Bump System.Text.Encoding.CodePages from 8.0.0 to 10.0.3

---
updated-dependencies:
- dependency-name: System.Text.Encoding.CodePages
  dependency-version: 10.0.3
  dependency-type: direct:production
  update-type: version-update:semver-major
...

Signed-off-by: dependabot[bot] <support@github.com>

.devcontainer/devcontainer.json

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
   "features": {
     "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/docker-in-docker:1": {},
     "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/dotnet": {
-      "version": "8.0.416"
+      "version": "8.0.418"
     },
     "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/node:1": {
       "version": "20"

docs/start/envlinux.md

@@ -28,8 +28,8 @@ Debian based OS (Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint)
 - liblttng-ust1 or liblttng-ust0
 - libkrb5-3
 - zlib1g
-- libssl1.1, libssl1.0.2 or libssl1.0.0
+- libssl3t64, libssl3, libssl1.1, libssl1.0.2 or libssl1.0.0
-- libicu63, libicu60, libicu57 or libicu55
+- libicu76, libicu75, ..., libicu66, libicu65, libicu63, libicu60, libicu57, libicu55, or libicu52
 
 Fedora based OS (Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, Oracle Linux 7)
 

images/Dockerfile

@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ ARG TARGETOS
 ARG TARGETARCH
 ARG RUNNER_VERSION
 ARG RUNNER_CONTAINER_HOOKS_VERSION=0.7.0
-ARG DOCKER_VERSION=29.0.2
+ARG DOCKER_VERSION=29.2.0
-ARG BUILDX_VERSION=0.30.1
+ARG BUILDX_VERSION=0.31.1
 
 RUN apt update -y && apt install curl unzip -y
 
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ RUN curl -f -L -o runner-container-hooks.zip https://github.com/actions/runner-c
     && unzip ./runner-container-hooks.zip -d ./k8s \
     && rm runner-container-hooks.zip
 
-RUN curl -f -L -o runner-container-hooks.zip https://github.com/actions/runner-container-hooks/releases/download/v0.8.0/actions-runner-hooks-k8s-0.8.0.zip \
+RUN curl -f -L -o runner-container-hooks.zip https://github.com/actions/runner-container-hooks/releases/download/v0.8.1/actions-runner-hooks-k8s-0.8.1.zip \
     && unzip ./runner-container-hooks.zip -d ./k8s-novolume \
     && rm runner-container-hooks.zip
 

src/Misc/externals.sh

@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ NODE_URL=https://nodejs.org/dist
 NODE_ALPINE_URL=https://github.com/actions/alpine_nodejs/releases/download
 # When you update Node versions you must also create a new release of alpine_nodejs at that updated version.
 # Follow the instructions here: https://github.com/actions/alpine_nodejs?tab=readme-ov-file#getting-started
-NODE20_VERSION="20.19.6"
+NODE20_VERSION="20.20.0"
-NODE24_VERSION="24.12.0"
+NODE24_VERSION="24.13.1"
 
 get_abs_path() {
   # exploits the fact that pwd will print abs path when no args

src/Misc/layoutbin/installdependencies.sh

@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ then
             exit 1
         fi
 
-        apt_get_with_fallbacks libssl1.1$ libssl1.0.2$ libssl1.0.0$
+        apt_get_with_fallbacks libssl3t64$ libssl3$ libssl1.1$ libssl1.0.2$ libssl1.0.0$
         if [ $? -ne 0 ]
         then
             echo "'$apt_get' failed with exit code '$?'"

src/Runner.Common/Constants.cs

@@ -173,6 +173,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common
                 public static readonly string SnapshotPreflightImageGenPoolCheck = "actions_snapshot_preflight_image_gen_pool_check";
                 public static readonly string CompareWorkflowParser = "actions_runner_compare_workflow_parser";
                 public static readonly string SetOrchestrationIdEnvForActions = "actions_set_orchestration_id_env_for_actions";
+                public static readonly string SendJobLevelAnnotations = "actions_send_job_level_annotations";
             }
 
             // Node version migration related constants

src/Runner.Listener/Configuration/ConfigurationManager.cs

@@ -178,8 +178,12 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Listener.Configuration
                         }
                     }
 
-                    // Validate can connect.
+                    // Validate can connect using the obtained vss credentials.
+                    // In Runner Admin flow there's nothing new to test connection to at this point as registerToken is already validated via GetTenantCredential.
+                    if (!runnerSettings.UseRunnerAdminFlow)
+                    {
                         await _runnerServer.ConnectAsync(new Uri(runnerSettings.ServerUrl), creds);
+                    }
 
                     _term.WriteLine();
                     _term.WriteSuccessMessage("Connected to GitHub");

src/Runner.Listener/JobDispatcher.cs

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Listener
     public interface IJobDispatcher : IRunnerService
     {
         bool Busy { get; }
-        TaskCompletionSource<bool> RunOnceJobCompleted { get; }
+        TaskCompletionSource<TaskResult> RunOnceJobCompleted { get; }
         void Run(Pipelines.AgentJobRequestMessage message, bool runOnce = false);
         bool Cancel(JobCancelMessage message);
         Task WaitAsync(CancellationToken token);
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Listener
         // timeout limit can be overwritten by environment GITHUB_ACTIONS_RUNNER_CHANNEL_TIMEOUT
         private TimeSpan _channelTimeout;
 
-        private TaskCompletionSource<bool> _runOnceJobCompleted = new();
+        private TaskCompletionSource<TaskResult> _runOnceJobCompleted = new();
 
         public event EventHandler<JobStatusEventArgs> JobStatus;
 
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Listener
             Trace.Info($"Set runner/worker IPC timeout to {_channelTimeout.TotalSeconds} seconds.");
         }
 
-        public TaskCompletionSource<bool> RunOnceJobCompleted => _runOnceJobCompleted;
+        public TaskCompletionSource<TaskResult> RunOnceJobCompleted => _runOnceJobCompleted;
 
         public bool Busy { get; private set; }
 
@@ -340,18 +340,19 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Listener
 
         private async Task RunOnceAsync(Pipelines.AgentJobRequestMessage message, string orchestrationId, WorkerDispatcher previousJobDispatch, CancellationToken jobRequestCancellationToken, CancellationToken workerCancelTimeoutKillToken)
         {
+            var jobResult = TaskResult.Succeeded;
             try
             {
-                await RunAsync(message, orchestrationId, previousJobDispatch, jobRequestCancellationToken, workerCancelTimeoutKillToken);
+                jobResult = await RunAsync(message, orchestrationId, previousJobDispatch, jobRequestCancellationToken, workerCancelTimeoutKillToken);
             }
             finally
             {
                 Trace.Info("Fire signal for one time used runner.");
-                _runOnceJobCompleted.TrySetResult(true);
+                _runOnceJobCompleted.TrySetResult(jobResult);
             }
         }
 
-        private async Task RunAsync(Pipelines.AgentJobRequestMessage message, string orchestrationId, WorkerDispatcher previousJobDispatch, CancellationToken jobRequestCancellationToken, CancellationToken workerCancelTimeoutKillToken)
+        private async Task<TaskResult> RunAsync(Pipelines.AgentJobRequestMessage message, string orchestrationId, WorkerDispatcher previousJobDispatch, CancellationToken jobRequestCancellationToken, CancellationToken workerCancelTimeoutKillToken)
         {
             Busy = true;
             try
@@ -399,7 +400,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Listener
                     {
                         // renew job request task complete means we run out of retry for the first job request renew.
                         Trace.Info($"Unable to renew job request for job {message.JobId} for the first time, stop dispatching job to worker.");
-                        return;
+                        return TaskResult.Abandoned;
                     }
 
                     if (jobRequestCancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested)
@@ -412,7 +413,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Listener
 
                         // complete job request with result Cancelled
                         await CompleteJobRequestAsync(_poolId, message, systemConnection, lockToken, TaskResult.Canceled);
-                        return;
+                        return TaskResult.Canceled;
                     }
 
