This AZ-400 practice question tests your understanding of design and implement build and release pipelines. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Which THREE of the following are true about GitHub Actions self-hosted runners?
They can have custom software installed.
Self-hosted runners allow custom software.
They are automatically scaled by GitHub.
Why wrong: Scaling is manual or via scripts.
They are free and do not incur any costs.
Why wrong: They may incur infrastructure costs.
They can run on Windows, Linux, or macOS.
Self-hosted runners support multiple OS.
They can access on-premises resources.
Self-hosted runners can be placed on private networks.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
They can have custom software installed.
Option A is correct because GitHub Actions self-hosted runners are machines you manage, allowing you to install any custom software, libraries, or tools required by your workflows. Unlike GitHub-hosted runners, which have a fixed set of pre-installed software, self-hosted runners give you full administrative control over the environment, enabling you to meet specific build or test dependencies.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
They can have custom software installed.
Why this is correct
Self-hosted runners allow custom software.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
They are automatically scaled by GitHub.
Why it's wrong here
Scaling is manual or via scripts.
They are free and do not incur any costs.
Why it's wrong here
They may incur infrastructure costs.
They can run on Windows, Linux, or macOS.
Why this is correct
Self-hosted runners support multiple OS.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
They can access on-premises resources.
Why this is correct
Self-hosted runners can be placed on private networks.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often assume self-hosted runners are entirely free and automatically managed by GitHub, overlooking the operational overhead and infrastructure costs, while also forgetting that GitHub does not handle scaling for self-hosted runners.
Detailed technical explanation
Self-hosted runners communicate with GitHub via long-lived HTTPS connections, polling the GitHub Actions API for job assignments. They use a runner application that registers with a personal access token or a GitHub App installation token, and the runner's configuration includes a unique name and labels that determine which workflows can target it. In a real-world scenario, a team might use self-hosted runners to access a private corporate network, run builds with proprietary compilers, or leverage GPU hardware for machine learning workflows, all while maintaining compliance with internal security policies.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A startup's cloud architect reviews their monthly bill and notices costs are higher than expected for a long-running batch job. Switching from on-demand instances to Reserved Instances — or using Spot/Preemptible VMs — can reduce compute costs by up to 72 %. Questions like this test whether you understand the tradeoffs between commitment, flexibility, and cost across cloud pricing models.
What to study next
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FAQ
Design and implement build and release pipelines — This question tests Design and implement build and release pipelines — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: They can have custom software installed. — Option A is correct because GitHub Actions self-hosted runners are machines you manage, allowing you to install any custom software, libraries, or tools required by your workflows. Unlike GitHub-hosted runners, which have a fixed set of pre-installed software, self-hosted runners give you full administrative control over the environment, enabling you to meet specific build or test dependencies.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
This AZ-400 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the AZ-400 exam.
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