubuntu:26.04

go.mod

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/opencontainers/image-spec v1.1.1
 	github.com/opencontainers/selinux v1.15.1
 	github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1
-	github.com/prometheus/client_golang v1.23.2
+	github.com/prometheus/client_golang v1.24.0
 	github.com/prometheus/client_model v0.6.2
 	github.com/rhysd/actionlint v1.7.12
 	github.com/sirupsen/logrus v1.9.4
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/inconshreveable/mousetrap v1.1.0 // indirect
 	github.com/jbenet/go-context v0.0.0-20150711004518-d14ea06fba99 // indirect
 	github.com/kevinburke/ssh_config v1.6.0 // indirect
-	github.com/klauspost/compress v1.18.5 // indirect
+	github.com/klauspost/compress v1.19.0 // indirect
 	github.com/klauspost/cpuid/v2 v2.3.0 // indirect
 	github.com/mattn/go-colorable v0.1.14 // indirect
 	github.com/mattn/go-runewidth v0.0.21 // indirect
@@ -86,8 +86,8 @@ require (
 	github.com/opencontainers/go-digest v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/pjbgf/sha1cd v0.6.0 // indirect
 	github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0 // indirect
-	github.com/prometheus/common v0.66.1 // indirect
+	github.com/prometheus/common v0.70.0 // indirect
-	github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.17.0 // indirect
+	github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.21.1 // indirect
 	github.com/robfig/cron/v3 v3.0.1 // indirect
 	github.com/sergi/go-diff v1.4.0 // indirect
 	github.com/skeema/knownhosts v1.3.2 // indirect
@@ -98,15 +98,14 @@ require (
 	github.com/xeipuuv/gojsonschema v1.2.0 // indirect
 	go.opentelemetry.io/auto/sdk v1.2.1 // indirect
 	go.opentelemetry.io/contrib/instrumentation/net/http/otelhttp v0.65.0 // indirect
-	go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.43.0 // indirect
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.44.0 // indirect
-	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.43.0 // indirect
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.44.0 // indirect
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk v1.43.0 // indirect
 	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/metric v1.43.0 // indirect
-	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.43.0 // indirect
+	go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.44.0 // indirect
-	go.yaml.in/yaml/v2 v2.4.3 // indirect
 	go.yaml.in/yaml/v3 v3.0.4 // indirect
-	golang.org/x/crypto v0.52.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/crypto v0.53.0 // indirect
-	golang.org/x/net v0.54.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/net v0.56.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/sync v0.22.0 // indirect
 	gopkg.in/warnings.v0 v0.1.2 // indirect
 	gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1 // indirect