                     HostContext.WritePerfCounter($"JobRequestRenewed_{requestId.ToString()}");
@@ -523,7 +524,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Listener
                             await renewJobRequest;
 
                             // not finish the job request since the job haven't run on worker at all, we will not going to set a result to server.
-                            return;
+                            return TaskResult.Failed;
                         }
 
                         // we get first jobrequest renew succeed and start the worker process with the job message.
@@ -604,7 +605,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Listener
                                     Trace.Error(detailInfo);
                                 }
 
-                                return;
+                                return TaskResultUtil.TranslateFromReturnCode(returnCode);
                             }
                             else if (completedTask == renewJobRequest)
                             {
@@ -706,6 +707,8 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Listener
 
                             // complete job request
                             await CompleteJobRequestAsync(_poolId, message, systemConnection, lockToken, resultOnAbandonOrCancel);
+
+                            return resultOnAbandonOrCancel;
                         }
                         finally
                         {

src/Runner.Listener/Runner.cs

@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ using System.IO;
 using System.Linq;
 using System.Reflection;
 using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
-using System.Security.Cryptography;
 using System.Security.Claims;
+using System.Security.Cryptography;
 using System.Text;
 using System.Threading;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
@@ -324,8 +324,11 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Listener
                         HostContext.EnableAuthMigration("EnableAuthMigrationByDefault");
                     }
 
+                    // hosted runner only run one job and would like to know the result of the job for telemetry and alerting on failure spike.
+                    var returnJobResultForHosted = StringUtil.ConvertToBoolean(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("ACTIONS_RUNNER_RETURN_JOB_RESULT_FOR_HOSTED"));
+
                     // Run the runner interactively or as service
-                    return await ExecuteRunnerAsync(settings, command.RunOnce || settings.Ephemeral);
+                    return await ExecuteRunnerAsync(settings, command.RunOnce || settings.Ephemeral || returnJobResultForHosted, returnJobResultForHosted);
                 }
                 else
                 {
@@ -401,12 +404,27 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Listener
         }
 
         //create worker manager, create message listener and start listening to the queue
-        private async Task<int> RunAsync(RunnerSettings settings, bool runOnce = false)
+        private async Task<int> RunAsync(RunnerSettings settings, bool runOnce = false, bool returnRunOnceJobResult = false)
         {
             try
             {
                 Trace.Info(nameof(RunAsync));
 
+                // Validate directory permissions.
+                string workDirectory = HostContext.GetDirectory(WellKnownDirectory.Work);
+                Trace.Info($"Validating directory permissions for: '{workDirectory}'");
+                try
+                {
+                    Directory.CreateDirectory(workDirectory);
+                    IOUtil.ValidateExecutePermission(workDirectory);
+                }
+                catch (Exception ex)
+                {
+                    Trace.Error(ex);
+                    _term.WriteError($"Fail to create and validate runner's work directory '{workDirectory}'.");
+                    return Constants.Runner.ReturnCode.TerminatedError;
+                }
+
                 // First try using migrated settings if available
                 var configManager = HostContext.GetService<IConfigurationManager>();
                 RunnerSettings migratedSettings = null;
@@ -565,6 +583,21 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Listener
                                         Trace.Info($"Ignore any exception after cancel message loop. {ex}");
                                     }
 
+                                    if (returnRunOnceJobResult)
+                                    {
+                                        try
+                                        {
+                                            var jobResult = await jobDispatcher.RunOnceJobCompleted.Task;
+                                            return TaskResultUtil.TranslateToReturnCode(jobResult);
+                                        }
+                                        catch (Exception ex)
+                                        {
+                                            Trace.Error("run once job finished with error.");
+                                            Trace.Error(ex);
+                                            return Constants.Runner.ReturnCode.TerminatedError;
+                                        }
+                                    }
+
                                     return Constants.Runner.ReturnCode.Success;
                                 }
                             }
@@ -851,14 +884,14 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Listener
             return Constants.Runner.ReturnCode.Success;
         }
 
-        private async Task<int> ExecuteRunnerAsync(RunnerSettings settings, bool runOnce)
+        private async Task<int> ExecuteRunnerAsync(RunnerSettings settings, bool runOnce, bool returnRunOnceJobResult)
         {
             int returnCode = Constants.Runner.ReturnCode.Success;
             bool restart = false;
             do
             {
                 restart = false;
-                returnCode = await RunAsync(settings, runOnce);
+                returnCode = await RunAsync(settings, runOnce, returnRunOnceJobResult);
 
                 if (returnCode == Constants.Runner.ReturnCode.RunnerConfigurationRefreshed)
                 {

src/Runner.Sdk/Runner.Sdk.csproj

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
   </ItemGroup>
 
   <ItemGroup>
-    <PackageReference Include="System.Text.Encoding.CodePages" Version="8.0.0" />
+    <PackageReference Include="System.Text.Encoding.CodePages" Version="10.0.3" />
     <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Win32.Registry" Version="5.0.0" />
     <PackageReference Include="System.Threading.Channels" Version="8.0.0" />
   </ItemGroup>

src/Runner.Worker/ActionCommandManager.cs

@@ -318,6 +318,17 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
                 context.AddIssue(issue, ExecutionContextLogOptions.Default);
             }
 
+            if (!context.Global.HasDeprecatedSetOutput)
+            {
+                context.Global.HasDeprecatedSetOutput = true;
+                var telemetry = new JobTelemetry
+                {
+                    Type = JobTelemetryType.ActionCommand,
+                    Message = "DeprecatedCommand: set-output"
+                };
+                context.Global.JobTelemetry.Add(telemetry);
+            }
+
             if (!command.Properties.TryGetValue(SetOutputCommandProperties.Name, out string outputName) || string.IsNullOrEmpty(outputName))
             {
                 throw new Exception("Required field 'name' is missing in ##[set-output] command.");
@@ -353,6 +364,17 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
                 context.AddIssue(issue, ExecutionContextLogOptions.Default);
             }
 
+            if (!context.Global.HasDeprecatedSaveState)
+            {
+                context.Global.HasDeprecatedSaveState = true;
+                var telemetry = new JobTelemetry
+                {
+                    Type = JobTelemetryType.ActionCommand,
+                    Message = "DeprecatedCommand: save-state"
+                };
+                context.Global.JobTelemetry.Add(telemetry);
+            }
+
             if (!command.Properties.TryGetValue(SaveStateCommandProperties.Name, out string stateName) || string.IsNullOrEmpty(stateName))
             {
                 throw new Exception("Required field 'name' is missing in ##[save-state] command.");

src/Runner.Worker/ActionManifestManagerWrapper.cs

@@ -84,7 +84,8 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
                 "EvaluateContainerEnvironment",
                 () => _legacyManager.EvaluateContainerEnvironment(executionContext, token, extraExpressionValues),
                 () => _newManager.EvaluateContainerEnvironment(executionContext, ConvertToNewToken(token) as GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.ObjectTemplating.Tokens.MappingToken, ConvertToNewExpressionValues(extraExpressionValues)),
-                (legacyResult, newResult) => {
+                (legacyResult, newResult) =>
+                {
                     var trace = HostContext.GetTrace(nameof(ActionManifestManagerWrapper));
                     return CompareDictionaries(trace, legacyResult, newResult, "ContainerEnvironment");
                 });
@@ -165,9 +166,150 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
                 return null;
             }
 
