Blacksmith GitHub Actions

Drop-in replacement for GitHub Actions runners on bare-metal gaming CPUs. ~2x faster CI, 4x faster cache, 40x faster Docker builds, and roughly 60% lower cost than GitHub-hosted runners.

What it is

Blacksmith runs GitHub Actions jobs on its own bare-metal machines with high single-core-performance gaming CPUs, instead of GitHub's shared VMs. It is a drop-in change to existing workflows — no migration of pipeline logic. Source: Blacksmith, https://www.blacksmith.sh/, 2026-06-13

How it gets the speedup

• Bare-metal gaming CPUs — highest single-core performance, ~2x faster than standard runners. Source: Blacksmith, https://www.blacksmith.sh/, 2026-06-13
• Co-located cache — cache artifacts live in the same data center as the jobs, ~4x faster downloads.
• Persistent Docker layer cache on NVMe — layers persist across runs for ~40x faster Docker builds; Blacksmith also manages Docker pull caching.
• Instantly provisioned microVMs — eliminates the "Waiting for a runner to pick up this job" queue; unlimited concurrency. Source: Blacksmith, https://www.blacksmith.sh/, 2026-06-13

Observability

A console fills the gap GitHub leaves in CI visibility: spotting failing and slow jobs, a global search across all CI logs to debug flaky tests, and inline logs of failed tests posted as a GitHub PR comment. A "Blacksmith Sandboxes" product is marketed as coming soon. Source: Blacksmith, https://www.blacksmith.sh/, 2026-06-13

Adoption and backing

3,000+ organizations, 50M+ jobs processed monthly, and 30K+ developers; 3,000 free minutes per month to start. Customer results include Ashby cutting GitHub Actions costs 75% while doubling deployment frequency, and VEED deploying 2x faster while cutting costs 70%. Backed by Y Combinator and Google Ventures, with angels including Kelsey Hightower, Spencer Kimball, and Kelvin Beachum. Source: Blacksmith, https://www.blacksmith.sh/, 2026-06-13

Integration

Drop-in: change runs-on: ubuntu-latest to a Blacksmith runner label such as runs-on: blacksmith-4vcpu-ubuntu-2204 (other vCPU sizes and the 2404 image are available). No other workflow changes required. Source: Blacksmith, https://www.blacksmith.sh/, 2026-06-13

Stack fit (Kevin)

• Already the documented CI/CD standard in Kevin's stack — the kevin-wiki AGENTS.md Layer 8 specifies Blacksmith runners (blacksmith-4vcpu-ubuntu-2404) for compute-bound jobs (Docker, Rust, Go, TS builds). Source: kevin-wiki AGENTS.md, 2026-06-13
• The 40x Docker-layer-cache win directly targets the slowest part of Dedalus Labs / Agent Machines container builds.
• Inline failed-test PR comments fit the small-reviewable-PR + fast-feedback loop in Security and Review Skills.
• Cost-per-minute reduction matters most for agent-driven repos where CI fires on every autonomous push.

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Timeline

• 2026-06-13 | Quality remediation: refreshed metrics from primary source (3,000+ orgs, 50M+ jobs/mo, 30K+ devs, 3,000 free min/mo), added microVM provisioning, YC/Google Ventures backing, Ashby/VEED results, and tied it to the AGENTS.md CI/CD standard. Source: Blacksmith, https://www.blacksmith.sh/, 2026-06-13