go.sum

@@ -47,8 +47,6 @@ github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1 h1:vj9j/u1bqnvCEfJOwUhtlOARqs3+rkHYY13jYWTU97c
 github.com/davecgh/go-spew v1.1.1/go.mod h1:J7Y8YcW2NihsgmVo/mv3lAwl/skON4iLHjSsI+c5H38=
 github.com/distribution/reference v0.6.0 h1:0IXCQ5g4/QMHHkarYzh5l+u8T3t73zM5QvfrDyIgxBk=
 github.com/distribution/reference v0.6.0/go.mod h1:BbU0aIcezP1/5jX/8MP0YiH4SdvB5Y4f/wlDRiLyi3E=
-github.com/docker/cli v29.6.1+incompatible h1:oO7F4nn3Ovr/5TlfTUWFbMwBSS/B7Xs6Epv26gBrUP8=
-github.com/docker/cli v29.6.1+incompatible/go.mod h1:JLrzqnKDaYBop7H2jaqPtU4hHvMKP+vjCwu2uszcLI8=
 github.com/docker/cli v29.6.2+incompatible h1:/bjePvcbbFTnRrMfWJBY7AjfICdsiLVgHn6LwTVOcqw=
 github.com/docker/cli v29.6.2+incompatible/go.mod h1:JLrzqnKDaYBop7H2jaqPtU4hHvMKP+vjCwu2uszcLI8=
 github.com/docker/docker-credential-helpers v0.9.6 h1:cT2PbRPSlnMmNTfT2TDMXRyQ1KMWHG7xoTLBcn1ZNv0=
@@ -104,8 +102,8 @@ github.com/kballard/go-shellquote v0.0.0-20180428030007-95032a82bc51 h1:Z9n2FFNU
 github.com/kballard/go-shellquote v0.0.0-20180428030007-95032a82bc51/go.mod h1:CzGEWj7cYgsdH8dAjBGEr58BoE7ScuLd+fwFZ44+/x8=
 github.com/kevinburke/ssh_config v1.6.0 h1:J1FBfmuVosPHf5GRdltRLhPJtJpTlMdKTBjRgTaQBFY=
 github.com/kevinburke/ssh_config v1.6.0/go.mod h1:q2RIzfka+BXARoNexmF9gkxEX7DmvbW9P4hIVx2Kg4M=
-github.com/klauspost/compress v1.18.5 h1:/h1gH5Ce+VWNLSWqPzOVn6XBO+vJbCNGvjoaGBFW2IE=
+github.com/klauspost/compress v1.19.0 h1:sXLILfc9jV2QYWkzFOPWStmcUVH2RHEB1JCdY2oVvCQ=
-github.com/klauspost/compress v1.18.5/go.mod h1:cwPg85FWrGar70rWktvGQj8/hthj3wpl0PGDogxkrSQ=
+github.com/klauspost/compress v1.19.0/go.mod h1:cwPg85FWrGar70rWktvGQj8/hthj3wpl0PGDogxkrSQ=
 github.com/klauspost/cpuid/v2 v2.3.0 h1:S4CRMLnYUhGeDFDqkGriYKdfoFlDnMtqTiI/sFzhA9Y=
 github.com/klauspost/cpuid/v2 v2.3.0/go.mod h1:hqwkgyIinND0mEev00jJYCxPNVRVXFQeu1XKlok6oO0=
 github.com/kr/pretty v0.1.0/go.mod h1:dAy3ld7l9f0ibDNOQOHHMYYIIbhfbHSm3C4ZsoJORNo=
@@ -119,8 +117,6 @@ github.com/kylelemons/godebug v1.1.0 h1:RPNrshWIDI6G2gRW9EHilWtl7Z6Sb1BR0xunSBf0
 github.com/kylelemons/godebug v1.1.0/go.mod h1:9/0rRGxNHcop5bhtWyNeEfOS8JIWk580+fNqagV/RAw=
 github.com/mattn/go-colorable v0.1.14 h1:9A9LHSqF/7dyVVX6g0U9cwm9pG3kP9gSzcuIPHPsaIE=
 github.com/mattn/go-colorable v0.1.14/go.mod h1:6LmQG8QLFO4G5z1gPvYEzlUgJ2wF+stgPZH1UqBm1s8=
-github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.22 h1:j8l17JJ9i6VGPUFUYoTUKPSgKe/83EYU2zBC7YNKMw4=
-github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.22/go.mod h1:ZXfXG4SQHsB/w3ZeOYbR0PrPwLy+n6xiMrJlRFqopa4=
 github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.23 h1:cYwCQTQf3HB6xUC+BtyCLZNr7IzbOmoZbmssVNzSyiQ=
 github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.23/go.mod h1:nMCL3Zebbrt45jsMDgnfIwz6ydEQApk5oEI3HqDio6A=
 github.com/mattn/go-runewidth v0.0.21 h1:jJKAZiQH+2mIinzCJIaIG9Be1+0NR+5sz/lYEEjdM8w=
@@ -159,14 +155,14 @@ github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1 h1:FEBLx1zS214owpjy7qsBeixbURkuhQAwrK5UwLGTwt4=
 github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1/go.mod h1:bwawxfHBFNV+L2hUp1rHADufV3IMtnDRdf1r5NINEl0=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0 h1:4DBwDE0NGyQoBHbLQYPwSUPoCMWR5BEzIk/f1lZbAQM=
 github.com/pmezard/go-difflib v1.0.0/go.mod h1:iKH77koFhYxTK1pcRnkKkqfTogsbg7gZNVY4sRDYZ/4=
-github.com/prometheus/client_golang v1.23.2 h1:Je96obch5RDVy3FDMndoUsjAhG5Edi49h0RJWRi/o0o=