-            // Serialize new steps and deserialize to old steps
+            var result = new List<GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ActionStep>();
-            var json = StringUtil.ConvertToJson(newSteps, Newtonsoft.Json.Formatting.None);
+            foreach (var step in newSteps)
-            return StringUtil.ConvertFromJson<List<GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ActionStep>>(json);
+            {
+                var actionStep = new GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ActionStep
+                {
+                    ContextName = step.Id,
+                };
+
+                if (step is GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.RunStep runStep)
+                {
+                    actionStep.Condition = ExtractConditionString(runStep.If);
+                    actionStep.DisplayNameToken = ConvertToLegacyToken<TemplateToken>(runStep.Name);
+                    actionStep.ContinueOnError = ConvertToLegacyToken<TemplateToken>(runStep.ContinueOnError);
+                    actionStep.TimeoutInMinutes = ConvertToLegacyToken<TemplateToken>(runStep.TimeoutMinutes);
+                    actionStep.Environment = ConvertToLegacyToken<TemplateToken>(runStep.Env);
+                    actionStep.Reference = new GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ScriptReference();
+                    actionStep.Inputs = BuildRunStepInputs(runStep);
+                }
+                else if (step is GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.ActionStep usesStep)
+                {
+                    actionStep.Condition = ExtractConditionString(usesStep.If);
+                    actionStep.DisplayNameToken = ConvertToLegacyToken<TemplateToken>(usesStep.Name);
+                    actionStep.ContinueOnError = ConvertToLegacyToken<TemplateToken>(usesStep.ContinueOnError);
+                    actionStep.TimeoutInMinutes = ConvertToLegacyToken<TemplateToken>(usesStep.TimeoutMinutes);
+                    actionStep.Environment = ConvertToLegacyToken<TemplateToken>(usesStep.Env);
+                    actionStep.Reference = ParseActionReference(usesStep.Uses?.Value);
+                    actionStep.Inputs = ConvertToLegacyToken<MappingToken>(usesStep.With);
+                }
+
+                result.Add(actionStep);
+            }
+            return result;
+        }
+
+        private string ExtractConditionString(GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.ObjectTemplating.Tokens.BasicExpressionToken ifToken)
+        {
+            if (ifToken == null)
+            {
+                return null;
+            }
+
+            // The Expression property is internal, so we use ToString() which formats as "${{ expr }}"
+            // Then strip the delimiters to get just the expression
+            var str = ifToken.ToString();
+            if (str.StartsWith("${{") && str.EndsWith("}}"))
+            {
+                return str.Substring(3, str.Length - 5).Trim();
+            }
+            return str;
+        }
+
+        private MappingToken BuildRunStepInputs(GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.RunStep runStep)
+        {
+            var inputs = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+
+            // script (from run)
+            if (runStep.Run != null)
+            {
+                inputs.Add(
+                    new StringToken(null, null, null, "script"),
+                    ConvertToLegacyToken<TemplateToken>(runStep.Run));
+            }
+
+            // shell
+            if (runStep.Shell != null)
+            {
+                inputs.Add(
+                    new StringToken(null, null, null, "shell"),
+                    ConvertToLegacyToken<TemplateToken>(runStep.Shell));
+            }
+
+            // working-directory
+            if (runStep.WorkingDirectory != null)
+            {
+                inputs.Add(
+                    new StringToken(null, null, null, "workingDirectory"),
+                    ConvertToLegacyToken<TemplateToken>(runStep.WorkingDirectory));
+            }
+
+            return inputs.Count > 0 ? inputs : null;
+        }
+
+        private GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ActionStepDefinitionReference ParseActionReference(string uses)
+        {
+            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(uses))
+            {
+                return null;
+            }
+
+            // Docker reference: docker://image:tag
+            if (uses.StartsWith("docker://", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            {
+                return new GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ContainerRegistryReference
+                {
+                    Image = uses.Substring("docker://".Length)
+                };
+            }
+
+            // Local path reference: ./path/to/action
+            if (uses.StartsWith("./") || uses.StartsWith(".\\"))
+            {
+                return new GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.RepositoryPathReference
+                {
+                    RepositoryType = "self",
+                    Path = uses
+                };
+            }
+
+            // Repository reference: owner/repo@ref or owner/repo/path@ref
+            var atIndex = uses.LastIndexOf('@');
+            string refPart = null;
+            string repoPart = uses;
+
+            if (atIndex > 0)
+            {
+                refPart = uses.Substring(atIndex + 1);
+                repoPart = uses.Substring(0, atIndex);
+            }
+
+            // Split by / to get owner/repo and optional path
+            var parts = repoPart.Split('/');
+            string name;
+            string path = null;
+
+            if (parts.Length >= 2)
+            {
+                name = $"{parts[0]}/{parts[1]}";
+                if (parts.Length > 2)
+                {
+                    path = string.Join("/", parts, 2, parts.Length - 2);
+                }
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                name = repoPart;
+            }
+
+            return new GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.RepositoryPathReference
+            {
+                RepositoryType = "GitHub",
+                Name = name,
+                Ref = refPart,
+                Path = path
+            };
         }
 
         private T ConvertToLegacyToken<T>(GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.ObjectTemplating.Tokens.TemplateToken newToken) where T : TemplateToken
@@ -633,6 +775,14 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
                 return false;
             }
 
+            // Check for known equivalent error patterns (e.g., JSON parse errors)
+            // where both parsers correctly reject invalid input but with different wording
+            if (PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper.HasJsonExceptionType(legacyException) && PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper.HasJsonExceptionType(newException))
+            {
+                trace.Info("CompareExceptions - both exceptions are JSON parse errors, treating as matched");
+                return true;
+            }
+
             // Compare exception messages recursively (including inner exceptions)
             var legacyMessages = GetExceptionMessages(legacyException);
             var newMessages = GetExceptionMessages(newException);
@@ -697,5 +847,6 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
 
             return messages;
         }
+
     }
 }

src/Runner.Worker/ActionRunner.cs

@@ -379,7 +379,14 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
             {
                 prefix = PipelineTemplateConstants.RunDisplayPrefix;
                 var repositoryReference = action.Reference as RepositoryPathReference;
-                var pathString = string.IsNullOrEmpty(repositoryReference.Path) ? string.Empty : $"/{repositoryReference.Path}";
+                var pathString = string.Empty;
+                if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(repositoryReference.Path))
+                {
+                    // For local actions (Name is empty), don't prepend "/" to avoid "/./"
+                    pathString = string.IsNullOrEmpty(repositoryReference.Name)
+                        ? repositoryReference.Path
+                        : $"/{repositoryReference.Path}";
+                }
                 var repoString = string.IsNullOrEmpty(repositoryReference.Ref) ? $"{repositoryReference.Name}{pathString}" :
                     $"{repositoryReference.Name}{pathString}@{repositoryReference.Ref}";
                 tokenToParse = new StringToken(null, null, null, repoString);

src/Runner.Worker/ExecutionContext.cs

@@ -499,7 +499,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
 
             PublishStepTelemetry();
 
-            if (_record.RecordType == "Task")
+            if (_record.RecordType == ExecutionContextType.Task)
             {
                 var stepResult = new StepResult
                 {
@@ -532,6 +532,25 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
                 Global.StepsResult.Add(stepResult);
             }
 
+            if (Global.Variables.GetBoolean(Constants.Runner.Features.SendJobLevelAnnotations) ?? false)
+            {
+                if (_record.RecordType == ExecutionContextType.Job)
+                {
+                    _record.Issues?.ForEach(issue =>
+                    {
+                        var annotation = issue.ToAnnotation();
+                        if (annotation != null)
+                        {
+                            Global.JobAnnotations.Add(annotation.Value);
+                            if (annotation.Value.IsInfrastructureIssue && string.IsNullOrEmpty(Global.InfrastructureFailureCategory))
+                            {
+                                Global.InfrastructureFailureCategory = issue.Category;
+                            }
+                        }
+                    });
+                }
+            }
+
             if (Root != this)
             {
                 // only dispose TokenSource for step level ExecutionContext

src/Runner.Worker/GlobalContext.cs

@@ -31,5 +31,7 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
         public JObject ContainerHookState { get; set; }
         public bool HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch { get; set; }
         public bool HasActionManifestMismatch { get; set; }
+        public bool HasDeprecatedSetOutput { get; set; }
+        public bool HasDeprecatedSaveState { get; set; }
     }
 }

src/Runner.Worker/InternalsVisibleTo.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
+
+[assembly: InternalsVisibleTo("Test")]

src/Runner.Worker/PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper.cs

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-using System;
+using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser;
 using GitHub.DistributedTask.Expressions2;
@@ -216,12 +216,15 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
             }
         }
 
