diff --git a/.github/workflows/cache-verify.yml b/.github/workflows/build-verify.yml
similarity index 66%
rename from .github/workflows/cache-verify.yml
rename to .github/workflows/build-verify.yml
index a0e04eca8..9eed4d487 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cache-verify.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-verify.yml
@@ -41,6 +41,27 @@ jobs:
           name: ${{ matrix.name }}-image
           path: /tmp/${{ matrix.name }}.tar
 
+  build-environment:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: '20'
+      - name: Install dependencies and build
+        run: |
+          cd backend && yarn install && yarn build
+          cd ../webapp && yarn install && yarn build
+      - name: Build environment image
+        run: |
+          docker build -t ocelotsocial/environment:cache -f Dockerfile.environment .
+      - name: Save environment image as artifact
+        run: docker save ocelotsocial/environment:cache -o environment.tar
+      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: environment-image
+          path: environment.tar
+
   consolidate-environment:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     needs: [build-images, verify-cache]
@@ -70,60 +91,20 @@ jobs:
             echo "$i..." && sleep 2
           done
           echo "❌ Webapp did not respond in time" && exit 1
-      
-      - name: Install Cypress
-        run: yarn install
-
-      - name: Run Cypress tests
-        run: yarn run cypress:run
 
   verify-summary:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: [verify-cache, consolidate-environment]
+    needs: [build-environment, consolidate-environment]
     if: always()
     steps:
       - name: CI Summary
         run: |
           echo "### ✅ CI Cache Verification Summary" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-          echo "- Cache: ${{ needs.verify-cache.result }}" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-          echo "- Environment: ${{ needs.consolidate-environment.result }}" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-          if [[ '${{ needs.verify-cache.result }}' != 'success' || '${{ needs.consolidate-environment.result }}' != 'success' ]]; then
+          echo "- Build Environment: ${{ needs.build-environment.result }}" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+          echo "- Consolidate Environment: ${{ needs.consolidate-environment.result }}" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
+          if [[ '${{ needs.build-environment.result }}' != 'success' || '${{ needs.consolidate-environment.result }}' != 'success' ]]; then
             echo "\n❌ One or more checks failed." >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
             exit 1
           else
             echo "\n✅ All checks passed successfully!" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
           fi
-
-  verify-cache:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
-        with:
-          node-version: '20'
-      - id: cache-key
-        env:
-          LOCK_HASH: ${{ hashFiles('backend/yarn.lock', 'webapp/yarn.lock') }}
-        run: echo "key=node-modules-${{ runner.os }}-${{ env.LOCK_HASH }}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-      - name: Show lockfile hashes (debug)
-        run: |
-          echo "backend/yarn.lock hash: ${{ hashFiles('backend/yarn.lock') }}"
-          echo "webapp/yarn.lock hash: ${{ hashFiles('webapp/yarn.lock') }}"
-      - name: Restore node_modules cache
-        id: restore-cache
-        uses: actions/cache@v4
-        with:
-          path: |
-            backend/node_modules
-            webapp/node_modules
-          key: ${{ steps.cache-key.outputs.key }}
-          restore-keys: |
-            node-modules-${{ runner.os }}-
-            node-modules-
-      - name: Show cache hit status
-        run: |
-          if [[ "${{ steps.restore-cache.outputs.cache-hit }}" == "true" ]]; then
-            echo "✅ Cache was hit!"
-          else
-            echo "❌ Cache was missed."
-          fi