+github.com/prometheus/client_golang v1.24.0 h1:5XStIklKuAtJSNpdD3s8XJj/Yv78IQmE1kbNk87JrAI=
-github.com/prometheus/client_golang v1.23.2/go.mod h1:Tb1a6LWHB3/SPIzCoaDXI4I8UHKeFTEQ1YCr+0Gyqmg=
+github.com/prometheus/client_golang v1.24.0/go.mod h1:QcsNdotprC2nS4BTM2ucbcqxd2CeXTEa9jW7zHO9iDE=
 github.com/prometheus/client_model v0.6.2 h1:oBsgwpGs7iVziMvrGhE53c/GrLUsZdHnqNwqPLxwZyk=
 github.com/prometheus/client_model v0.6.2/go.mod h1:y3m2F6Gdpfy6Ut/GBsUqTWZqCUvMVzSfMLjcu6wAwpE=
-github.com/prometheus/common v0.66.1 h1:h5E0h5/Y8niHc5DlaLlWLArTQI7tMrsfQjHV+d9ZoGs=
+github.com/prometheus/common v0.70.0 h1:bcpru3tWPVnxGnETLgOV5jbp/JRXgYEyv65CuBLAMMI=
-github.com/prometheus/common v0.66.1/go.mod h1:gcaUsgf3KfRSwHY4dIMXLPV0K/Wg1oZ8+SbZk/HH/dA=
+github.com/prometheus/common v0.70.0/go.mod h1:S/SFasQmgGiYH6C81LKCtYa8QACgthGg5zxL2udV7SY=
-github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.17.0 h1:FuLQ+05u4ZI+SS/w9+BWEM2TXiHKsUQ9TADiRH7DuK0=
+github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.21.1 h1:GljZCt+zSTS+NZq88cyQ1LjZ+RCHp3uVuabBWA5+OJI=
-github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.17.0/go.mod h1:oPQLaDAMRbA+u8H5Pbfq+dl3VDAvHxMUOVhe0wYB2zw=
+github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.21.1/go.mod h1:aB55Cww9pdSJVHk0hUf0inxWyyjPogFIjmHKYgMKmtY=
 github.com/rhysd/actionlint v1.7.12 h1:vQ4GeJN86C0QH+gTUQcs8McmK62OLT3kmakPMtEWYnY=
 github.com/rhysd/actionlint v1.7.12/go.mod h1:krOUhujIsJusovkaYzQ/VNH8PFexjNKqU0q5XI/4w+g=
 github.com/robfig/cron/v3 v3.0.1 h1:WdRxkvbJztn8LMz/QEvLN5sBU+xKpSqwwUO1Pjr4qDs=
@@ -218,34 +214,32 @@ go.opentelemetry.io/auto/sdk v1.2.1 h1:jXsnJ4Lmnqd11kwkBV2LgLoFMZKizbCi5fNZ/ipaZ
 go.opentelemetry.io/auto/sdk v1.2.1/go.mod h1:KRTj+aOaElaLi+wW1kO/DZRXwkF4C5xPbEe3ZiIhN7Y=
 go.opentelemetry.io/contrib/instrumentation/net/http/otelhttp v0.65.0 h1:7iP2uCb7sGddAr30RRS6xjKy7AZ2JtTOPA3oolgVSw8=
 go.opentelemetry.io/contrib/instrumentation/net/http/otelhttp v0.65.0/go.mod h1:c7hN3ddxs/z6q9xwvfLPk+UHlWRQyaeR1LdgfL/66l0=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.43.0 h1:mYIM03dnh5zfN7HautFE4ieIig9amkNANT+xcVxAj9I=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.44.0 h1:JjwHmHpA4iZ3wBxluu2fbbE7j4kqlE8jXyAyPXH7HqU=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.43.0/go.mod h1:JuG+u74mvjvcm8vj8pI5XiHy1zDeoCS2LB1spIq7Ay0=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel v1.44.0/go.mod h1:BMgjTHL9WPRlRjL2oZCBTL4whCGtXch2H4BhOPIAyYc=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.43.0 h1:d7638QeInOnuwOONPp4JAOGfbCEpYb+K6DVWvdxGzgM=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.44.0 h1:1w0gILTcHdr3YI+ixLyjemwrVnsMURbTZFrSYCdDdmc=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.43.0/go.mod h1:RDnPtIxvqlgO8GRW18W6Z/4P462ldprJtfxHxyKd2PY=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/metric v1.44.0/go.mod h1:8O7hanEPBNgEMmybD3s2VBKcgWOCsA6tzHBPODAiquo=
 go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk v1.43.0 h1:pi5mE86i5rTeLXqoF/hhiBtUNcrAGHLKQdhg4h4V9Dg=
 go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk v1.43.0/go.mod h1:P+IkVU3iWukmiit/Yf9AWvpyRDlUeBaRg6Y+C58QHzg=
 go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/metric v1.43.0 h1:S88dyqXjJkuBNLeMcVPRFXpRw2fuwdvfCGLEo89fDkw=
 go.opentelemetry.io/otel/sdk/metric v1.43.0/go.mod h1:C/RJtwSEJ5hzTiUz5pXF1kILHStzb9zFlIEe85bhj6A=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.43.0 h1:BkNrHpup+4k4w+ZZ86CZoHHEkohws8AY+WTX09nk+3A=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.44.0 h1:jxF5CsGYCe74MCRx2X4g7WsY/VBKRqqpNvXlX/6gtIk=