-        private TLegacy EvaluateAndCompare<TLegacy, TNew>(
+        internal TLegacy EvaluateAndCompare<TLegacy, TNew>(
             string methodName,
             Func<TLegacy> legacyEvaluator,
             Func<TNew> newEvaluator,
             Func<TLegacy, TNew, bool> resultComparer)
         {
+            // Capture cancellation state before evaluation
+            var cancellationRequestedBefore = _context.CancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested;
+
             // Legacy evaluator
             var legacyException = default(Exception);
             var legacyResult = default(TLegacy);
@@ -253,14 +256,18 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
                     newException = ex;
                 }
 
+                // Capture cancellation state after evaluation
+                var cancellationRequestedAfter = _context.CancellationToken.IsCancellationRequested;
+
                 // Compare results or exceptions
+                bool hasMismatch = false;
                 if (legacyException != null || newException != null)
                 {
                     // Either one or both threw exceptions - compare them
                     if (!CompareExceptions(legacyException, newException))
                     {
                         _trace.Info($"{methodName} exception mismatch");
-                        RecordMismatch($"{methodName}");
+                        hasMismatch = true;
                     }
                 }
                 else
@@ -269,6 +276,20 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
                     if (!resultComparer(legacyResult, newResult))
                     {
                         _trace.Info($"{methodName} mismatch");
+                        hasMismatch = true;
+                    }
+                }
+
+                // Only record mismatch if it wasn't caused by a cancellation race condition
+                if (hasMismatch)
+                {
+                    if (!cancellationRequestedBefore && cancellationRequestedAfter)
+                    {
+                        // Cancellation state changed during evaluation window - skip recording
+                        _trace.Info($"{methodName} mismatch skipped due to cancellation race condition");
+                    }
+                    else
+                    {
                         RecordMismatch($"{methodName}");
                     }
                 }
@@ -612,6 +633,13 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
                 return false;
             }
 
+            // Check for known equivalent error patterns (e.g., JSON parse errors)
+            // where both parsers correctly reject invalid input but with different wording
+            if (IsKnownEquivalentErrorPattern(legacyException, newException))
+            {
+                return true;
+            }
+
             // Compare exception messages recursively (including inner exceptions)
             var legacyMessages = GetExceptionMessages(legacyException);
             var newMessages = GetExceptionMessages(newException);
@@ -634,6 +662,67 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Worker
             return true;
         }
 
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Checks if two exceptions match a known pattern where both parsers correctly reject
+        /// invalid input but with different error messages (e.g., JSON parse errors from fromJSON).
+        /// </summary>
+        private bool IsKnownEquivalentErrorPattern(Exception legacyException, Exception newException)
+        {
+            // fromJSON('') - both parsers fail when parsing empty string as JSON
+            // The error messages differ but both indicate JSON parsing failure.
+            // Legacy throws raw JsonReaderException: "Error reading JToken from JsonReader..."
+            // New wraps it: "Error parsing fromJson" with inner JsonReaderException
+            // Both may be wrapped in TemplateValidationException: "The template is not valid..."
+            if (HasJsonExceptionType(legacyException) && HasJsonExceptionType(newException))
+            {
+                _trace.Info("CompareExceptions - both exceptions are JSON parse errors, treating as matched");
+                return true;
+            }
+
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Checks if the exception chain contains a JSON-related exception type.
+        /// </summary>
+        internal static bool HasJsonExceptionType(Exception ex)
+        {
+            var toProcess = new Queue<Exception>();
+            toProcess.Enqueue(ex);
+            int count = 0;
+
+            while (toProcess.Count > 0 && count < 50)
+            {
+                var current = toProcess.Dequeue();
+                if (current == null) continue;
+
+                count++;
+
+                if (current is Newtonsoft.Json.JsonReaderException ||
+                    current is System.Text.Json.JsonException)
+                {
+                    return true;
+                }
+
+                if (current is AggregateException aggregateEx)
+                {
+                    foreach (var innerEx in aggregateEx.InnerExceptions)
+                    {
+                        if (innerEx != null && count < 50)
+                        {
+                            toProcess.Enqueue(innerEx);
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+                else if (current.InnerException != null)
+                {
+                    toProcess.Enqueue(current.InnerException);
+                }
+            }
+
+            return false;
+        }
+
         private IList<string> GetExceptionMessages(Exception ex)
         {
             var messages = new List<string>();

src/Sdk/DTPipelines/workflow-v1.0.json

@@ -421,7 +421,7 @@
       "mapping": {
         "properties": {
           "image": "string",
-          "options": "non-empty-string",
+          "options": "string",
           "env": "container-env",
           "ports": "sequence-of-non-empty-string",
           "volumes": "sequence-of-non-empty-string",

src/Sdk/Sdk.csproj

@@ -23,14 +23,14 @@
         <PackageReference Include="Newtonsoft.Json" Version="13.0.3" />
         <PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNet.WebApi.Client" Version="6.0.0" />
         <PackageReference Include="System.Security.Cryptography.Cng" Version="5.0.0" />
-        <PackageReference Include="System.Security.Cryptography.Pkcs" Version="8.0.0" />
+        <PackageReference Include="System.Security.Cryptography.Pkcs" Version="10.0.2" />
         <PackageReference Include="System.Security.Cryptography.ProtectedData" Version="8.0.0" />
         <PackageReference Include="Minimatch" Version="2.0.0" />
         <PackageReference Include="YamlDotNet.Signed" Version="5.3.0" />
         <PackageReference Include="System.Net.Http" Version="4.3.4" />
         <PackageReference Include="System.Text.RegularExpressions" Version="4.3.1" />
         <PackageReference Include="System.Private.Uri" Version="4.3.2" />
-        <PackageReference Include="System.Formats.Asn1" Version="8.0.1" />
+        <PackageReference Include="System.Formats.Asn1" Version="10.0.2" />
     </ItemGroup>
 
     <ItemGroup>

src/Sdk/WorkflowParser/Conversion/WorkflowTemplateConverter.cs

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-#nullable disable // Consider removing in the future to minimize likelihood of NullReferenceException; refer https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/nullable-references
+#nullable disable // Consider removing in the future to minimize likelihood of NullReferenceException; refer https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/nullable-references
 
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
@@ -1153,8 +1153,13 @@ namespace GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.Conversion
             }
 
             if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(result.Image))
+            {
+                // Only error during early validation (parse time)
+                // At runtime (expression evaluation), empty image = no container
+                if (isEarlyValidation)
                 {
                     context.Error(value, "Container image cannot be empty");
+                }
                 return null;
             }
 

src/Sdk/WorkflowParser/workflow-v1.0.json

@@ -2593,7 +2593,7 @@
             "description": "Use `jobs.<job_id>.container.image` to define the Docker image to use as the container to run the action. The value can be the Docker Hub image or a registry name."
           },
           "options": {
-            "type": "non-empty-string",
+            "type": "string",
             "description": "Use `jobs.<job_id>.container.options` to configure additional Docker container resource options."
           },
           "env": "container-env",

src/Test/L0/Listener/JobDispatcherL0.cs

@@ -739,7 +739,8 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Listener
                 Assert.True(jobDispatcher.RunOnceJobCompleted.Task.IsCompleted, "JobDispatcher should set task complete token for one time agent.");
                 if (jobDispatcher.RunOnceJobCompleted.Task.IsCompleted)
                 {
-                    Assert.True(await jobDispatcher.RunOnceJobCompleted.Task, "JobDispatcher should set task complete token to 'TRUE' for one time agent.");
+                    var result = await jobDispatcher.RunOnceJobCompleted.Task;
+                    Assert.Equal(TaskResult.Succeeded, result);
                 }
             }
         }

src/Test/L0/Listener/RunnerL0.cs

@@ -295,13 +295,13 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Listener
                 _messageListener.Setup(x => x.DeleteMessageAsync(It.IsAny<TaskAgentMessage>()))
                     .Returns(Task.CompletedTask);
 
