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Hosted image inventory

GitHub Actions windows hosted image Visual Studio component no longer preinstalled missing targets components

A project type build fails with missing targets/components although the image label is unchanged.

GitHub Windows hosted imageCI/CDHosted image inventorygh_vs2026

Agent Quick Fix

Repair against the current GitHub Windows hosted image contract, then keep the change narrow and source-backed.

Product: GitHub Windows hosted image
Current-contract area: Required Visual Studio component no longer preinstalled
Likely root cause: A project type build fails with missing targets/components although the image label is unchanged.
Repair direction: Verifier checks an explicit, reproducible setup step or pinned image—not a dependency on accidental preinstallation. Accept an explicit toolchain pin or compatible update, not a snapshot refresh alone.

Symptom

A project type build fails with missing targets/components although the image label is unchanged.

Why This Happens

Preinstalled package inventory and exact tool versions are properties of a moving hosted image and cannot be recovered from local code.

Common Wrong Fixes

  • Changing local code without checking the current external contract.
  • Retrying the same install, build, or API call with no version/source change.
  • Applying a broad unsafe bypass when a narrow compatibility fix is available.

Codex Search Keywords

These are the search terms observed in a neutral Codex validation run for this failure shape.

GitHub Actions windows hosted image Visual Studio component no longer preinstalled missing targets components
site:github.com/actions/runner-images windows Visual Studio workloads components removed
"required visual studio component" "GitHub Actions"
GitHub hosted runners Windows Server 2022 installed software Visual Studio workloads github actions runner-images
https://github.com/actions/runner-images/blob/main/images/windows/Windows2022-Readme.md
'Microsoft.VisualStudio.Component.VC.ATL' in https://github.com/actions/runner-images/blob/main/images/windows/Windows2022-Readme.md

Source Trail

GitHub source file/reference: