diff --git a/.github/dependabot.yml b/.github/dependabot.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..14206b48f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/dependabot.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# To get started with Dependabot version updates, you'll need to specify which
+# package ecosystems to update and where the package manifests are located.
+# Please see the documentation for all configuration options:
+# https://docs.github.com/code-security/dependabot/dependabot-version-updates/configuration-options-for-the-dependabot.yml-file
+
+version: 2
+updates:
+  - package-ecosystem: "composer" # See documentation for possible values
+    directory: "/" # Location of package manifests
+    schedule:
+      interval: "weekly"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index 782db6761..fc593cf46 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -1,32 +1,60 @@
 name: test suite
 
-on: [push, pull_request]
+on:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - master
+  pull_request:
 
 jobs:
   tests:
     runs-on: self-hosted
+    container: ubuntu:noble
+    services:
+      mysql:
+        image: mysql:8
+        env:
+          MYSQL_ALLOW_EMPTY_PASSWORD: false
+          MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: root
+          MYSQL_PASSWORD: root
+          MYSQL_DATABASE: gallery3
+#        ports:
+#          - 3306:3306
+        options: --health-cmd="mysqladmin ping" --health-interval=10s --health-timeout=5s --health-retries=3
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
-        php-versions: ['7.4', '8.0', '8.1']
+        php-versions: ['7.4']
     env:
       DB_DATABASE: gallery3
       DB_USER: root
       DB_PASSWORD: root
       DB_PORT: 3306
-      DB_HOST: 127.0.0.1
+      DB_HOST: mysql
+      ACTIONS_RESULTS_URL: http://host.docker.internal:3000
     steps:
-      - name: Install OS packages
-        run: sudo apt-get install -y imagemagick graphicsmagick dcraw ffmpeg git
+      - name: env
+        run: env
 
-      - name: Checkout
-        uses: actions/checkout@v7
+      - name: Cache APT Packages
+        uses: actions/cache@v5
+        id: apt-cache
+        with:
+          path: /var/cache/apt/archives
+          key: ${{ runner.os }}-apt-cache-${{ hashFiles('.github/workflows/tests.yml') }}
+          restore-keys: |
+            ${{ runner.os }}-apt-cache-
 
-      - name: Set up MySQL
+      - name: Configure APT Keep-Cache
         run: |
-          sudo /etc/init.d/mysql start
-          mysql -e 'CREATE DATABASE ${{ env.DB_DATABASE }};' -u${{ env.DB_USER }} -p${{ env.DB_PASSWORD }}
-          mysql -e 'CREATE DATABASE ${{ env.DB_DATABASE }}_test;' -u${{ env.DB_USER }} -p${{ env.DB_PASSWORD }}
+          echo 'Binary::apt::APT::Keep-Downloaded-Packages "true";' > /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/keep-cache
+          # Optional: Remove Docker's default auto-clean directive if present
+          rm -f /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/docker-clean
+
+      - name: Install OS packages
+        run: |
+          apt-get update
+          apt-get install -y imagemagick graphicsmagick dcraw ffmpeg git mysql-client
 
       - name: Setup PHP
         uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
@@ -36,6 +64,12 @@ jobs:
           ini-values: post_max_size=256M, max_execution_time=180
           tools: composer:v2
 
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v7
+
+      - name: Set up MySQL
+        run: |
+          mysql -e 'CREATE DATABASE ${{ env.DB_DATABASE }}_test;' -h ${{ env.DB_HOST }} --port ${{ env.DB_PORT }} -u${{ env.DB_USER }} -p${{ env.DB_PASSWORD }}
       - name: Get composer cache directory
         id: composer-cache
         run: |