-go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.43.0/go.mod h1:/QJhyVBUUswCphDVxq+8mld+AvhXZLhe+8WVFxiFff0=
+go.opentelemetry.io/otel/trace v1.44.0/go.mod h1:oLl1jrMQAVo6v3GAggN+1VH9VIz9iUSvW53sW1Q8PIE=
 go.uber.org/goleak v1.3.0 h1:2K3zAYmnTNqV73imy9J1T3WC+gmCePx2hEGkimedGto=
 go.uber.org/goleak v1.3.0/go.mod h1:CoHD4mav9JJNrW/WLlf7HGZPjdw8EucARQHekz1X6bE=
-go.yaml.in/yaml/v2 v2.4.3 h1:6gvOSjQoTB3vt1l+CU+tSyi/HOjfOjRLJ4YwYZGwRO0=
+go.yaml.in/yaml/v2 v2.4.4 h1:tuyd0P+2Ont/d6e2rl3be67goVK4R6deVxCUX5vyPaQ=
-go.yaml.in/yaml/v2 v2.4.3/go.mod h1:zSxWcmIDjOzPXpjlTTbAsKokqkDNAVtZO0WOMiT90s8=
+go.yaml.in/yaml/v2 v2.4.4/go.mod h1:gMZqIpDtDqOfM0uNfy0SkpRhvUryYH0Z6wdMYcacYXQ=
 go.yaml.in/yaml/v3 v3.0.4 h1:tfq32ie2Jv2UxXFdLJdh3jXuOzWiL1fo0bu/FbuKpbc=
 go.yaml.in/yaml/v3 v3.0.4/go.mod h1:DhzuOOF2ATzADvBadXxruRBLzYTpT36CKvDb3+aBEFg=
 go.yaml.in/yaml/v4 v4.0.0-rc.3 h1:3h1fjsh1CTAPjW7q/EMe+C8shx5d8ctzZTrLcs/j8Go=
 go.yaml.in/yaml/v4 v4.0.0-rc.3/go.mod h1:aZqd9kCMsGL7AuUv/m/PvWLdg5sjJsZ4oHDEnfPPfY0=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20220622213112-05595931fe9d/go.mod h1:IxCIyHEi3zRg3s0A5j5BB6A9Jmi73HwBIUl50j+osU4=
-golang.org/x/crypto v0.52.0 h1:RMs7fP2rXdep0CftQlK8Uf+kibLm7qkCcradZWYz988=
+golang.org/x/crypto v0.53.0 h1:QZ4Muo8THX6CizN2vPPd5fBGHyogrdK9fG4wLPFUsto=
-golang.org/x/crypto v0.52.0/go.mod h1:1QgfPxDqh0T2M/elOJtp9RvuR95kVjir0e6/BvEmGbc=
+golang.org/x/crypto v0.53.0/go.mod h1:DNLU434OwVakk9PzuwV8w62mAJpRJL3vsgcfp4Qnsio=
 golang.org/x/exp v0.0.0-20260410095643-746e56fc9e2f h1:W3F4c+6OLc6H2lb//N1q4WpJkhzJCK5J6kUi1NTVXfM=
 golang.org/x/exp v0.0.0-20260410095643-746e56fc9e2f/go.mod h1:J1xhfL/vlindoeF/aINzNzt2Bket5bjo9sdOYzOsU80=
 golang.org/x/net v0.0.0-20211112202133-69e39bad7dc2/go.mod h1:9nx3DQGgdP8bBQD5qxJ1jj9UTztislL4KSBs9R2vV5Y=
-golang.org/x/net v0.54.0 h1:2zJIZAxAHV/OHCDTCOHAYehQzLfSXuf/5SoL/Dv6w/w=
+golang.org/x/net v0.56.0 h1:Rw8j/hFzGvJUZwNBXnAtf5sVDVt+65SK2C7IxCxZt5o=
-golang.org/x/net v0.54.0/go.mod h1:Sj4oj8jK6XmHpBZU/zWHw3BV3abl4Kvi+Ut7cQcY+cQ=
+golang.org/x/net v0.56.0/go.mod h1:D3Ku6r+V6JROoZK144D2XfMHFcMq/0zSfLelVTCFKec=
-golang.org/x/sync v0.20.0 h1:e0PTpb7pjO8GAtTs2dQ6jYa5BWYlMuX047Dco/pItO4=
-golang.org/x/sync v0.20.0/go.mod h1:9xrNwdLfx4jkKbNva9FpL6vEN7evnE43NNNJQ2LF3+0=
 golang.org/x/sync v0.22.0 h1:SZjpbeLmrCk4xhRSZFNZW5gFUeCeFgjekvI/+gfScek=
 golang.org/x/sync v0.22.0/go.mod h1:9xrNwdLfx4jkKbNva9FpL6vEN7evnE43NNNJQ2LF3+0=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20191026070338-33540a1f6037/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7wpKNCjG9DtNlClVuFLEZdDNbEs=
@@ -262,8 +256,6 @@ golang.org/x/term v0.0.0-20201126162022-7de9c90e9dd1/go.mod h1:bj7SfCRtBDWHUb9sn
 golang.org/x/term v0.45.0 h1:NwWyBmoJCbfTHpxrWoZ9C6/VxOf7ic219I8xZZFdrf0=
 golang.org/x/term v0.45.0/go.mod h1:9aqxs0blBcrm/n0L9QW0aRVD+ktan8ssZromtqJC43w=
 golang.org/x/text v0.3.6/go.mod h1:5Zoc/QRtKVWzQhOtBMvqHzDpF6irO9z98xDceosuGiQ=
-golang.org/x/text v0.37.0 h1:Cqjiwd9eSg8e0QAkyCaQTNHFIIzWtidPahFWR83rTrc=
-golang.org/x/text v0.37.0/go.mod h1:a5sjxXGs9hsn/AJVwuElvCAo9v8QYLzvavO5z2PiM38=
 golang.org/x/text v0.40.0 h1:Ub2Z6/xjgF1WrYQz2nuITOEegKFtiIy+rieRJ5lHZKs=
 golang.org/x/text v0.40.0/go.mod h1:hpnzDAfGV753zIKo+wk3u1bVKCGPbrnF7+7LBF/UHVY=
 golang.org/x/tools v0.0.0-20180917221912-90fa682c2a6e/go.mod h1:n7NCudcB/nEzxVGmLbDWY5pfWTLqBcC2KZ6jyYvM4mQ=

