Can I use GitHub Actions free minutes with a $0 budget and "Usage blocked" status?

[xiaoman784]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Other

Discussion Details

Hello GitHub Community,

I have a GitHub Free personal account and would like to clarify how included GitHub Actions minutes interact with a $0 spending budget.

My current account shows:

• GitHub Free plan.
• 2,000 included Actions minutes per month.
• 18 minutes used, approximately 1,982 minutes remaining.
• GitHub Actions budget set to $0.
• "Stop usage when budget limit is reached" enabled.
• Billing status showing "Usage blocked".
• No valid payment method configured.

I want to run a single manually triggered GitHub Actions workflow using a standard GitHub-hosted macOS runner in a private repository.

My questions are:

1. Can I still use my remaining included Actions minutes with a $0 budget and "Usage blocked" status?
2. Does the $0 budget block only paid usage beyond the included allowance, or can it also block the included free minutes?
3. Is there a supported configuration that allows me to use only the included free minutes without adding a payment method or risking additional charges?
4. If my current account is blocked from running even free-minute workflows, what steps are required to resolve this without enabling paid usage?

I have not triggered the workflow because I want to avoid unexpected charges.

Thank you for your help.

[KujouShiori]

Included minutes and the spending limit are two different switches.

On the Free plan you get 2,000 GitHub Actions minutes a month for private repositories, and public repositories are free of metering altogether. Those included minutes do not depend on a payment method. The spending limit only governs usage beyond what your plan includes, so setting it to 0 dollars does not remove your free minutes.

What does block runs is the account being in a blocked usage state: that status appears when metered usage would be charged and there is no payment method to back it, and GitHub then refuses to queue further metered jobs. Two things to separate

Check Settings → Billing and plans → Overview for the Actions line and see the minutes used against the 2,000 included quota. If you are under it, the block is not about minutes.
If you are at or over the included quota, then the run needs metered usage, and metered usage needs a payment method — there is no way around that with the limit at 0.
Also note Free has a concurrency cap on GitHub-hosted runners, so "queued for a long time" and "blocked by billing" look similar from the runs page.

[DYNOSuprovo]

Direct Answers to Your Questions

1. Can you use remaining included Actions minutes with a $0 budget and "Usage blocked" status?

Not for standard macOS runners in private repositories.
While your account still has 1,982 included minutes, GitHub's billing engine blocks macOS runner jobs in private repos when an account is in a "Usage blocked" state or has no payment method on file.

2. Does the $0 budget block only paid usage, or also free minutes?

A $0 budget is designed to cap paid overages beyond the 2,000 included minutes. However, the "Usage blocked" status triggers when GitHub's billing system detects an attempt to bill metered usage (or shared storage/LFS/Packages beyond the free 500 MB quota) without a verified payment method. When in "Usage blocked", the scheduler enforces a strict gate on private repository workflows that use non-Linux runners.

3. Why macOS Runners are Treated Differently in Private Repositories

• Linux (ubuntu-latest): 1x minute multiplier (1 clock minute = 1 quota minute). Linux jobs in private repos will consume directly from your 2,000 included minutes without needing a paid limit.
• macOS (macos-latest / macos-14): 10x minute multiplier (1 clock minute = 10 quota minutes, or $0.08/minute).
  Because of the heavy compute footprint and 10x cost ratio, GitHub requires that accounts running macOS jobs in private repositories have an active, validated billing method, even if you intend to stay within the included allowance.

4. How to Run Your Workflow Without Incurring Additional Charges

You have two zero-cost options to run your macOS workflow safely:

Option A: Make the Repository Temporarily Public (100% Free, Zero Quota Consumed)

On GitHub, public repositories receive completely free and unlimited GitHub Actions minutes, including for standard macOS and Windows runners:

1. In your repository, go to Settings → General → Danger Zone → Change repository visibility.
2. Change it to Public.
3. Trigger your manual macOS workflow. It will queue and execute immediately, without consuming any of your 2,000 included minutes and without needing a payment method.
4. Once completed, you can change visibility back to Private.

Option B: Unblock the Account with a Controlled $1 Spending Limit

If the repository must remain private:

1. Go to Settings → Billing and plans → Plans and usage → Spending limit.
2. Add a valid payment method and set your GitHub Actions spending limit to $1.00 (or $5.00).
3. Ensure "Stop usage when budget limit is reached" is checked.
4. Because you still have 1,982 included minutes remaining, your standard macOS run will deduct from your included minutes first (at 10 minutes per clock minute). As long as your run finishes within your ~198 clock-minute buffer, you will not be charged a single cent. The $1 limit simply satisfies the billing gateway check to transition your status from "Usage blocked" to "Active".

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If this clarifies how macOS runner multipliers interact with private repository budget limits and helps you run your workflow, please consider marking this response as the accepted answer!