-                var runOnceJobCompleted = new TaskCompletionSource<bool>();
+                var runOnceJobCompleted = new TaskCompletionSource<TaskResult>();
                 _jobDispatcher.Setup(x => x.RunOnceJobCompleted)
                     .Returns(runOnceJobCompleted);
                 _jobDispatcher.Setup(x => x.Run(It.IsAny<Pipelines.AgentJobRequestMessage>(), It.IsAny<bool>()))
                     .Callback(() =>
                     {
-                        runOnceJobCompleted.TrySetResult(true);
+                        runOnceJobCompleted.TrySetResult(TaskResult.Succeeded);
                     });
                 _jobNotification.Setup(x => x.StartClient(It.IsAny<String>()))
                     .Callback(() =>
@@ -399,13 +399,13 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Listener
                 _messageListener.Setup(x => x.DeleteMessageAsync(It.IsAny<TaskAgentMessage>()))
                     .Returns(Task.CompletedTask);
 
-                var runOnceJobCompleted = new TaskCompletionSource<bool>();
+                var runOnceJobCompleted = new TaskCompletionSource<TaskResult>();
                 _jobDispatcher.Setup(x => x.RunOnceJobCompleted)
                     .Returns(runOnceJobCompleted);
                 _jobDispatcher.Setup(x => x.Run(It.IsAny<Pipelines.AgentJobRequestMessage>(), It.IsAny<bool>()))
                     .Callback(() =>
                     {
-                        runOnceJobCompleted.TrySetResult(true);
+                        runOnceJobCompleted.TrySetResult(TaskResult.Succeeded);
                     });
                 _jobNotification.Setup(x => x.StartClient(It.IsAny<String>()))
                     .Callback(() =>
@@ -733,8 +733,8 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Listener
 
                 _configStore.Setup(x => x.IsServiceConfigured()).Returns(false);
 
-                var completedTask = new TaskCompletionSource<bool>();
+                var completedTask = new TaskCompletionSource<TaskResult>();
-                completedTask.SetResult(true);
+                completedTask.SetResult(TaskResult.Succeeded);
                 _jobDispatcher.Setup(x => x.RunOnceJobCompleted).Returns(completedTask);
 
                 //Act
@@ -834,8 +834,8 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Listener
 
                 _configStore.Setup(x => x.IsServiceConfigured()).Returns(false);
 
-                var completedTask = new TaskCompletionSource<bool>();
+                var completedTask = new TaskCompletionSource<TaskResult>();
-                completedTask.SetResult(true);
+                completedTask.SetResult(TaskResult.Succeeded);
                 _jobDispatcher.Setup(x => x.RunOnceJobCompleted).Returns(completedTask);
 
                 //Act
@@ -954,8 +954,8 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Listener
 
                 _configStore.Setup(x => x.IsServiceConfigured()).Returns(false);
 
-                var completedTask = new TaskCompletionSource<bool>();
+                var completedTask = new TaskCompletionSource<TaskResult>();
-                completedTask.SetResult(true);
+                completedTask.SetResult(TaskResult.Succeeded);
                 _jobDispatcher.Setup(x => x.RunOnceJobCompleted).Returns(completedTask);
 
                 //Act

src/Test/L0/Worker/ActionCommandManagerL0.cs

@@ -457,6 +457,8 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
                 new SetEnvCommandExtension(),
                 new WarningCommandExtension(),
                 new AddMaskCommandExtension(),
+                new SetOutputCommandExtension(),
+                new SaveStateCommandExtension(),
             };
             foreach (var command in commands)
             {
@@ -499,5 +501,53 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
             };
         }
 
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void SetOutputCommand_EmitsTelemetryOnce()
+        {
+            using (TestHostContext hc = CreateTestContext())
+            {
+                _ec.Object.Global.JobTelemetry = new List<JobTelemetry>();
+                var reference = string.Empty;
+                _ec.Setup(x => x.SetOutput(It.IsAny<string>(), It.IsAny<string>(), out reference));
+
+                // First set-output should add telemetry
+                Assert.True(_commandManager.TryProcessCommand(_ec.Object, "::set-output name=foo::bar", null));
+                Assert.Single(_ec.Object.Global.JobTelemetry);
+                Assert.Equal(JobTelemetryType.ActionCommand, _ec.Object.Global.JobTelemetry[0].Type);
+                Assert.Equal("DeprecatedCommand: set-output", _ec.Object.Global.JobTelemetry[0].Message);
+                Assert.True(_ec.Object.Global.HasDeprecatedSetOutput);
+
+                // Second set-output should not add another telemetry entry
+                Assert.True(_commandManager.TryProcessCommand(_ec.Object, "::set-output name=foo2::bar2", null));
+                Assert.Single(_ec.Object.Global.JobTelemetry);
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void SaveStateCommand_EmitsTelemetryOnce()
+        {
+            using (TestHostContext hc = CreateTestContext())
+            {
+                _ec.Object.Global.JobTelemetry = new List<JobTelemetry>();
+                _ec.Setup(x => x.IsEmbedded).Returns(false);
+                _ec.Setup(x => x.IntraActionState).Returns(new Dictionary<string, string>());
+
+                // First save-state should add telemetry
+                Assert.True(_commandManager.TryProcessCommand(_ec.Object, "::save-state name=foo::bar", null));
+                Assert.Single(_ec.Object.Global.JobTelemetry);
+                Assert.Equal(JobTelemetryType.ActionCommand, _ec.Object.Global.JobTelemetry[0].Type);
+                Assert.Equal("DeprecatedCommand: save-state", _ec.Object.Global.JobTelemetry[0].Message);
+                Assert.True(_ec.Object.Global.HasDeprecatedSaveState);
+
+                // Second save-state should not add another telemetry entry
+                Assert.True(_commandManager.TryProcessCommand(_ec.Object, "::save-state name=foo2::bar2", null));
+                Assert.Single(_ec.Object.Global.JobTelemetry);
+            }
+        }
+
     }
 }

src/Test/L0/Worker/ActionManifestParserComparisonL0.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,424 @@
+using GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser;
+using GitHub.DistributedTask.ObjectTemplating.Tokens;
+using GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ContextData;
+using GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ObjectTemplating;
+using GitHub.DistributedTask.WebApi;
+using GitHub.Runner.Common;
+using GitHub.Runner.Sdk;
+using GitHub.Runner.Worker;
+using LegacyContextData = GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ContextData;
+using LegacyExpressions = GitHub.DistributedTask.Expressions2;
+using Moq;
+using Newtonsoft.Json;
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.IO;
+using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
+using System.Threading;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Tests for parser comparison wrapper classes.
+    /// </summary>
+    public sealed class ActionManifestParserComparisonL0
+    {
+        private CancellationTokenSource _ecTokenSource;
+        private Mock<IExecutionContext> _ec;
+        private TestHostContext _hc;
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void ConvertToLegacySteps_ProducesCorrectSteps_WithExplicitPropertyMapping()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                // Arrange - Test that ActionManifestManagerWrapper properly converts new steps to legacy format
+                Setup();
+
+                // Enable comparison feature
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                // Register required services
+                var legacyManager = new ActionManifestManagerLegacy();
+                legacyManager.Initialize(_hc);
+                _hc.SetSingleton<IActionManifestManagerLegacy>(legacyManager);
+
+                var newManager = new ActionManifestManager();
+                newManager.Initialize(_hc);
+                _hc.SetSingleton<IActionManifestManager>(newManager);
+
+                var wrapper = new ActionManifestManagerWrapper();
+                wrapper.Initialize(_hc);
+
+                var manifestPath = Path.Combine(TestUtil.GetTestDataPath(), "conditional_composite_action.yml");
+
+                // Act - Load through the wrapper (which internally converts)
+                var result = wrapper.Load(_ec.Object, manifestPath);
+
+                // Assert
+                Assert.NotNull(result);
+                Assert.Equal(ActionExecutionType.Composite, result.Execution.ExecutionType);
+
+                var compositeExecution = result.Execution as CompositeActionExecutionData;
+                Assert.NotNull(compositeExecution);
+                Assert.NotNull(compositeExecution.Steps);
+                Assert.Equal(6, compositeExecution.Steps.Count);
+
+                // Verify steps are NOT null (this was the bug - JSON round-trip produced nulls)
+                foreach (var step in compositeExecution.Steps)
+                {
+                    Assert.NotNull(step);
+                    Assert.NotNull(step.Reference);
+                    Assert.IsType<GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ScriptReference>(step.Reference);
+                }
+
+                // Verify step with condition
+                var successStep = compositeExecution.Steps[2];
+                Assert.Equal("success-conditional", successStep.ContextName);
+                Assert.Equal("success()", successStep.Condition);
+
+                // Verify step with complex condition
+                var lastStep = compositeExecution.Steps[5];
+                Assert.Contains("inputs.exit-code == 1", lastStep.Condition);
+                Assert.Contains("failure()", lastStep.Condition);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateJobContainer_EmptyImage_BothParsersReturnNull()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                // Arrange - Test that both parsers return null for empty container image at runtime
+                Setup();
+
+                var fileTable = new List<string>();
+
+                // Create legacy evaluator
+                var legacyTraceWriter = new GitHub.DistributedTask.ObjectTemplating.EmptyTraceWriter();
+                var schema = PipelineTemplateSchemaFactory.GetSchema();
+                var legacyEvaluator = new PipelineTemplateEvaluator(legacyTraceWriter, schema, fileTable);
+
+                // Create new evaluator
+                var newTraceWriter = new GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.ObjectTemplating.EmptyTraceWriter();
+                var newEvaluator = new WorkflowTemplateEvaluator(newTraceWriter, fileTable, features: null);
+
+                // Create a token representing an empty container image (simulates expression evaluated to empty string)
+                var emptyImageToken = new StringToken(null, null, null, "");
+
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var expressionFunctions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                // Act - Call both evaluators
+                var legacyResult = legacyEvaluator.EvaluateJobContainer(emptyImageToken, contextData, expressionFunctions);
+
+                // Convert token for new evaluator
+                var newToken = new GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.ObjectTemplating.Tokens.StringToken(null, null, null, "");
+                var newContextData = new GitHub.Actions.Expressions.Data.DictionaryExpressionData();
+                var newExpressionFunctions = new List<GitHub.Actions.Expressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var newResult = newEvaluator.EvaluateJobContainer(newToken, newContextData, newExpressionFunctions);
+
+                // Assert - Both should return null for empty image (no container)
+                Assert.Null(legacyResult);
+                Assert.Null(newResult);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void FromJsonEmptyString_BothParsersFail_WithDifferentMessages()
+        {
+            // This test verifies that both parsers fail with different error messages when parsing fromJSON('')
+            // The comparison layer should treat these as semantically equivalent (both are JSON parse errors)
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+
+                var fileTable = new List<string>();
+
+                // Create legacy evaluator
+                var legacyTraceWriter = new GitHub.DistributedTask.ObjectTemplating.EmptyTraceWriter();
+                var schema = PipelineTemplateSchemaFactory.GetSchema();
+                var legacyEvaluator = new PipelineTemplateEvaluator(legacyTraceWriter, schema, fileTable);
+
+                // Create new evaluator
+                var newTraceWriter = new GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.ObjectTemplating.EmptyTraceWriter();
+                var newEvaluator = new WorkflowTemplateEvaluator(newTraceWriter, fileTable, features: null);
+
+                // Create expression token for fromJSON('')
+                var legacyToken = new BasicExpressionToken(null, null, null, "fromJson('')");
+                var newToken = new GitHub.Actions.WorkflowParser.ObjectTemplating.Tokens.BasicExpressionToken(null, null, null, "fromJson('')");
+
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var newContextData = new GitHub.Actions.Expressions.Data.DictionaryExpressionData();
+                var expressionFunctions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+                var newExpressionFunctions = new List<GitHub.Actions.Expressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                // Act - Both should throw
+                Exception legacyException = null;
+                Exception newException = null;
+
+                try
+                {
+                    legacyEvaluator.EvaluateStepDisplayName(legacyToken, contextData, expressionFunctions);
+                }
+                catch (Exception ex)
+                {
+                    legacyException = ex;
+                }
+
+                try
+                {
+                    newEvaluator.EvaluateStepName(newToken, newContextData, newExpressionFunctions);
+                }
+                catch (Exception ex)
+                {
+                    newException = ex;
+                }
+
+                // Assert - Both threw exceptions
+                Assert.NotNull(legacyException);
+                Assert.NotNull(newException);
+
+                // Verify the error messages are different (which is why we need semantic comparison)
+                Assert.NotEqual(legacyException.Message, newException.Message);
+
+                // Verify both are JSON parse errors (contain JSON-related error indicators)
+                var legacyFullMsg = GetFullExceptionMessage(legacyException);
+                var newFullMsg = GetFullExceptionMessage(newException);
+
+                // At least one should contain indicators of JSON parsing failure
+                var legacyIsJsonError = legacyFullMsg.Contains("JToken") ||
+                                        legacyFullMsg.Contains("JsonReader") ||
+                                        legacyFullMsg.Contains("fromJson");
+                var newIsJsonError = newFullMsg.Contains("JToken") ||
+                                     newFullMsg.Contains("JsonReader") ||
+                                     newFullMsg.Contains("fromJson");
+
+                Assert.True(legacyIsJsonError, $"Legacy exception should be JSON error: {legacyFullMsg}");
+                Assert.True(newIsJsonError, $"New exception should be JSON error: {newFullMsg}");
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateDefaultInput_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var legacyManager = new ActionManifestManagerLegacy();
+                legacyManager.Initialize(_hc);
+                _hc.SetSingleton<IActionManifestManagerLegacy>(legacyManager);
+
+                var newManager = new ActionManifestManager();
+                newManager.Initialize(_hc);
+                _hc.SetSingleton<IActionManifestManager>(newManager);
+
+                var wrapper = new ActionManifestManagerWrapper();
+                wrapper.Initialize(_hc);
+
+                _ec.Object.ExpressionValues["github"] = new LegacyContextData.DictionaryContextData();
+                _ec.Object.ExpressionValues["strategy"] = new LegacyContextData.DictionaryContextData();
+                _ec.Object.ExpressionValues["matrix"] = new LegacyContextData.DictionaryContextData();
+                _ec.Object.ExpressionValues["steps"] = new LegacyContextData.DictionaryContextData();
+                _ec.Object.ExpressionValues["job"] = new LegacyContextData.DictionaryContextData();
+                _ec.Object.ExpressionValues["runner"] = new LegacyContextData.DictionaryContextData();
+                _ec.Object.ExpressionValues["env"] = new LegacyContextData.DictionaryContextData();
+                _ec.Object.ExpressionFunctions.Add(new LegacyExpressions.FunctionInfo<GitHub.Runner.Worker.Expressions.HashFilesFunction>("hashFiles", 1, 255));
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateDefaultInput(_ec.Object, "testInput", new StringToken(null, null, null, "defaultValue"));
+
+                Assert.Equal("defaultValue", result);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasActionManifestMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateContainerArguments_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var legacyManager = new ActionManifestManagerLegacy();
+                legacyManager.Initialize(_hc);
+                _hc.SetSingleton<IActionManifestManagerLegacy>(legacyManager);
+
+                var newManager = new ActionManifestManager();
+                newManager.Initialize(_hc);
+                _hc.SetSingleton<IActionManifestManager>(newManager);
+
+                var wrapper = new ActionManifestManagerWrapper();
+                wrapper.Initialize(_hc);
+
+                var arguments = new SequenceToken(null, null, null);
+                arguments.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "arg1"));
+                arguments.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "arg2"));
+
+                var evaluateContext = new Dictionary<string, LegacyContextData.PipelineContextData>(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateContainerArguments(_ec.Object, arguments, evaluateContext);
+
+                Assert.Equal(2, result.Count);
+                Assert.Equal("arg1", result[0]);
+                Assert.Equal("arg2", result[1]);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasActionManifestMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateContainerEnvironment_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var legacyManager = new ActionManifestManagerLegacy();
+                legacyManager.Initialize(_hc);
+                _hc.SetSingleton<IActionManifestManagerLegacy>(legacyManager);
+
+                var newManager = new ActionManifestManager();
+                newManager.Initialize(_hc);
+                _hc.SetSingleton<IActionManifestManager>(newManager);
+
+                var wrapper = new ActionManifestManagerWrapper();
+                wrapper.Initialize(_hc);
+
+                var environment = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                environment.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "hello"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "world"));
+
+                var evaluateContext = new Dictionary<string, LegacyContextData.PipelineContextData>(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateContainerEnvironment(_ec.Object, environment, evaluateContext);
+
+                Assert.Equal(1, result.Count);
+                Assert.Equal("world", result["hello"]);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasActionManifestMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateCompositeOutputs_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var legacyManager = new ActionManifestManagerLegacy();
+                legacyManager.Initialize(_hc);
+                _hc.SetSingleton<IActionManifestManagerLegacy>(legacyManager);
+
+                var newManager = new ActionManifestManager();
+                newManager.Initialize(_hc);
+                _hc.SetSingleton<IActionManifestManager>(newManager);
+
+                var wrapper = new ActionManifestManagerWrapper();
+                wrapper.Initialize(_hc);
+
+                var outputDef = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                outputDef.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "description"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "test output"));
+                outputDef.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "value"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "value1"));
+
+                var token = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                token.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "output1"), outputDef);
+
+                var evaluateContext = new Dictionary<string, LegacyContextData.PipelineContextData>(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateCompositeOutputs(_ec.Object, token, evaluateContext);
+
+                Assert.NotNull(result);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasActionManifestMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        private string GetFullExceptionMessage(Exception ex)
+        {
+            var messages = new List<string>();
+            var current = ex;
+            while (current != null)
+            {
+                messages.Add(current.Message);
+                current = current.InnerException;
+            }
+            return string.Join(" -> ", messages);
+        }
+
+        private void Setup([CallerMemberName] string name = "")
+        {
+            _ecTokenSource?.Dispose();
+            _ecTokenSource = new CancellationTokenSource();
+
+            _hc = new TestHostContext(this, name);
+
+            var expressionValues = new LegacyContextData.DictionaryContextData();
+            var expressionFunctions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+            _ec = new Mock<IExecutionContext>();
+            _ec.Setup(x => x.Global)
+                .Returns(new GlobalContext
+                {
+                    FileTable = new List<String>(),
+                    Variables = new Variables(_hc, new Dictionary<string, VariableValue>()),
+                    WriteDebug = true,
+                });
+            _ec.Setup(x => x.CancellationToken).Returns(_ecTokenSource.Token);
+            _ec.Setup(x => x.ExpressionValues).Returns(expressionValues);
+            _ec.Setup(x => x.ExpressionFunctions).Returns(expressionFunctions);
+            _ec.Setup(x => x.Write(It.IsAny<string>(), It.IsAny<string>())).Callback((string tag, string message) => { _hc.GetTrace().Info($"{tag}{message}"); });
+            _ec.Setup(x => x.AddIssue(It.IsAny<Issue>(), It.IsAny<ExecutionContextLogOptions>())).Callback((Issue issue, ExecutionContextLogOptions logOptions) => { _hc.GetTrace().Info($"[{issue.Type}]{logOptions.LogMessageOverride ?? issue.Message}"); });
+        }
+
+        private void Teardown()
+        {
+            _hc?.Dispose();
+        }
+    }
+}

src/Test/L0/Worker/ActionRunnerL0.cs

@@ -316,6 +316,94 @@ namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
             Assert.Equal("${{ matrix.node }}", _actionRunner.DisplayName);
         }
 
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateDisplayNameForLocalAction()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            Setup();
+            var actionId = Guid.NewGuid();
+            var action = new Pipelines.ActionStep()
+            {
+                Name = "action",
+                Id = actionId,
+                Reference = new Pipelines.RepositoryPathReference()
+                {
+                    RepositoryType = Pipelines.PipelineConstants.SelfAlias,
+                    Path = "./"
+                }
+            };
+            _actionRunner.Action = action;
+
+            // Act
+            var validDisplayName = _actionRunner.EvaluateDisplayName(_context, _actionRunner.ExecutionContext, out bool updated);
+
+            // Assert
+            Assert.True(validDisplayName);
+            Assert.True(updated);
+            Assert.Equal("Run ./", _actionRunner.DisplayName);  // NOT "Run /./"
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateDisplayNameForLocalActionWithPath()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            Setup();
+            var actionId = Guid.NewGuid();
+            var action = new Pipelines.ActionStep()
+            {
+                Name = "action",
+                Id = actionId,
+                Reference = new Pipelines.RepositoryPathReference()
+                {
+                    RepositoryType = Pipelines.PipelineConstants.SelfAlias,
+                    Path = "./.github/actions/my-action"
+                }
+            };
+            _actionRunner.Action = action;
+
+            // Act
+            var validDisplayName = _actionRunner.EvaluateDisplayName(_context, _actionRunner.ExecutionContext, out bool updated);
+
+            // Assert
+            Assert.True(validDisplayName);
+            Assert.True(updated);
+            Assert.Equal("Run ./.github/actions/my-action", _actionRunner.DisplayName);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateDisplayNameForRemoteActionWithPath()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            Setup();
+            var actionId = Guid.NewGuid();
+            var action = new Pipelines.ActionStep()
+            {
+                Name = "action",
+                Id = actionId,
+                Reference = new Pipelines.RepositoryPathReference()
+                {
+                    Name = "owner/repo",
+                    Path = "subdir",
+                    Ref = "v1"
+                }
+            };
+            _actionRunner.Action = action;
+
+            // Act
+            var validDisplayName = _actionRunner.EvaluateDisplayName(_context, _actionRunner.ExecutionContext, out bool updated);
+
+            // Assert
+            Assert.True(validDisplayName);
+            Assert.True(updated);
+            Assert.Equal("Run owner/repo/subdir@v1", _actionRunner.DisplayName);
+        }
+
         [Fact]
         [Trait("Level", "L0")]
         [Trait("Category", "Worker")]

