diff --git a/.github/actions/build-image-sha/action.yml b/.github/actions/build-image-sha/action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..dc60f2457c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/actions/build-image-sha/action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+name: 'Build Image SHA'
+description: 'Single source of truth for the ghcr.io/electron/build image SHA'
+inputs:
+  override:
+    description: 'Optional override SHA (e.g. from a workflow_dispatch input)'
+    required: false
+    default: ''
+outputs:
+  build-image-sha:
+    description: 'The electron/build image SHA to use'
+    value: ${{ steps.set.outputs.build-image-sha }}
+runs:
+  using: 'composite'
+  steps:
+    - id: set
+      shell: bash
+      env:
+        OVERRIDE: ${{ inputs.override }}
+      run: |
+        if [ -n "$OVERRIDE" ]; then
+          echo "build-image-sha=$OVERRIDE" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+        else
+          echo "build-image-sha=daad061f4b99a0ae1c841be4aa09188280a9c8a4" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+        fi
diff --git a/.github/actions/install-dependencies/action.yml b/.github/actions/install-dependencies/action.yml
index 0d2b4837ec..d034b7f587 100644
--- a/.github/actions/install-dependencies/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/install-dependencies/action.yml
@@ -21,11 +21,28 @@ runs:
       if [ "$TARGET_ARCH" = "x86" ]; then
         export npm_config_arch="ia32"
       fi
-      # if running on linux arm skip yarn Builds
       ARCH=$(uname -m)
+      node script/yarn.js install --immutable --mode=skip-build
+      # if running on linux arm skip yarn Builds
       if [ "$ARCH" = "armv7l" ]; then
         echo "Skipping yarn build on linux arm"
-        node script/yarn.js install --immutable --mode=skip-build
       else
+        # Pre-seed the node-gyp header cache so the parallel native-addon
+        # builds below don't race on a cold cache. Linux build containers
+        # already ship a warm cache (electron/build-images#68), so only do
+        # this on macOS / Windows runners.
+        if [ "$(uname -s)" != "Linux" ]; then
+          for i in 1 2 3; do
+            if node node_modules/node-gyp/bin/node-gyp.js install; then
+              break
+            fi
+            if [ "$i" = "3" ]; then
+              echo "node-gyp header pre-seed failed after 3 attempts" >&2
+              exit 1
+            fi
+            echo "node-gyp header pre-seed failed (attempt $i), retrying in 5s..." >&2
+            sleep 5
+          done
+        fi
         node script/yarn.js install --immutable
       fi
diff --git a/.github/workflows/apply-patches.yml b/.github/workflows/apply-patches.yml
index f7b059791a..8e9b70b828 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/apply-patches.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/apply-patches.yml
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ jobs:
       pull-requests: read
     outputs:
       has-patches: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.patches }}
+      build-image-sha: ${{ steps.build-image-sha.outputs.build-image-sha }}
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd
       with:
@@ -33,6 +34,9 @@ jobs:
           patches:
             - DEPS
             - 'patches/**'
+    - name: Set Build Image SHA
+      id: build-image-sha
+      uses: ./.github/actions/build-image-sha
 
   apply-patches:
     needs: setup
@@ -41,7 +45,7 @@ jobs:
     permissions:
       contents: read
     container:
-      image: ghcr.io/electron/build:eac3529546ea8f3aa356d31e345715eef342233b
+      image: ghcr.io/electron/build:${{ needs.setup.outputs.build-image-sha }}
       options: --user root
       volumes:
         - /mnt/cross-instance-cache:/mnt/cross-instance-cache
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index cfaca7c65b..3fc9dfcf73 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ on:
       build-image-sha:
         type: string
         description: 'SHA for electron/build image'
-        default: 'eac3529546ea8f3aa356d31e345715eef342233b'
-        required: true
+        default: ''
+        required: false
       skip-macos:
         type: boolean
         description: 'Skip macOS builds'
@@ -48,14 +48,14 @@ permissions: {}
 jobs:
   setup:
     if: github.repository == 'electron/electron'
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
