From fabdd4e82342b57e8e7750c5292e9fe0d598105b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: MarcoFalke <*~=`'#}+{/-|&$^_@721217.xyz>
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2026 09:23:49 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 1/8] ci: Refactor Windows CI into script

This makes it easier to:

* Run the exact command of any CI type and step locally
* Re-Run older CI tasks on GHA and using the latest merged config.
  (.github/ci-windows.py is merged with master on re-runs, but
  .github/workflows/ci.yml is NOT)

Also, writing it in Python has benefits:

* Any developer (even non-Windows ones) can read and modify the script.
* Python is already required for tests, so no new dependency is needed.
---
 .github/ci-windows.py    | 71 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 .github/workflows/ci.yml |  4 +--
 2 files changed, 72 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
 create mode 100755 .github/ci-windows.py

diff --git a/.github/ci-windows.py b/.github/ci-windows.py
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..142fee7bac2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/ci-windows.py
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+# Copyright (c) The Bitcoin Core developers
+# Distributed under the MIT software license, see the accompanying
+# file COPYING or https://opensource.org/license/mit/.
+
+import argparse
+import os
+import shlex
+import subprocess
+import sys
+
+
+def run(cmd, **kwargs):
+    print("+ " + shlex.join(cmd), flush=True)
+    kwargs.setdefault("check", True)
+    try:
+        return subprocess.run(cmd, **kwargs)
+    except Exception as e:
+        sys.exit(str(e))
+
+
+GENERATE_OPTIONS = {
+    "standard": [
+        "-DBUILD_BENCH=ON",
+        "-DBUILD_KERNEL_LIB=ON",
+        "-DBUILD_UTIL_CHAINSTATE=ON",
+        "-DCMAKE_COMPILE_WARNING_AS_ERROR=ON",
+    ],
+    "fuzz": [
+        "-DVCPKG_MANIFEST_NO_DEFAULT_FEATURES=ON",
+        "-DVCPKG_MANIFEST_FEATURES=wallet",
+        "-DBUILD_GUI=OFF",
+        "-DWITH_ZMQ=OFF",
+        "-DBUILD_FOR_FUZZING=ON",
+        "-DCMAKE_COMPILE_WARNING_AS_ERROR=ON",
+    ],
+}
+
+
+def generate(ci_type):
+    toolchain_file = os.path.join(
+        os.environ["VCPKG_INSTALLATION_ROOT"],
+        "scripts",
+        "buildsystems",
+        "vcpkg.cmake",
+    )
+    command = [
+        "cmake",
+        "-B",
+        "build",
+        "-Werror=dev",
+        "--preset",
+        "vs2022",
+        f"-DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE={toolchain_file}",
+    ] + GENERATE_OPTIONS[ci_type]
+    run(command)
+
+
+def main():
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Utility to run Windows CI steps.")
+    parser.add_argument("ci_type", choices=GENERATE_OPTIONS, help="CI type to run.")
+    steps = ["generate"]
+    parser.add_argument("step", choices=steps, help="CI step to perform.")
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    if args.step == "generate":
+        generate(args.ci_type)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 8257f565c01..f293b06e53e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -218,10 +218,8 @@ jobs:
         job-type: [standard, fuzz]
         include:
           - job-type: standard
-            generate-options: '-DBUILD_BENCH=ON -DBUILD_KERNEL_LIB=ON -DBUILD_UTIL_CHAINSTATE=ON -DCMAKE_COMPILE_WARNING_AS_ERROR=ON'
             job-name: 'Windows native, VS 2022'
           - job-type: fuzz
-            generate-options: '-DVCPKG_MANIFEST_NO_DEFAULT_FEATURES=ON -DVCPKG_MANIFEST_FEATURES="wallet" -DBUILD_GUI=OFF -DWITH_ZMQ=OFF -DBUILD_FOR_FUZZING=ON -DCMAKE_COMPILE_WARNING_AS_ERROR=ON'
             job-name: 'Windows native, fuzz, VS 2022'
 
     steps:
@@ -272,7 +270,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Generate build system
         run: |
-          cmake -B build -Werror=dev --preset vs2022 -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE="${VCPKG_INSTALLATION_ROOT}/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake" ${{ matrix.generate-options }}
+          py -3 .github/ci-windows.py ${{ matrix.job-type }} generate
 