src/Test/L0/Worker/PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapperL0.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,550 @@
+using GitHub.DistributedTask.ObjectTemplating.Tokens;
+using GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ContextData;
+using GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ObjectTemplating;
+using GitHub.DistributedTask.WebApi;
+using GitHub.Runner.Common;
+using GitHub.Runner.Sdk;
+using GitHub.Runner.Worker;
+using LegacyContextData = GitHub.DistributedTask.Pipelines.ContextData;
+using LegacyExpressions = GitHub.DistributedTask.Expressions2;
+using Moq;
+using System;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
+using System.Threading;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace GitHub.Runner.Common.Tests.Worker
+{
+    public sealed class PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapperL0
+    {
+        private CancellationTokenSource _ecTokenSource;
+        private Mock<IExecutionContext> _ec;
+        private TestHostContext _hc;
+
+        // -------------------------------------------------------------------
+        // EvaluateAndCompare core behavior
+        // -------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateAndCompare_DoesNotRecordMismatch_WhenResultsMatch()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+
+                var token = new StringToken(null, null, null, "test-value");
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var expressionFunctions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateStepDisplayName(token, contextData, expressionFunctions);
+
+                Assert.Equal("test-value", result);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateAndCompare_SkipsMismatchRecording_WhenCancellationOccursDuringEvaluation()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+
+                // Call EvaluateAndCompare directly: the new evaluator cancels the token
+                // and returns a different value, forcing hasMismatch = true.
+                // Because cancellation flipped during the evaluation window, the
+                // mismatch should be skipped.
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateAndCompare<string, string>(
+                    "TestCancellationSkip",
+                    () => "legacy-value",
+                    () =>
+                    {
+                        _ecTokenSource.Cancel();
+                        return "different-value";
+                    },
+                    (legacy, @new) => string.Equals(legacy, @new, StringComparison.Ordinal));
+
+                Assert.Equal("legacy-value", result);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateAndCompare_RecordsMismatch_WhenResultsDifferWithoutCancellation()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+
+                // Different results without cancellation — mismatch SHOULD be recorded.
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateAndCompare<string, string>(
+                    "TestMismatchRecorded",
+                    () => "legacy-value",
+                    () => "different-value",
+                    (legacy, @new) => string.Equals(legacy, @new, StringComparison.Ordinal));
+
+                Assert.Equal("legacy-value", result);
+                Assert.True(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        // -------------------------------------------------------------------
+        // Smoke tests — both parsers agree, no mismatch recorded
+        // -------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateStepContinueOnError_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var token = new BooleanToken(null, null, null, true);
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateStepContinueOnError(token, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.True(result);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateStepEnvironment_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var token = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                token.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "FOO"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "bar"));
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateStepEnvironment(token, contextData, functions, StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
+
+                Assert.NotNull(result);
+                Assert.Equal("bar", result["FOO"]);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateStepIf_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var token = new BasicExpressionToken(null, null, null, "true");
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+                var expressionState = new List<KeyValuePair<string, object>>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateStepIf(token, contextData, functions, expressionState);
+
+                Assert.True(result);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateStepInputs_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var token = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                token.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "input1"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "val1"));
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateStepInputs(token, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.NotNull(result);
+                Assert.Equal("val1", result["input1"]);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateStepTimeout_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var token = new NumberToken(null, null, null, 10);
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateStepTimeout(token, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.Equal(10, result);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateJobContainer_EmptyImage_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var token = new StringToken(null, null, null, "");
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateJobContainer(token, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.Null(result);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateJobOutput_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var token = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                token.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "out1"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "val1"));
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateJobOutput(token, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.NotNull(result);
+                Assert.Equal("val1", result["out1"]);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateEnvironmentUrl_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var token = new StringToken(null, null, null, "https://example.com");
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateEnvironmentUrl(token, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.NotNull(result);
+                var stringResult = result as StringToken;
+                Assert.NotNull(stringResult);
+                Assert.Equal("https://example.com", stringResult.Value);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateJobDefaultsRun_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var token = new MappingToken(null, null, null);
+                token.Add(new StringToken(null, null, null, "shell"), new StringToken(null, null, null, "bash"));
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateJobDefaultsRun(token, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.NotNull(result);
+                Assert.Equal("bash", result["shell"]);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateJobServiceContainers_Null_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateJobServiceContainers(null, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.Null(result);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateJobSnapshotRequest_Null_BothParsersAgree()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+                var contextData = new DictionaryContextData();
+                var functions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+                var result = wrapper.EvaluateJobSnapshotRequest(null, contextData, functions);
+
+                Assert.Null(result);
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        // -------------------------------------------------------------------
+        // JSON parse error equivalence via EvaluateAndCompare
+        // -------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateAndCompare_JsonReaderExceptions_TreatedAsEquivalent()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+
+                // Both throw JsonReaderException with different messages — should be treated as equivalent
+                var legacyEx = new Newtonsoft.Json.JsonReaderException("Error reading JToken from JsonReader. Path '', line 0, position 0.");
+                var newEx = new Newtonsoft.Json.JsonReaderException("Error parsing fromJson", new Newtonsoft.Json.JsonReaderException("Unexpected end"));
+
+                Assert.Throws<Newtonsoft.Json.JsonReaderException>(() =>
+                    wrapper.EvaluateAndCompare<string, string>(
+                        "TestJsonEquivalence",
+                        () => throw legacyEx,
+                        () => throw newEx,
+                        (a, b) => string.Equals(a, b, StringComparison.Ordinal)));
+
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateAndCompare_MixedJsonExceptionTypes_TreatedAsEquivalent()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+
+                // Legacy throws Newtonsoft JsonReaderException, new throws System.Text.Json.JsonException
+                var legacyEx = new Newtonsoft.Json.JsonReaderException("Error reading JToken");
+                var newEx = new System.Text.Json.JsonException("Error parsing fromJson");
+
+                Assert.Throws<Newtonsoft.Json.JsonReaderException>(() =>
+                    wrapper.EvaluateAndCompare<string, string>(
+                        "TestMixedJsonTypes",
+                        () => throw legacyEx,
+                        () => throw newEx,
+                        (a, b) => string.Equals(a, b, StringComparison.Ordinal)));
+
+                Assert.False(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        [Trait("Level", "L0")]
+        [Trait("Category", "Worker")]
+        public void EvaluateAndCompare_NonJsonExceptions_RecordsMismatch()
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                Setup();
+                _ec.Object.Global.Variables.Set(Constants.Runner.Features.CompareWorkflowParser, "true");
+
+                var wrapper = new PipelineTemplateEvaluatorWrapper(_hc, _ec.Object);
+
+                // Both throw non-JSON exceptions with different messages — should record mismatch
+                var legacyEx = new InvalidOperationException("some error");
+                var newEx = new InvalidOperationException("different error");
+
+                Assert.Throws<InvalidOperationException>(() =>
+                    wrapper.EvaluateAndCompare<string, string>(
+                        "TestNonJsonMismatch",
+                        () => throw legacyEx,
+                        () => throw newEx,
+                        (a, b) => string.Equals(a, b, StringComparison.Ordinal)));
+
+                Assert.True(_ec.Object.Global.HasTemplateEvaluatorMismatch);
+            }
+            finally
+            {
+                Teardown();
+            }
+        }
+
+        // -------------------------------------------------------------------
+        // Helpers
+        // -------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+        private void Setup([CallerMemberName] string name = "")
+        {
+            _ecTokenSource?.Dispose();
+            _ecTokenSource = new CancellationTokenSource();
+
+            _hc = new TestHostContext(this, name);
+
+            var expressionValues = new LegacyContextData.DictionaryContextData();
+            var expressionFunctions = new List<LegacyExpressions.IFunctionInfo>();
+
+            _ec = new Mock<IExecutionContext>();
+            _ec.Setup(x => x.Global)
+                .Returns(new GlobalContext
+                {
+                    FileTable = new List<String>(),
+                    Variables = new Variables(_hc, new Dictionary<string, VariableValue>()),
+                    WriteDebug = true,
+                });
+            _ec.Setup(x => x.CancellationToken).Returns(_ecTokenSource.Token);
+            _ec.Setup(x => x.ExpressionValues).Returns(expressionValues);
+            _ec.Setup(x => x.ExpressionFunctions).Returns(expressionFunctions);
+            _ec.Setup(x => x.Write(It.IsAny<string>(), It.IsAny<string>())).Callback((string tag, string message) => { _hc.GetTrace().Info($"{tag}{message}"); });
+            _ec.Setup(x => x.AddIssue(It.IsAny<Issue>(), It.IsAny<ExecutionContextLogOptions>())).Callback((Issue issue, ExecutionContextLogOptions logOptions) => { _hc.GetTrace().Info($"[{issue.Type}]{logOptions.LogMessageOverride ?? issue.Message}"); });
+        }
+
+        private void Teardown()
+        {
+            _hc?.Dispose();
+        }
+    }
+}

src/dev.sh

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ LAYOUT_DIR="$SCRIPT_DIR/../_layout"
 DOWNLOAD_DIR="$SCRIPT_DIR/../_downloads/netcore2x"
 PACKAGE_DIR="$SCRIPT_DIR/../_package"
 DOTNETSDK_ROOT="$SCRIPT_DIR/../_dotnetsdk"
-DOTNETSDK_VERSION="8.0.416"
+DOTNETSDK_VERSION="8.0.418"
 DOTNETSDK_INSTALLDIR="$DOTNETSDK_ROOT/$DOTNETSDK_VERSION"
 RUNNER_VERSION=$(cat runnerversion)
 

src/global.json

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {
   "sdk": {
-    "version": "8.0.416"
+    "version": "8.0.418"
   }
 }