     permissions:
       contents: read
       pull-requests: read
     outputs:
         docs: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.docs }}
         src: ${{ steps.filter.outputs.src }}
-        build-image-sha: ${{ steps.set-output.outputs.build-image-sha }}
+        build-image-sha: ${{ steps.build-image-sha.outputs.build-image-sha }}
         docs-only: ${{ steps.set-output.outputs.docs-only }}
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd
@@ -73,14 +73,14 @@ jobs:
             - CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
           src:
             - '!docs/**'
-    - name: Set Outputs for Build Image SHA & Docs Only
+    - name: Set Build Image SHA
+      id: build-image-sha
+      uses: ./.github/actions/build-image-sha
+      with:
+        override: ${{ inputs.build-image-sha }}
+    - name: Set Docs Only
       id: set-output
       run: |
-        if [ -z "${{ inputs.build-image-sha }}" ]; then
-          echo "build-image-sha=eac3529546ea8f3aa356d31e345715eef342233b" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-        else
-          echo "build-image-sha=${{ inputs.build-image-sha }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-        fi
         echo "docs-only=${{ steps.filter.outputs.docs == 'true' && steps.filter.outputs.src == 'false' }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
   # Lint Jobs
diff --git a/.github/workflows/linux-publish.yml b/.github/workflows/linux-publish.yml
index 731359fcd5..692ff550ed 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/linux-publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/linux-publish.yml
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ on:
       build-image-sha:
         type: string
         description: 'SHA for electron/build image'
-        default: 'eac3529546ea8f3aa356d31e345715eef342233b'
+        default: ''
+        required: false
       upload-to-storage:
         description: 'Uploads to Azure storage'
         required: false
@@ -20,13 +21,28 @@ on:
 permissions: {}
 
 jobs:
-  checkout-linux:
+  setup:
     if: github.repository == 'electron/electron'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+    outputs:
+      build-image-sha: ${{ steps.build-image-sha.outputs.build-image-sha }}
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd
+    - name: Set Build Image SHA
+      id: build-image-sha
+      uses: ./.github/actions/build-image-sha
+      with:
+        override: ${{ inputs.build-image-sha }}
+
+  checkout-linux:
+    needs: setup
     runs-on: electron-arc-centralus-linux-amd64-32core
     permissions:
       contents: read
     container:
-      image: ghcr.io/electron/build:${{ inputs.build-image-sha }}
+      image: ghcr.io/electron/build:${{ needs.setup.outputs.build-image-sha }}
       options: --user root
       volumes:
         - /mnt/cross-instance-cache:/mnt/cross-instance-cache
@@ -50,11 +66,11 @@ jobs:
       attestations: write
       contents: read
       id-token: write
-    needs: checkout-linux
+    needs: [setup, checkout-linux]
     with:
       environment: production-release
       build-runs-on: electron-arc-centralus-linux-amd64-32core
-      build-container: '{"image":"ghcr.io/electron/build:${{ inputs.build-image-sha }}","options":"--user root","volumes":["/mnt/cross-instance-cache:/mnt/cross-instance-cache"]}'
+      build-container: '{"image":"ghcr.io/electron/build:${{ needs.setup.outputs.build-image-sha }}","options":"--user root","volumes":["/mnt/cross-instance-cache:/mnt/cross-instance-cache"]}'
       target-platform: linux
       target-arch: x64
       is-release: true
@@ -70,11 +86,11 @@ jobs:
       attestations: write
       contents: read
       id-token: write
-    needs: checkout-linux
+    needs: [setup, checkout-linux]
     with:
       environment: production-release
       build-runs-on: electron-arc-centralus-linux-amd64-32core
-      build-container: '{"image":"ghcr.io/electron/build:${{ inputs.build-image-sha }}","options":"--user root","volumes":["/mnt/cross-instance-cache:/mnt/cross-instance-cache"]}'
+      build-container: '{"image":"ghcr.io/electron/build:${{ needs.setup.outputs.build-image-sha }}","options":"--user root","volumes":["/mnt/cross-instance-cache:/mnt/cross-instance-cache"]}'
       target-platform: linux
       target-arch: arm
       is-release: true
@@ -90,11 +106,11 @@ jobs:
       attestations: write
       contents: read