       - name: Save vcpkg binary cache
         uses: actions/cache/save@v4

From 4444808dd3a704ec0f5d97e2c736cc917656c491 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: MarcoFalke <*~=`'#}+{/-|&$^_@721217.xyz>
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2026 10:14:32 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 2/8] ci: [refactor] Add .github/ci-windows.py build step

Note, the use of process_cpu_count() is intentional. It was only added
in Python 3.13, according to
https://docs.python.org/3/library/os.html#os.process_cpu_count .

However, Python 3.13 is also the minimum required version on Windows,
according to
https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/issues/29897#issuecomment-2940318094
to avoid intermittent test failures.
---
 .github/ci-windows.py    | 17 ++++++++++++++++-
 .github/workflows/ci.yml |  3 +--
 2 files changed, 17 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.github/ci-windows.py b/.github/ci-windows.py
index 142fee7bac2..5d28ed0b855 100755
--- a/.github/ci-windows.py
+++ b/.github/ci-windows.py
@@ -56,15 +56,30 @@ def generate(ci_type):
     run(command)
 
 
+def build():
+    command = [
+        "cmake",
+        "--build",
+        "build",
+        "-j",
+        str(os.process_cpu_count()),
+        "--config",
+        "Release",
+    ]
+    run(command)
+
+
 def main():
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Utility to run Windows CI steps.")
     parser.add_argument("ci_type", choices=GENERATE_OPTIONS, help="CI type to run.")
-    steps = ["generate"]
+    steps = ["generate", "build"]
     parser.add_argument("step", choices=steps, help="CI step to perform.")
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
     if args.step == "generate":
         generate(args.ci_type)
+    elif args.step == "build":
+        build()
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index f293b06e53e..75590d1d926 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -280,9 +280,8 @@ jobs:
           key: ${{ github.job }}-vcpkg-binary-${{ hashFiles('cmake_version', 'msbuild_version', 'toolset_version', 'vcpkg.json') }}
 
       - name: Build
-        working-directory: build
         run: |
-          cmake --build . -j $NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS --config Release
+          py -3 .github/ci-windows.py ${{ matrix.job-type }} build
 
       - name: Check executable manifests
         if: matrix.job-type == 'standard'

From fa3e607c6dfb220684a65638b35ac5a4d3b1fcb7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: MarcoFalke <*~=`'#}+{/-|&$^_@721217.xyz>
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2026 10:22:35 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 3/8] ci: Print verbose Windows CI build failure

---
 .github/ci-windows.py | 6 +++---
 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.github/ci-windows.py b/.github/ci-windows.py
index 5d28ed0b855..d99ba2d97ec 100755
--- a/.github/ci-windows.py
+++ b/.github/ci-windows.py
@@ -61,12 +61,12 @@ def build():
         "cmake",
         "--build",
         "build",
-        "-j",
-        str(os.process_cpu_count()),
         "--config",
         "Release",
     ]
-    run(command)
+    if run(command + ["-j", str(os.process_cpu_count())], check=False).returncode != 0:
+        print("Build failure. Verbose build follows.")
+        run(command + ["-j1", "--verbose"])
 
 
 def main():

From fa561682ce4052bed91fac11f8fc872af5132437 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: MarcoFalke <*~=`'#}+{/-|&$^_@721217.xyz>
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2026 09:24:34 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 4/8] ci: [refactor] Add .github/ci-windows.py prepare_tests
 step

---
 .github/ci-windows.py    | 25 ++++++++++++++++++++++++-
 .github/workflows/ci.yml | 13 ++++---------
 2 files changed, 28 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.github/ci-windows.py b/.github/ci-windows.py
index d99ba2d97ec..d797814da1a 100755
--- a/.github/ci-windows.py
+++ b/.github/ci-windows.py
@@ -69,10 +69,31 @@ def build():
         run(command + ["-j1", "--verbose"])
 
