macOS 27.2 availability

[kerrmarin-lvmh]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Actions Runner Image

Discussion Details

Apple has started producing warnings for fonts bundled with an app that are either licensed or owned by Apple. In TN3214 (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/technotes/tn3214-validating-the-fonts-you-ship-in-your-app) Apple shows you how to determine if a font will fail validation during submission.

The tools required are bundled with macOS 27.2. Is there a timeline for either:

a) Availability of macOS 27.2 as a runner image
b) Some other workaround that includes having FontValidator version 3.5 available in the runner images

[iSven7]

The Nov 4 xcode-27 runner image still runs macOS 27.0.1, even though Xcode 27.2 is already available.

According to Apple's TN3214, FontValidator 3.5 ships with macOS 27.2+, so updating Xcode alone won't solve this.

For now, a self-hosted runner on macOS 27.2 looks like the most practical workaround.

Source: https://github.com/actions/runner-images/releases/tag/xcode-27-arm64/20261104.0337

[ma931816]

Hi @kerrmarin-lvmh,

Regarding the timeline and availability for GitHub Actions runner images and font validation tools:

1. Runner Image Availability Timeline

GitHub-hosted runner images for macOS generally follow a structured deployment cadence:

• Beta/Preview Runners: Major or minor macOS updates are usually added to GitHub Actions as preview/beta runners within 3 to 6 weeks after Apple releases the final stable build to the public.
• Deprecations & Updates: You can monitor exact image rollout announcements, tool updates, and version schedules directly on the https://github.com/actions/runner-images/releases).

---

2. Recommended Workarounds in the Meantime

If you need to validate fonts in your CI/CD pipeline before the updated runner image is officially deployed, you can use one of the following approaches:

Option A: Download & Extract FontValidator (or Xcode Command Line Tools) in Your Workflow

If FontValidator v3.5 is available as a standalone binary or included in an updated Xcode/Command Line Tools package, you can install or unpack it dynamically during your workflow run:

- name: Install FontValidator / Tools
  run: |
    # Example: Fetching the required tool/binary into the runner environment
    curl -O -L https://developer.apple.com/path/to/tool.dmg
    hdiutil attach tool.dmg
    # Copy binary to path
    sudo cp /Volumes/ToolName/FontValidator /usr/local/bin/
    hdiutil detach /Volumes/ToolName

Option B: Run via a Self-Hosted macOS Runner

If your organization requires immediate validation against native macOS pre-release or updated toolchains, you can register a temporary Self-Hosted Runner on a local Mac running the required macOS version:

jobs:
  validate-fonts:
    runs-on: self-hosted  # Target your updated local Mac environment
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Validate App Fonts
        run: |
          FontValidator --check ./YourApp/Resources/Fonts/

Option C: Skip Font Validation on CI & Enforce Locally

If your app submission build only runs validation checks in CI, you can temporarily bypass the font validation step in your automated pipeline while enforcing it via a pre-commit hook on local developer machines that have the updated macOS environment installed.

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Hope this helps clarify the deployment expectations!