       id-token: write
-    needs: checkout-linux
+    needs: [setup, checkout-linux]
     with:
       environment: production-release
       build-runs-on: electron-arc-centralus-linux-amd64-32core
-      build-container: '{"image":"ghcr.io/electron/build:${{ inputs.build-image-sha }}","options":"--user root","volumes":["/mnt/cross-instance-cache:/mnt/cross-instance-cache"]}'
+      build-container: '{"image":"ghcr.io/electron/build:${{ needs.setup.outputs.build-image-sha }}","options":"--user root","volumes":["/mnt/cross-instance-cache:/mnt/cross-instance-cache"]}'
       target-platform: linux
       target-arch: arm64
       is-release: true
diff --git a/.github/workflows/macos-publish.yml b/.github/workflows/macos-publish.yml
index 4ef96a0cfb..f9e6804ea9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/macos-publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/macos-publish.yml
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ on:
       build-image-sha:
         type: string
         description: 'SHA for electron/build image'
-        default: 'eac3529546ea8f3aa356d31e345715eef342233b'
-        required: true
+        default: ''
+        required: false
       upload-to-storage:
         description: 'Uploads to Azure storage'
         required: false
@@ -21,13 +21,28 @@ on:
 permissions: {}
 
 jobs:
-  checkout-macos:
+  setup:
     if: github.repository == 'electron/electron'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+    outputs:
+      build-image-sha: ${{ steps.build-image-sha.outputs.build-image-sha }}
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd
+    - name: Set Build Image SHA
+      id: build-image-sha
+      uses: ./.github/actions/build-image-sha
+      with:
+        override: ${{ inputs.build-image-sha }}
+
+  checkout-macos:
+    needs: setup
     runs-on: electron-arc-centralus-linux-amd64-32core
     permissions:
       contents: read
     container:
-      image: ghcr.io/electron/build:${{ inputs.build-image-sha }}
+      image: ghcr.io/electron/build:${{ needs.setup.outputs.build-image-sha }}
       options: --user root
       volumes:
         - /mnt/cross-instance-cache:/mnt/cross-instance-cache
diff --git a/.github/workflows/windows-publish.yml b/.github/workflows/windows-publish.yml
index 286ca5c3ed..d156488ffa 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/windows-publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/windows-publish.yml
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ on:
       build-image-sha:
         type: string
         description: 'SHA for electron/build image'
-        default: 'eac3529546ea8f3aa356d31e345715eef342233b'
-        required: true
+        default: ''
+        required: false
       upload-to-storage:
         description: 'Uploads to Azure storage'
         required: false
@@ -21,13 +21,28 @@ on:
 permissions: {}
 
 jobs:
-  checkout-windows:
+  setup:
     if: github.repository == 'electron/electron'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+    outputs:
+      build-image-sha: ${{ steps.build-image-sha.outputs.build-image-sha }}
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd
+    - name: Set Build Image SHA
+      id: build-image-sha
+      uses: ./.github/actions/build-image-sha
+      with:
+        override: ${{ inputs.build-image-sha }}
+
+  checkout-windows:
+    needs: setup
     runs-on: electron-arc-centralus-linux-amd64-32core
     permissions:
       contents: read
     container:
-      image: ghcr.io/electron/build:${{ inputs.build-image-sha }}
+      image: ghcr.io/electron/build:${{ needs.setup.outputs.build-image-sha }}
       options: --user root --device /dev/fuse --cap-add SYS_ADMIN
       volumes:
         - /mnt/win-cache:/mnt/win-cache
@@ -37,8 +52,6 @@ jobs:
       GCLIENT_EXTRA_ARGS: '--custom-var=checkout_win=True'
       TARGET_OS: 'win'
       ELECTRON_DEPOT_TOOLS_WIN_TOOLCHAIN: '1'
-    outputs:
-      build-image-sha: ${{ inputs.build-image-sha }}
     steps:
     - name: Checkout Electron
       uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd
@@ -54,7 +67,7 @@ jobs:
   # Build the patched siso binary in parallel with checkout-windows; the
   # publish-*-win jobs consume it via SISO_PATH.
   build-siso-windows:
-    if: github.repository == 'electron/electron'
+    needs: setup
     uses: ./.github/workflows/pipeline-segment-build-siso-windows.yml
     permissions:
       contents: read