 
+def prepare_tests(ci_type):
+    if ci_type == "standard":
+        run([sys.executable, "-m", "pip", "install", "pyzmq"])
+    elif ci_type == "fuzz":
+        repo_dir = os.path.join(os.environ["RUNNER_TEMP"], "qa-assets")
+        clone_cmd = [
+            "git",
+            "clone",
+            "--depth=1",
+            "https://github.com/bitcoin-core/qa-assets",
+            repo_dir,
+        ]
+        run(clone_cmd)
+        print("Using qa-assets repo from commit ...")
+        run(["git", "-C", repo_dir, "log", "-1"])
+
+
 def main():
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Utility to run Windows CI steps.")
     parser.add_argument("ci_type", choices=GENERATE_OPTIONS, help="CI type to run.")
-    steps = ["generate", "build"]
+    steps = [
+        "generate",
+        "build",
+        "prepare_tests",
+    ]
     parser.add_argument("step", choices=steps, help="CI step to perform.")
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
@@ -80,6 +101,8 @@ def main():
         generate(args.ci_type)
     elif args.step == "build":
         build()
+    elif args.step == "prepare_tests":
+        prepare_tests(args.ci_type)
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 75590d1d926..a088021eeed 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -310,6 +310,10 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           ctest --output-on-failure --stop-on-failure -j $NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS -C Release
 
+      - name: Prepare tests
+        run: |
+          py -3 .github/ci-windows.py ${{ matrix.job-type }} prepare_tests
+
       - name: Run functional tests
         if: matrix.job-type == 'standard'
         working-directory: build
@@ -324,17 +328,8 @@ jobs:
           BITCOINCHAINSTATE: '${{ github.workspace }}\build\bin\Release\bitcoin-chainstate.exe'
           TEST_RUNNER_EXTRA: ${{ github.event_name != 'pull_request' && '--extended' || '' }}
         run: |
-          py -3 -m pip install pyzmq
           py -3 test/functional/test_runner.py --jobs $NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS --quiet --tmpdirprefix="${RUNNER_TEMP}" --combinedlogslen=99999999 --timeout-factor=${TEST_RUNNER_TIMEOUT_FACTOR} ${TEST_RUNNER_EXTRA}
 
-      - name: Clone corpora
-        if: matrix.job-type == 'fuzz'
-        run: |
-          git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/bitcoin-core/qa-assets "${RUNNER_TEMP}/qa-assets"
-          cd "${RUNNER_TEMP}/qa-assets"
-          echo "Using qa-assets repo from commit ..."
-          git log -1
-
       - name: Run fuzz tests
         if: matrix.job-type == 'fuzz'
         working-directory: build

From 1111079a16b92bb34ee2f8d4ae3529fbcb3180b2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: MarcoFalke <*~=`'#}+{/-|&$^_@721217.xyz>
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2026 10:16:22 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 5/8] ci: Add run_tests step to ci-windows.py

This is mostly a refactor, except for using the runner workspace (cwd) for:
* fuzz qa-assets
* functional temp prefix

This makes it easier to run the ci-windows.py locally.
---
 .github/ci-windows.py    | 63 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
 .github/workflows/ci.yml | 30 ++-----------------
 2 files changed, 65 insertions(+), 28 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.github/ci-windows.py b/.github/ci-windows.py
index d797814da1a..693a015489d 100755
--- a/.github/ci-windows.py
+++ b/.github/ci-windows.py
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ def prepare_tests(ci_type):
     if ci_type == "standard":
         run([sys.executable, "-m", "pip", "install", "pyzmq"])
     elif ci_type == "fuzz":
-        repo_dir = os.path.join(os.environ["RUNNER_TEMP"], "qa-assets")
+        repo_dir = os.path.join(os.getcwd(), "qa-assets")
         clone_cmd = [
             "git",
             "clone",
@@ -86,6 +86,64 @@ def prepare_tests(ci_type):
         run(["git", "-C", repo_dir, "log", "-1"])
 
 
+def run_tests(ci_type):
+    build_dir = "build"
+    num_procs = str(os.process_cpu_count())
+    release_bin = os.path.join(os.getcwd(), build_dir, "bin", "Release")
+
+    if ci_type == "standard":
+        test_envs = {
+            "BITCOIN_BIN": "bitcoin.exe",
+            "BITCOIND": "bitcoind.exe",
+            "BITCOINCLI": "bitcoin-cli.exe",
+            "BITCOIN_BENCH": "bench_bitcoin.exe",
+            "BITCOINTX": "bitcoin-tx.exe",
+            "BITCOINUTIL": "bitcoin-util.exe",
+            "BITCOINWALLET": "bitcoin-wallet.exe",
+            "BITCOINCHAINSTATE": "bitcoin-chainstate.exe",
+        }
+        for var, exe in test_envs.items():
+            os.environ[var] = os.path.join(release_bin, exe)
+
+        ctest_cmd = [
+            "ctest",
+            "--test-dir",
+            build_dir,
+            "--output-on-failure",
+            "--stop-on-failure",
+            "-j",
+            num_procs,
+            "--build-config",
+            "Release",
+        ]
+        run(ctest_cmd)
+
+        test_cmd = [
+            sys.executable,
+            os.path.join(build_dir, "test", "functional", "test_runner.py"),
+            "--jobs",
+            num_procs,
+            "--quiet",
+            f"--tmpdirprefix={os.getcwd()}",
+            "--combinedlogslen=99999999",
+            *shlex.split(os.environ.get("TEST_RUNNER_EXTRA", "").strip()),
+        ]
+        run(test_cmd)
+
+    elif ci_type == "fuzz":
+        os.environ["BITCOINFUZZ"] = os.path.join(release_bin, "fuzz.exe")
+        fuzz_cmd = [
+            sys.executable,
+            os.path.join(build_dir, "test", "fuzz", "test_runner.py"),
+            "--par",
+            num_procs,
+            "--loglevel",
+            "DEBUG",
+            os.path.join(os.getcwd(), "qa-assets", "fuzz_corpora"),
+        ]
+        run(fuzz_cmd)
+
+
 def main():
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Utility to run Windows CI steps.")
     parser.add_argument("ci_type", choices=GENERATE_OPTIONS, help="CI type to run.")
@@ -93,6 +151,7 @@ def main():
         "generate",
         "build",
         "prepare_tests",
+        "run_tests",
     ]
     parser.add_argument("step", choices=steps, help="CI step to perform.")
     args = parser.parse_args()
@@ -103,6 +162,8 @@ def main():
         build()
     elif args.step == "prepare_tests":
         prepare_tests(args.ci_type)
+    elif args.step == "run_tests":
+        run_tests(args.ci_type)
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index a088021eeed..d09433fc8f6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -304,39 +304,15 @@ jobs:
             & mt.exe -nologo -inputresource:$_.FullName -validate_manifest
           }
 
-      - name: Run test suite
-        if: matrix.job-type == 'standard'
-        working-directory: build
-        run: |
-          ctest --output-on-failure --stop-on-failure -j $NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS -C Release
-
       - name: Prepare tests
         run: |
           py -3 .github/ci-windows.py ${{ matrix.job-type }} prepare_tests
 
-      - name: Run functional tests
-        if: matrix.job-type == 'standard'
-        working-directory: build
+      - name: Run tests
         env:
-          BITCOIN_BIN: '${{ github.workspace }}\build\bin\Release\bitcoin.exe'
-          BITCOIND: '${{ github.workspace }}\build\bin\Release\bitcoind.exe'
-          BITCOINCLI: '${{ github.workspace }}\build\bin\Release\bitcoin-cli.exe'
-          BITCOIN_BENCH: '${{ github.workspace }}\build\bin\Release\bench_bitcoin.exe'
-          BITCOINTX: '${{ github.workspace }}\build\bin\Release\bitcoin-tx.exe'
-          BITCOINUTIL: '${{ github.workspace }}\build\bin\Release\bitcoin-util.exe'
-          BITCOINWALLET: '${{ github.workspace }}\build\bin\Release\bitcoin-wallet.exe'
-          BITCOINCHAINSTATE: '${{ github.workspace }}\build\bin\Release\bitcoin-chainstate.exe'
-          TEST_RUNNER_EXTRA: ${{ github.event_name != 'pull_request' && '--extended' || '' }}
+          TEST_RUNNER_EXTRA: "--timeout-factor=${{ env.TEST_RUNNER_TIMEOUT_FACTOR }} ${{ case(github.event_name == 'pull_request', '', '--extended') }}"
         run: |
-          py -3 test/functional/test_runner.py --jobs $NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS --quiet --tmpdirprefix="${RUNNER_TEMP}" --combinedlogslen=99999999 --timeout-factor=${TEST_RUNNER_TIMEOUT_FACTOR} ${TEST_RUNNER_EXTRA}
-
-      - name: Run fuzz tests
-        if: matrix.job-type == 'fuzz'
-        working-directory: build
-        env:
-          BITCOINFUZZ: '${{ github.workspace }}\build\bin\Release\fuzz.exe'
-        run: |
-          py -3 test/fuzz/test_runner.py --par $NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS --loglevel DEBUG "${RUNNER_TEMP}/qa-assets/fuzz_corpora"
+          py -3 .github/ci-windows.py ${{ matrix.job-type }} run_tests
 