internal/app/cmd/cache-server.go

@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ func runCacheServer(configFile *string, cacheArgs *cacheServerArgs) func(cmd *co
 
 		secret := cfg.Cache.ExternalSecret
 		if secret == "" {
-			return errors.New("cache.external_secret must be set for cache-server; configure the same value on each runner that points at this server via cache.external_server")
+			return errors.New("cache.external_secret (or cache.external_secret_file) must be set for cache-server; configure the same value on each runner that points at this server via cache.external_server")
 		}
 		cacheHandler, err := artifactcache.StartHandler(
 			dir,

internal/app/run/runner.go

@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ func NewRunner(cfg *config.Config, reg *config.Registration, cli client.Client)
 		if cfg.Cache.ExternalServer != "" {
 			envs["ACTIONS_CACHE_URL"] = cfg.Cache.ExternalServer
 		} else {
+			warnIgnoredCacheSecret(cfg)
 			handler, err := artifactcache.StartHandler(
 				cfg.Cache.Dir,
 				cfg.Cache.Host,
@@ -473,6 +474,7 @@ func (r *Runner) run(ctx context.Context, task *runnerv1.Task, reporter *report.
 		Vars:                              task.Vars,
 		ValidVolumes:                      r.cfg.Container.ValidVolumes,
 		InsecureSkipTLS:                   r.cfg.Runner.Insecure,
+		RunnerName:                        r.name,
 	}
 
 	rr, err := runner.New(runnerConfig)
@@ -512,14 +514,11 @@ func (r *Runner) run(ctx context.Context, task *runnerv1.Task, reporter *report.
 // function the caller must invoke (typically via defer) to revoke the
 // credential when the task finishes.
 //
-// Three modes:
+// Two modes:
 //   - Embedded handler: register in-process via RegisterJob.
-//   - external_server + external_secret: POST to the remote server's
+//   - external_server: POST to the remote server's /_internal/register, defer a
-//     /_internal/register, defer a POST to /_internal/revoke. This is what
+//     POST to /_internal/revoke. This is what enables full per-job auth and
-//     enables full per-job auth and repo scoping over the network.
+//     repo scoping over the network.
-//   - external_server alone (no secret): no-op revoker. The remote server is
-//     in legacy openMode and ignores the runtime token; trust is at the
-//     network layer.
 //
 // Safe with an empty token (older Gitea did not issue one).
 func (r *Runner) registerCacheForTask(token, repo string, reporter *report.Reporter) func() {
@@ -532,6 +531,7 @@ func (r *Runner) registerCacheForTask(token, repo string, reporter *report.Repor
 	if r.cfg.Cache.ExternalServer != "" && r.cfg.Cache.ExternalSecret != "" {
 		return r.registerExternalCacheJob(token, repo, reporter)
 	}
+	// No cache server to register against: caching is disabled, or the built-in server failed to start.
 	return func() {}
 }
 
