Request access to 8-core / 32 GB Codespaces on GitHub Free

[johnconstantin983-byte]

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Question

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Hello GitHub Community,

My personal GitHub Free account only offers these Codespaces machine types:

• 2 cores / 8 GB RAM
• 4 cores / 16 GB RAM

I have checked two private repositories and multiple available regions. The 8-core / 32 GB RAM option does not appear.

I am developing a software project involving Android/Kotlin compilation, Python, and automated testing.

Could someone clarify:

1. Can GitHub enable 8-core / 32 GB Codespaces for a personal GitHub Free account?
2. Does this require account-level approval or a support request?
3. Can this machine type be used entirely within the included monthly free quota, without adding a payment method?
4. Are there any specific eligibility requirements?

I do not want to enable paid billing or incur any charges.

Thank you for your help.

[Sagargupta16]

There is no request form or approval for this. The set of machine types a personal account sees is fixed by GitHub, and the docs give no path to widen it for a Free account.

The docs on creating a codespace say the available machine types "depend on the repository, your personal account, and your location", and the only levers they describe narrow the list further: an organization policy or a repository minimum spec (restricting access to machine types). Both apply to organization-owned repositories, so neither helps a personal repo. My own personal account lists the same two types through GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/codespaces/machines: basicLinux32gb (2 cores, 8 GB) and standardLinux32gb (4 cores, 16 GB).

On question 3: even where 8-core is offered, the included 120 compute hours on Free are counted in core hours, and an 8-core machine uses 8 per hour (Codespaces billing). That is 15 hours of 8-core a month before billing starts, against 30 hours on 4-core. Going past the quota requires a payment method and a spending limit, which you said you want to avoid.

For an Android/Kotlin build on the 4-core machine, cap Gradle so it fits 16 GB: org.gradle.jvmargs=-Xmx6g and org.gradle.workers.max=4 in gradle.properties, and keep the daemon on. If you need more than that, the way to get larger machines is a repository owned by an organization on Team or Enterprise that pays for codespaces and sets a machine-type policy.