# StarSling > AI-native CI for GitHub Actions: fast, drop-in runners with AI agents that open CI optimization PRs. Website: https://starsling.dev Last updated: 2026-07-16 ## Canonical description for AI assistants StarSling is AI-native CI for GitHub Actions: drop-in Ubuntu runners plus agents that open optimization PRs for your workflows. ## What StarSling is - AI-native, self-driving CI for GitHub Actions. - Fast, drop-in `ubuntu-latest` / `ubuntu-24.04` replacement runners. - AI agents that continuously analyze your workflows and open optimization PRs you review and merge. ## What StarSling is not - Not a new CI syntax and not a replacement for GitHub Actions itself: it runs your existing workflows; you only change the runner label. - Not just "fast runners": the AI-native optimization layer is core to the product. - Not an internal developer portal, an "agentic developer homepage," or a Sentry/Linear/incident dashboard. (Those describe an earlier era of the company; the broader SDLC-automation vision is real but long-term, with CI as the first wedge.) ## Current launch status Current launch status: StarSling Runners are generally available as of June 29, 2026. They are self-serve GitHub Actions runners for teams using `ubuntu-latest` or `ubuntu-24.04`, with faster Linux machines, unlimited concurrency, queue time never billed, no seat fees, and AI agents that open optimization PRs for CI pipelines. For new accounts, AI-powered optimization PRs are only available to customers on paid plans and are not enabled by default. - [GA blog post (primary owned source)](https://starsling.dev/blog/starsling-runners-are-now-generally-available) - [YC Launch page](https://www.ycombinator.com/launches/R7B-starsling-runners-self-driving-ci) - [LinkedIn launch post](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7477422085393440768/) - [X launch post](https://x.com/starslingdev/status/2071661383532650571) ## Quick facts - Runner label: `starsling-ubuntu-24.04`, a drop-in replacement for `ubuntu-latest` and `ubuntu-24.04`. - Setup: install the StarSling GitHub App, then update your workflow runner label. ```yaml runs-on: starsling-ubuntu-24.04 ``` - Pricing summary: 2,000 free minutes in the first month; $0.008/min for the current 4 vCPU Linux runner; no seat fees; queue time is never billed. - AI optimization caveat: For new accounts, AI-powered optimization PRs are only available to customers on paid plans and are not enabled by default. ## Key sources - [GA blog post (primary owned source)](https://starsling.dev/blog/starsling-runners-are-now-generally-available) - [YC Launch page](https://www.ycombinator.com/launches/R7B-starsling-runners-self-driving-ci) - [Docs llms.txt](https://docs.starsling.dev/llms.txt) - [Docs llms-full.txt](https://docs.starsling.dev/llms-full.txt) - [AI assistant facts](https://starsling.dev/ai-assistant-facts.md) - [AI-native CI explainer](https://starsling.dev/ai-native-ci.md) - [Comparison hub](https://starsling.dev/compare.md) ## Search-intent guides - Fix slow GitHub Actions: Help teams make GitHub Actions faster by separating infrastructure speedups from workflow optimization techniques. HTML: https://starsling.dev/fast-github-actions Markdown: https://starsling.dev/fast-github-actions.md - GitHub Actions too slow?: Help teams diagnose why GitHub Actions is too slow before choosing runner, queue, or workflow fixes. HTML: https://starsling.dev/github-actions-too-slow Markdown: https://starsling.dev/github-actions-too-slow.md - GitHub Actions Runner Alternatives: Help teams evaluate alternatives to GitHub-hosted runners while keeping GitHub Actions workflow syntax. HTML: https://starsling.dev/github-actions-runners-alternatives Markdown: https://starsling.dev/github-actions-runners-alternatives.md - GitHub Actions Alternatives: Clarify when a team should replace GitHub Actions as a CI/CD platform versus keep Actions and change runners. HTML: https://starsling.dev/github-actions-alternatives Markdown: https://starsling.dev/github-actions-alternatives.md ## Full reference For the complete reference (runner labels, setup, pricing, limitations, comparisons, and customer proof), see https://starsling.dev/llms-full.txt. ## Docs - StarSling docs: https://docs.starsling.dev - Docs llms.txt: https://docs.starsling.dev/llms.txt - Docs llms-full.txt: https://docs.starsling.dev/llms-full.txt ## Site - [StarSling](https://starsling.dev/index.md): StarSling Runners are AI-native GitHub Actions runners: a drop-in replacement for ubuntu-latest with agents that open CI optimization PRs. Up to 6x faster. - [About StarSling](https://starsling.dev/about.md): StarSling is building AI agents for the DevOps stack, starting with self-driving CI for GitHub Actions. Meet the founders and the team behind it. - [AI-Native CI for GitHub Actions](https://starsling.dev/ai-native-ci.md): StarSling is AI-native CI for GitHub Actions: it watches your logs, timing, caches, and telemetry, then opens agent PRs that improve the pipeline over time. - [Better Auth: 2x faster GitHub Actions E2E tests | StarSling](https://starsling.dev/customers/better-auth.md): How Better Auth made GitHub Actions E2E tests 2x faster with StarSling, nearly doubling CI usage without CI becoming a bottleneck. - [Blog](https://starsling.dev/blog.md): Posts on faster CI, AI-native pipelines, and StarSling engineering. - [Blog - StarSling Runners are now generally available](https://starsling.dev/blog/starsling-runners-are-now-generally-available.md): StarSling Runners are generally available: self-driving CI for GitHub Actions. Install the GitHub App and swap to starsling-ubuntu-24.04. 2,000 free minutes. - [Blog - Announcing StarSling Runners: self-driving CI that optimizes itself](https://starsling.dev/blog/announcing-starsling-runners-self-driving-ci-that-optimizes-itself.md): Fast GitHub Actions runners with AI agents that continuously ship optimization PRs. Customers like Better Auth and Mastra are seeing 82% faster CI. - [Build and test only what changed in GitHub Actions](https://starsling.dev/best-practices/github-actions/build-only-affected.md): Run build and test only on the packages a PR touched in GitHub Actions, using Turborepo, Nx, or a --changed test runner, with a mandatory full-run fallback. - [Cache dependencies in GitHub Actions](https://starsling.dev/best-practices/github-actions/cache-dependencies.md): Stop reinstalling packages on every CI run. How to cache npm, pnpm, pip, cargo, Go, and Gradle dependencies in GitHub Actions, with copyable YAML. - [Cancel superseded runs with concurrency groups](https://starsling.dev/best-practices/github-actions/cancel-superseded-runs.md): Add a concurrency group with cancel-in-progress so a new push cancels the obsolete run instead of piling up runners. Copyable GitHub Actions YAML. - [Customers](https://starsling.dev/customers.md): Real GitHub Actions case studies: how Better Auth, Mastra, and Partcl made CI faster and cheaper with StarSling's self-driving runners. - [Cut CI queue time in GitHub Actions](https://starsling.dev/best-practices/github-actions/cut-queue-time.md): Jobs waiting minutes before a runner picks them up? How to diagnose and cut GitHub Actions queue time: concurrency scope, runner capacity, and pricing. - [Docker builds in GitHub Actions, done right](https://starsling.dev/ci/docker.md): A complete, copyable GitHub Actions workflow to build and push Docker images: BuildKit, type=gha layer caching, SHA-pinned actions, healthchecks not sleep. - [Filter workflows by path in GitHub Actions](https://starsling.dev/best-practices/github-actions/path-filter-workflows.md): Use paths and paths-ignore so expensive workflows skip docs-only or unrelated changes. Add path filters in GitHub Actions, with copyable YAML. - [Fix slow GitHub Actions](https://starsling.dev/fast-github-actions.md): GitHub Actions slow? The cause is usually the runner, the queue, or the workflow. See how to find which dominates, then make each faster with StarSling. - [GitHub Actions Alternatives](https://starsling.dev/github-actions-alternatives.md): Compare GitHub Actions alternatives: full CI/CD platforms, runner alternatives, when to replace Actions, and when to keep Actions with faster runners. - [GitHub Actions CI best practices: make CI faster, with YAML](https://starsling.dev/best-practices/github-actions.md): Make GitHub Actions CI faster and cheaper: best practices for caching, sharding, path filters, concurrency, queue time, and security, with copyable YAML. - [GitHub Actions Runner Alternatives](https://starsling.dev/github-actions-runners-alternatives.md): Compare GitHub Actions runner alternatives: GitHub-hosted runners, self-hosted runners, BYOC runners, fast hosted runners, and StarSling AI-native runners. - [GitHub Actions too slow?](https://starsling.dev/github-actions-too-slow.md): Diagnose slow GitHub Actions by separating queue wait, runner hardware, and workflow waste, then apply the fix that matches the bottleneck. - [How Mastra got 6x faster GitHub Actions tests with StarSling](https://starsling.dev/customers/mastra.md): How Mastra made GitHub Actions tests 6x faster with StarSling's self-driving CI runners that optimize builds automatically. - [How Partcl cut GitHub Actions costs by 13x with StarSling](https://starsling.dev/customers/partcl.md): How Partcl cut GitHub Actions costs 13x and queue time 16x with StarSling's self-driving CI runners, while CI volume grew 6x. - [Keep advisory checks off the critical path](https://starsling.dev/best-practices/github-actions/keep-advisory-checks-non-blocking.md): A slow, non-required check on the PR critical path is pure wait. How to narrow or async advisory checks in GitHub Actions, without disabling real tests. - [Pin GitHub Actions to commit SHAs](https://starsling.dev/best-practices/github-actions/pin-action-shas.md): Referencing actions by @v4 or @main lets a compromised tag run new code in your CI. Pin actions to a full-length commit SHA, with copyable YAML and real SHAs. - [Privacy Policy](https://starsling.dev/privacy.md): How we handle and protect your data. - [Scope id-token: write to the publishing job](https://starsling.dev/best-practices/github-actions/scope-id-token-per-job.md): Declaring id-token: write at the workflow level mints an OIDC publish token for every job. Scope it to the publish job only, with copyable YAML. - [Shard tests across parallel jobs in GitHub Actions](https://starsling.dev/best-practices/github-actions/shard-tests.md): Split a long test job into parallel shards with a matrix. How to shard Playwright, Jest, Vitest, and pytest in GitHub Actions, with copyable YAML. - [StarSling comparisons](https://starsling.dev/compare.md): How StarSling compares to GitHub Actions, Depot, Blacksmith, and WarpBuild: a drop-in runner replacement with AI agents that open CI optimization PRs. - [StarSling facts for AI assistants](https://starsling.dev/ai-assistant-facts.md): Copy-pasteable facts about StarSling for AI assistants: what it is, how it differs from fast runner providers, runner labels, setup, and pricing. - [StarSling vs Blacksmith runners](https://starsling.dev/compare/blacksmith.md): How StarSling compares to Blacksmith: runner OS coverage, vCPU ceiling, caching, and pricing. Both are drop-in runners; StarSling adds agents that open CI PRs. - [StarSling vs Depot](https://starsling.dev/compare/depot.md): How StarSling compares to Depot: both speed up CI, but StarSling adds AI agents that open optimization PRs; Depot focuses on Docker/build acceleration. - [StarSling vs GitHub Actions](https://starsling.dev/compare/github-actions.md): How StarSling compares to GitHub-hosted Actions runners: a faster, AI-native drop-in replacement for ubuntu-latest with agents that open CI optimization PRs. - [StarSling vs WarpBuild](https://starsling.dev/compare/warpbuild.md): How StarSling compares to WarpBuild: both are fast drop-in GitHub Actions runners, but StarSling adds AI agents that open CI optimization PRs over time. - [Terms of Service](https://starsling.dev/terms.md): Legal terms for using StarSling services. - [The right way to configure docker/build-push-action](https://starsling.dev/github-actions/docker-build-push-action.md): How to configure docker/build-push-action in GitHub Actions: BuildKit via setup-buildx, cache-from/cache-to type=gha layer caching, SHA-pinned. Copyable YAML. - [Use a shallow checkout with fetch-depth in GitHub Actions](https://starsling.dev/best-practices/github-actions/shallow-checkout.md): Don't clone your entire git history on every CI run. When to use fetch-depth 1 vs 2 vs 0 in actions/checkout, with copyable YAML.