@@ -655,3 +655,20 @@ func (r *Runner) Declare(ctx context.Context, labels []string) (*connect.Respons
 		Capabilities: RunnerCapabilities(),
 	}))
 }
+
+// warnIgnoredCacheSecret flags an external cache server secret configured on a runner that uses the built-in cache server.
+func warnIgnoredCacheSecret(cfg *config.Config) {
+	if cfg.Cache.ExternalServer != "" {
+		return
+	}
+	// Not using an external cache server, so any configured secret is ignored.
+	if cfg.Cache.ExternalSecret == "" {
+		return
+	}
+	// LoadDefault resolves external_secret_file into ExternalSecret, so report whichever key the operator actually wrote.
+	key := "cache.external_secret"
+	if cfg.Cache.ExternalSecretFile != "" {
+		key = "cache.external_secret_file"
+	}
+	log.Warnf("%s is set but cache.external_server is not; the built-in cache server does not use a shared secret, so the value is ignored", key)
+}

internal/pkg/config/config.example.yaml

@@ -132,6 +132,11 @@ cache:
   # Required when external_server is set. Must be identical on every runner and the cache-server.
   # Generate with: openssl rand -hex 32
   external_secret: ""
+  # Path to a file containing the shared secret, as an alternative to external_secret.
+  # Use this to keep the secret out of this file.
+  # Surrounding whitespace is trimmed, so a trailing newline in the file is fine.
+  # Setting both external_secret and external_secret_file is an error.
+  external_secret_file: ""
   # When true, reuse a cached action instead of fetching from the remote on every job.
   # A moved tag (e.g. a re-tagged "v6") or an updated branch stays at the cached commit
   # until its cache entry expires or is manually removed.

internal/pkg/config/config.go

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 	"maps"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/joho/godotenv"
@@ -57,13 +58,14 @@ type Runner struct {
 
 // Cache represents the configuration for caching.
 type Cache struct {
-	Enabled        *bool  `yaml:"enabled"`         // Enabled indicates whether caching is enabled. It is a pointer to distinguish between false and not set. If not set, it will be true.
+	Enabled            *bool  `yaml:"enabled"`              // Enabled indicates whether caching is enabled. It is a pointer to distinguish between false and not set. If not set, it will be true.
-	Dir            string `yaml:"dir"`             // Dir specifies the directory path for caching.
+	Dir                string `yaml:"dir"`                  // Dir specifies the directory path for caching.
-	Host           string `yaml:"host"`            // Host specifies the caching host.
+	Host               string `yaml:"host"`                 // Host specifies the caching host.
-	Port           uint16 `yaml:"port"`            // Port specifies the caching port.
+	Port               uint16 `yaml:"port"`                 // Port specifies the caching port.
-	ExternalServer string `yaml:"external_server"` // ExternalServer specifies the URL of external cache server
+	ExternalServer     string `yaml:"external_server"`      // ExternalServer specifies the URL of external cache server
-	ExternalSecret string `yaml:"external_secret"` // ExternalSecret is a shared secret between this runner and an external gitea-runner cache-server, enabling per-job ACTIONS_RUNTIME_TOKEN authentication and repo scoping over the network. Leave empty to keep the legacy unauthenticated behavior.
+	ExternalSecret     string `yaml:"external_secret"`      // ExternalSecret is a shared secret between this runner and an external gitea-runner cache-server, enabling per-job ACTIONS_RUNTIME_TOKEN authentication and repo scoping over the network. Required whenever ExternalServer is set; ExternalSecretFile is the alternative way to provide it.
-	OfflineMode    bool   `yaml:"offline_mode"`    // OfflineMode reuses a cached action without fetching from the remote; a moved tag or branch stays at the cached commit until the cache entry is removed.
+	ExternalSecretFile string `yaml:"external_secret_file"` // ExternalSecretFile is the path to a file holding the ExternalSecret value, so the secret can be mounted instead of stored in the config file. LoadDefault reads it into ExternalSecret; setting both is an error.
+	OfflineMode        bool   `yaml:"offline_mode"`         // OfflineMode reuses a cached action without fetching from the remote; a moved tag or branch stays at the cached commit until the cache entry is removed.
 }
 
 // Container represents the configuration for the container.
@@ -177,6 +179,10 @@ func LoadDefault(file string) (*Config, error) {
 		b := true
 		cfg.Cache.Enabled = &b
 	}
+	// Resolved regardless of cache.enabled, because the `cache-server` command reads the secret from the same key without checking cache.enabled.
+	if err := resolveCacheExternalSecret(cfg); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
 	if *cfg.Cache.Enabled {
 		if cfg.Cache.Dir == "" {
 			home, err := os.UserHomeDir()
@@ -186,7 +192,7 @@ func LoadDefault(file string) (*Config, error) {
 			cfg.Cache.Dir = filepath.Join(home, ".cache", "actcache")
 		}
 		if cfg.Cache.ExternalServer != "" && cfg.Cache.ExternalSecret == "" {
-			return nil, errors.New("cache.external_server is set but cache.external_secret is empty; configure the same external_secret on this runner and the gitea-runner cache-server")
+			return nil, errors.New("cache.external_server is set but no shared secret is configured; set cache.external_secret (or cache.external_secret_file) to the same value used by the gitea-runner cache-server")
 		}
 	}
 	if cfg.Container.WorkdirParent == "" {
@@ -301,3 +307,24 @@ func definedRunnerConfigKeys(content []byte) (map[string]bool, error) {
 
 	return defined, nil
 }
+
+// resolveCacheExternalSecret loads cache.external_secret from the file named by cache.external_secret_file,
+// so deployments can mount the secret instead of committing it to the config file.
+func resolveCacheExternalSecret(cfg *Config) error {
+	if cfg.Cache.ExternalSecretFile == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	if cfg.Cache.ExternalSecret != "" {
+		return errors.New("cache.external_secret and cache.external_secret_file are both set; configure only one of them")
+	}
+	content, err := os.ReadFile(cfg.Cache.ExternalSecretFile)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("read cache.external_secret_file %q: %w", cfg.Cache.ExternalSecretFile, err)
+	}
+	secret := strings.TrimSpace(string(content))
+	if secret == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("cache.external_secret_file %q contains no secret", cfg.Cache.ExternalSecretFile)
+	}
+	cfg.Cache.ExternalSecret = secret
+	return nil
+}

internal/pkg/config/config_test.go

@@ -227,3 +227,91 @@ func TestContainerNetworkCreateOptions(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.Nil(t, opts.EnableIPv6)
 	})
 }
+
+func TestLoadDefault_ReadsExternalSecretFromFile(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	secretPath := filepath.Join(dir, "cache.secret")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(secretPath, []byte("  s3cr3t\n"), 0o600))
+
+	path := filepath.Join(dir, "config.yaml")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(path, []byte(`
+cache:
+  enabled: true
+  external_server: "http://cache.invalid/"
+  external_secret_file: "`+secretPath+`"
+`), 0o600))
+
+	cfg, err := LoadDefault(path)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "s3cr3t", cfg.Cache.ExternalSecret)
+}
+
+func TestLoadDefault_ReadsExternalSecretFromFileWhenCacheDisabled(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	secretPath := filepath.Join(dir, "cache.secret")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(secretPath, []byte("s3cr3t"), 0o600))
+
+	// the file has to be resolved even when cache is disabled
+	path := filepath.Join(dir, "config.yaml")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(path, []byte(`
+cache:
+  enabled: false
+  external_secret_file: "`+secretPath+`"
+`), 0o600))
+
+	cfg, err := LoadDefault(path)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "s3cr3t", cfg.Cache.ExternalSecret)
+}
+
+func TestLoadDefault_RejectsBothExternalSecretAndFile(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	secretPath := filepath.Join(dir, "cache.secret")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(secretPath, []byte("s3cr3t"), 0o600))
+
+	path := filepath.Join(dir, "config.yaml")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(path, []byte(`
+cache:
+  enabled: true
+  external_server: "http://cache.invalid/"
+  external_secret: "inline"
+  external_secret_file: "`+secretPath+`"
+`), 0o600))
+
+	_, err := LoadDefault(path)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "both set")
+}
+
+func TestLoadDefault_RejectsMissingExternalSecretFile(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	path := filepath.Join(dir, "config.yaml")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(path, []byte(`
+cache:
+  enabled: true
+  external_server: "http://cache.invalid/"
+  external_secret_file: "`+filepath.Join(dir, "absent.secret")+`"
+`), 0o600))
+
+	_, err := LoadDefault(path)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "read cache.external_secret_file")
+}
+
+func TestLoadDefault_RejectsEmptyExternalSecretFile(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	secretPath := filepath.Join(dir, "cache.secret")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(secretPath, []byte("\n  \n"), 0o600))
+
+	path := filepath.Join(dir, "config.yaml")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(path, []byte(`
+cache:
+  enabled: true
+  external_server: "http://cache.invalid/"
+  external_secret_file: "`+secretPath+`"
+`), 0o600))
+
+	_, err := LoadDefault(path)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "contains no secret")
+}

renovate.json5

@@ -2,5 +2,11 @@
   "$schema": "https://docs.renovatebot.com/renovate-schema.json",
   "extends": [
     "local>gitea/renovate-config"
-  ]
+  ],
+  "packageRules": [
+    {
+      "matchPackageNames": ["go.yaml.in/yaml/v4"],
+      "allowedVersions": "<4.0.0-rc.4", // rc.4 removes the error types actionlint builds against
+    },
+  ],
 }

scripts/upload-r2.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# Copyright 2026 The Gitea Authors. All rights reserved.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+#
+# upload-r2.sh uploads a single local file to a single object key in a
+# Cloudflare R2 bucket, using curl's built-in AWS SigV4 signer (R2 is
+# S3-API compatible).
+#
+# This is the R2 half of the release process's parallel S3+R2 upload
+# period: goreleaser's `blobs:` pipe still uploads every release
+# artifact to AWS S3, and this script is invoked once per artifact
+# (via a goreleaser `publishers:` entry) to mirror the same artifact
+# into R2. Once the migration away from S3 is complete, the `blobs:`
+# block and the AWS_* secrets can be dropped without touching this
+# script.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   upload-r2.sh <local-file> <remote-key>
+#   upload-r2.sh --check-config
+#
+# The second form only validates that the required environment
+# variables below are set (it does not touch the network or the
+# filesystem beyond that), and is meant to be run as an early
+# preflight step in CI: goreleaser custom publishers run as the very
+# last step of the publish pipeline, so without a preflight check a
+# missing R2_* secret would only be discovered after the Gitea release
+# has already been created and every artifact already uploaded to S3.
+#
+# Required environment variables:
+#   R2_ENDPOINT          Base URL of the R2 endpoint, e.g.
+#                        https://<account>.r2.cloudflarestorage.com
+#   R2_BUCKET            Destination bucket name.
+#   R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID     R2 access key id.
+#   R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY R2 secret access key.
+
+set -eu
+
+# check_env validates that all required R2_* environment variables are
+# set and non-empty, printing a single "missing required environment
+# variable(s): ..." message and exiting non-zero otherwise. Used by
+# both the normal upload mode and --check-config, so the validation
+# logic only exists in one place.
+check_env() {
+  missing=""
+
+  if [ -z "${R2_ENDPOINT:-}" ]; then
+    missing="$missing R2_ENDPOINT"
+  fi
+  if [ -z "${R2_BUCKET:-}" ]; then
+    missing="$missing R2_BUCKET"
+  fi
+  if [ -z "${R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID:-}" ]; then
+    missing="$missing R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID"
+  fi
+  if [ -z "${R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY:-}" ]; then
+    missing="$missing R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY"
+  fi
+
+  if [ -n "$missing" ]; then
+    echo "upload-r2.sh: missing required environment variable(s):$missing" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+}
+
+if [ "$#" -eq 1 ] && [ "$1" = "--check-config" ]; then
+  check_env
+  echo "upload-r2.sh: R2 configuration OK"
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+if [ "$#" -ne 2 ]; then
+  echo "usage: upload-r2.sh <local-file> <remote-key>" >&2
+  echo "       upload-r2.sh --check-config" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+local_file="$1"
+remote_key="$2"
+
+if [ ! -f "$local_file" ]; then
+  echo "upload-r2.sh: local file not found: $local_file" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+check_env
+
+# Strip a single trailing slash from the endpoint, if present, so that
+# building the path-style URL below never produces a double slash.
+endpoint="${R2_ENDPOINT%/}"
+url="$endpoint/$R2_BUCKET/$remote_key"
+
+# Credentials are passed to curl through a config file read from
+# stdin rather than as a command-line argument, so they never show up
+# in `ps` output.
+#
+# --fail-with-body (instead of plain --fail) still exits non-zero on
+# HTTP errors, but also prints R2's XML error body, which is where the
+# actual error code lives (SignatureDoesNotMatch, NoSuchBucket,
+# AccessDenied, ...); with plain --fail that body is discarded and the
+# failure is silent. --retry 3 (without --retry-all-errors) still
+# retries the transient cases (5xx, 408, 429, connection failures);
+# --retry-all-errors would additionally retry permanent 4xx responses
+# three times with backoff, which only delays an inevitable failure.
+printf 'user = "%s:%s"\n' "$R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID" "$R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY" | curl \
+  --config - \
+  --fail-with-body \
+  --silent \
+  --show-error \
+  --retry 3 \
+  --aws-sigv4 "aws:amz:auto:s3" \
+  --upload-file "$local_file" \
+  "$url"