   record-frozen-commit:
     # Record frozen commit, so that the native tests on cross-builds can run on

From fa3f89acaa7ae3332f4bf13aa91fcff44902990c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: MarcoFalke <*~=`'#}+{/-|&$^_@721217.xyz>
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2026 11:19:28 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 6/8] ci: Add check_manifests to ci-windows.py

This is mostly a refactor, except for placing the bitcoind.manifest into
a different folder.
---
 .github/ci-windows.py    | 43 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 .github/workflows/ci.yml | 19 +-----------------
 2 files changed, 44 insertions(+), 18 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.github/ci-windows.py b/.github/ci-windows.py
index 693a015489d..7697021c300 100755
--- a/.github/ci-windows.py
+++ b/.github/ci-windows.py
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import os
 import shlex
 import subprocess
 import sys
+from pathlib import Path
 
 
 def run(cmd, **kwargs):
@@ -69,6 +70,45 @@ def build():
         run(command + ["-j1", "--verbose"])
 
 
+def check_manifests(ci_type):
+    if ci_type != "standard":
+        print(f"Skipping manifest validation for '{ci_type}' ci type.")
+        return
+
+    release_dir = Path.cwd() / "build" / "bin" / "Release"
+    manifest_path = release_dir / "bitcoind.manifest"
+    cmd_bitcoind_manifest = [
+        "mt.exe",
+        "-nologo",
+        f"-inputresource:{release_dir / 'bitcoind.exe'}",
+        f"-out:{manifest_path}",
+    ]
+    run(cmd_bitcoind_manifest)
+    print(manifest_path.read_text())
+
+    skips = {  # Skip as they currently do not have manifests
+        "fuzz.exe",
+        "bench_bitcoin.exe",
+        "test_bitcoin-qt.exe",
+        "test_kernel.exe",
+        "bitcoin-chainstate.exe",
+    }
+    for entry in release_dir.iterdir():
+        if entry.suffix.lower() != ".exe":
+            continue
+        if entry.name in skips:
+            print(f"Skipping {entry.name} (no manifest present)")
+            continue
+        print(f"Checking {entry.name}")
+        cmd_check_manifest = [
+            "mt.exe",
+            "-nologo",
+            f"-inputresource:{entry}",
+            "-validate_manifest",
+        ]
+        run(cmd_check_manifest)
+
+
 def prepare_tests(ci_type):
     if ci_type == "standard":
         run([sys.executable, "-m", "pip", "install", "pyzmq"])
@@ -150,6 +190,7 @@ def main():
     steps = [
         "generate",
         "build",
+        "check_manifests",
         "prepare_tests",
         "run_tests",
     ]
@@ -160,6 +201,8 @@ def main():
         generate(args.ci_type)
     elif args.step == "build":
         build()
+    elif args.step == "check_manifests":
+        check_manifests(args.ci_type)
     elif args.step == "prepare_tests":
         prepare_tests(args.ci_type)
     elif args.step == "run_tests":
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index d09433fc8f6..d862a88c09e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -284,25 +284,8 @@ jobs:
           py -3 .github/ci-windows.py ${{ matrix.job-type }} build
 
       - name: Check executable manifests
-        if: matrix.job-type == 'standard'
-        working-directory: build
-        shell: pwsh -Command "$PSVersionTable; $PSNativeCommandUseErrorActionPreference = $true; $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'; & '{0}'"
         run: |
-          mt.exe -nologo -inputresource:bin\Release\bitcoind.exe -out:bitcoind.manifest
-          Get-Content bitcoind.manifest
-
-          Get-ChildItem -Filter "bin\Release\*.exe" | ForEach-Object {
-            $exeName = $_.Name
-
-            # Skip as they currently do not have manifests
-            if ($exeName -eq "fuzz.exe" -or $exeName -eq "bench_bitcoin.exe" -or $exeName -eq "test_bitcoin-qt.exe" -or $exeName -eq "test_kernel.exe" -or $exeName -eq "bitcoin-chainstate.exe") {
-              Write-Host "Skipping $exeName (no manifest present)"
-              return
-            }
-
-            Write-Host "Checking $exeName"
-            & mt.exe -nologo -inputresource:$_.FullName -validate_manifest
-          }
+          py -3 .github/ci-windows.py ${{ matrix.job-type }} check_manifests
 
       - name: Prepare tests
         run: |

From fa9627af9f89b2e2c04ae564d11d1af148c9682b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: MarcoFalke <*~=`'#}+{/-|&$^_@721217.xyz>
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2026 16:45:04 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 7/8] ci: Rely on cmake --preset toolchain file

This is the standard approach and avoids relying on
VCPKG_INSTALLATION_ROOT and -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE= in the ci-windows.py
script.

This makes it easier to run locally.
---
 .github/ci-windows.py    | 7 -------
 .github/workflows/ci.yml | 4 ++++
 2 files changed, 4 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.github/ci-windows.py b/.github/ci-windows.py
index 7697021c300..cbb5b27f242 100755
--- a/.github/ci-windows.py
+++ b/.github/ci-windows.py
@@ -39,12 +39,6 @@ GENERATE_OPTIONS = {
 
 
 def generate(ci_type):
-    toolchain_file = os.path.join(
-        os.environ["VCPKG_INSTALLATION_ROOT"],
-        "scripts",
-        "buildsystems",
-        "vcpkg.cmake",
-    )
     command = [
         "cmake",
         "-B",
@@ -52,7 +46,6 @@ def generate(ci_type):
         "-Werror=dev",
         "--preset",
         "vs2022",
-        f"-DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE={toolchain_file}",
     ] + GENERATE_OPTIONS[ci_type]
     run(command)
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index d862a88c09e..9a2d25238e7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -255,6 +255,10 @@ jobs:
           # Workaround for libevent, which requires CMake 3.1 but is incompatible with CMake >= 4.0.
           sed -i '1s/^/set(ENV{CMAKE_POLICY_VERSION_MINIMUM} 3.5)\n/' "${VCPKG_INSTALLATION_ROOT}/scripts/ports.cmake"
 
+      - name: Set VCPKG_ROOT
+        run: |
+          echo "VCPKG_ROOT=${VCPKG_INSTALLATION_ROOT}" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+
       - name: vcpkg tools cache
         uses: actions/cache@v5
         with:

From fa90277d22e1e6662e827e662eb6bda344cdcb20 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: MarcoFalke <*~=`'#}+{/-|&$^_@721217.xyz>
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2026 19:52:53 +0100
Subject: [PATCH 8/8] ci: Use ubuntu-slim for [meta] runners

They should be sufficient for the task, and are based on containers, so
may be minimally faster to schedule. Ref:
https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/runners/github-hosted-runners#single-cpu-runners
---
 .github/workflows/ci.yml | 4 ++--
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 9a2d25238e7..d6e8c799277 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ defaults:
 jobs:
   runners:
     name: '[meta] determine runners'
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
     outputs:
       provider: ${{ steps.runners.outputs.provider }}
     steps:
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@ jobs:
     # Record frozen commit, so that the native tests on cross-builds can run on
     # the exact same commit id of the build.
     name: '[meta] record frozen commit'
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
     outputs:
       commit: ${{ steps.record-commit.outputs.commit }}
     steps: