diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index e2b5e9aa162..465528258cc 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -798,7 +798,47 @@ jobs:
       - name: Latest Release
         run: |
           DIR=$(mktemp -d)
+          ARCHIVE_VERSION=$(tar -xOf ghost.tgz package/package.json | jq -r '.version')
           ghost install local -d "$DIR"
+          CURRENT_VERSION=$(DIR="$DIR" node -e "const fs = require('fs'); const path = require('path'); const current = fs.realpathSync(path.join(process.env.DIR, 'current')); console.log(require(path.join(current, 'package.json')).version);")
+          if ! node - "$ARCHIVE_VERSION" "$CURRENT_VERSION" <<'NODE'
+          function parse(version) {
+              const [main, prerelease = ''] = version.split('-', 2);
+              return {
+                  numbers: main.split('.').map(Number),
+                  prerelease
+              };
+          }
+
+          function compare(left, right) {
+              for (let index = 0; index < 3; index += 1) {
+                  if (left.numbers[index] !== right.numbers[index]) {
+                      return left.numbers[index] - right.numbers[index];
+                  }
+              }
+
+              if (left.prerelease === right.prerelease) {
+                  return 0;
+              }
+
+              if (!left.prerelease) {
+                  return 1;
+              }
+
+              if (!right.prerelease) {
+                  return -1;
+              }
+
+              return left.prerelease.localeCompare(right.prerelease, undefined, {numeric: true});
+          }
+
+          process.exit(compare(parse(process.argv[2]), parse(process.argv[3])) > 0 ? 0 : 1);
+          NODE
+          then
+              echo "Skipping update from $CURRENT_VERSION to $ARCHIVE_VERSION because the archive is not newer"
+              ghost stop -d "$DIR"
+              exit 0
+          fi
           ghost update -d "$DIR" --archive "$(pwd)/ghost.tgz"
           URL=$(ghost config get url -d "$DIR" --no-prompt --no-color | tail -n1)
           curl --retry 10 --retry-connrefused --retry-delay 3 -fsSI "$URL"
@@ -1349,6 +1389,15 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
 
+      - name: Restore E2E fixture cache
+        id: e2e-fixture-cache
+        uses: actions/cache/restore@27d5ce7f107fe9357f9df03efb73ab90386fccae # v5
+        with:
+          path: |
+            e2e/data/cache/mysql
+            e2e/data/state/auth
+          key: e2e-fixture-v3-${{ hashFiles('ghost/core/test/unit/server/data/schema/integrity.test.js', 'ghost/core/core/server/data/migrations/versions/**/*.js') }}
+
       - name: Prepare E2E CI job
         env:
           GHOST_E2E_IMAGE: ${{ steps.load.outputs.image-tag }}
@@ -1366,8 +1415,19 @@ jobs:
           E2E_SHARD_INDEX: ${{ matrix.shardIndex }}
           E2E_SHARD_TOTAL: ${{ matrix.shardTotal }}
           E2E_RETRIES: 2
+          E2E_ENABLE_CI_FIXTURE_CACHE: 'true'
         run: bash ./e2e/scripts/run-playwright-container.sh
 
+      - name: Save E2E fixture cache
+        if: success() && steps.e2e-fixture-cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true' && github.event_name == 'push' && (github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' || startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/heads/v') || endsWith(github.ref, '.x')) && matrix.projectName == 'Main' && matrix.shardIndex == 1
+        uses: actions/cache/save@27d5ce7f107fe9357f9df03efb73ab90386fccae # v5
+        continue-on-error: true
+        with:
+          path: |
+            e2e/data/cache/mysql
+            e2e/data/state/auth
+          key: ${{ steps.e2e-fixture-cache.outputs.cache-primary-key }}
+
       - name: Dump E2E docker logs
         if: failure()
         run: bash ./e2e/scripts/dump-e2e-docker-logs.sh
diff --git a/compose.dev.yaml b/compose.dev.yaml
index 5c1bf1d2e75..0c7732c0807 100644
--- a/compose.dev.yaml
+++ b/compose.dev.yaml
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ services:
       MYSQL_PASSWORD: ghost
     volumes:
       - mysql-data:/var/lib/mysql
+      - ./e2e/data/cache/mysql:/mnt/e2e-cache
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD", "mysql", "-h", "127.0.0.1", "-uroot", "-p${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD:-root}", "-e", "SELECT 1"]
       interval: 1s
diff --git a/e2e/README.md b/e2e/README.md
index ce7c9b6205d..b1c67d47e0c 100644
--- a/e2e/README.md
+++ b/e2e/README.md
@@ -207,8 +207,8 @@ Infrastructure (MySQL, Redis, Mailpit, Tinybird) must already be running before
 Global setup (`tests/global.setup.ts`) does:
 - Validates local fixture cache package (snapshot + role auth states)
 - On cache miss: recreates base DB, creates owner + staff users, stores role auth state files, snapshots DB
-- On cache hit (local only): skips fixture regeneration and reuses cached package
-- In CI: always rebuilds fixture package
+- On cache hit: restores the base DB from the cached snapshot, skips fixture regeneration, and reuses cached role auth states
+- In CI: restores the same fixture package from an exact GitHub Actions cache key based on DB integrity and migration inputs; cache misses rebuild via the same Playwright global setup flow
 
 Per-file mode (`helpers/playwright/fixture.ts`) does:
 - Clones a new database from snapshot at file boundary
@@ -277,8 +277,9 @@ Tests run automatically in GitHub Actions on every PR and commit to `main`.
 2. **Build Assets**: Build server/admin assets and public app UMD bundles
 3. **Build E2E Image**: `pnpm --filter @tryghost/e2e build:docker` (layers public apps into `/content/files`)
 4. **Prepare E2E Runtime**: Pull Playwright/gateway images in parallel, start infra, and sync Tinybird state (`pnpm --filter @tryghost/e2e preflight:build`)
-5. **Test Execution**: Run Playwright E2E tests inside the official Playwright container
-6. **Artifacts**: Upload Playwright traces and reports on failure
+5. **Fixture Cache**: Restore the DB snapshot + role auth states from GitHub Actions cache when the exact fixture key exists
+6. **Test Execution**: Run Playwright E2E tests inside the official Playwright container
+7. **Artifacts**: Upload Playwright traces and reports on failure
 
 ## Available Scripts
 
diff --git a/e2e/helpers/environment/environment-manager.ts b/e2e/helpers/environment/environment-manager.ts
index d22040a1f4f..4cc7f7057a6 100644
--- a/e2e/helpers/environment/environment-manager.ts
+++ b/e2e/helpers/environment/environment-manager.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import baseDebug from '@tryghost/debug';
 import logging from '@tryghost/logging';
 import {GhostInstance, MySQLManager} from './service-managers';
 import {GhostManager} from './service-managers/ghost-manager';
-import {createFixtureCacheManifest, getLatestMigrationFileName, getMissingAuthStateFiles, isFixtureCacheManifestCurrent, shouldForceFixtureReset} from '@/helpers/utils/fixture-cache';
+import {createFixtureCacheManifest, getLatestMigrationFileName, getMissingAuthStateFiles, isFixtureCacheManifestCurrent, shouldForceFixtureReset, shouldUseCIFixtureCache} from '@/helpers/utils/fixture-cache';
 import {randomUUID} from 'crypto';
 import type {GhostConfig} from '@/helpers/playwright/fixture';
 
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ export type EnvironmentMode = 'dev' | 'build';
 type GhostEnvOverrides = GhostConfig | Record<string, string>;
 type CacheStatus =
     | {isValid: true; reason: 'cache_hit'}
-    | {isValid: false; reason: 'ci_always_rebuild' | 'forced_fixture_reset' | 'missing_snapshot' | 'missing_auth_state' | 'missing_migration_files' | 'missing_migrations_table' | 'migration_mismatch' | 'missing_fixture_manifest' | 'fixture_manifest_mismatch'};
+    | {isValid: false; reason: 'ci_always_rebuild' | 'forced_fixture_reset' | 'missing_snapshot' | 'missing_auth_state' | 'missing_migration_files' | 'migration_mismatch' | 'missing_fixture_manifest' | 'fixture_manifest_mismatch'};
 type GlobalSetupResult = {baseUrl: string; cacheHit: boolean};
 
 /**
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ export class EnvironmentManager {
         logging.info(`Starting ${this.mode} environment global setup...`);
 
         const cacheStatus = await this.getCacheStatus();
-        const cacheHit = cacheStatus.isValid;
+        let cacheHit = cacheStatus.isValid;
         if (cacheHit) {
             logging.info('Fixture cache hit - reusing snapshot + auth state package');
         } else {
@@ -84,6 +84,10 @@ export class EnvironmentManager {
 
         await this.cleanupResources({deleteSnapshot: !cacheHit});
 
+        if (cacheHit) {
+            cacheHit = await this.restoreBaseDatabaseFromSnapshot();
+        }
+
         if (!cacheHit) {
             await this.mysql.recreateBaseDatabase('ghost_e2e_base');
         }
@@ -119,7 +123,7 @@ export class EnvironmentManager {
         }
 
         logging.info(`Starting ${this.mode} environment global teardown...`);
-        await this.cleanupResources({deleteSnapshot: this.isCI()});
+        await this.cleanupResources({deleteSnapshot: this.isCI() && !shouldUseCIFixtureCache()});
         logging.info(`${this.mode} environment global teardown complete`);
     }
 
@@ -194,7 +198,7 @@ export class EnvironmentManager {
     }
 
     private async getCacheStatus(): Promise<CacheStatus> {
-        if (this.isCI()) {
+        if (this.isCI() && !shouldUseCIFixtureCache()) {
             return {isValid: false, reason: 'ci_always_rebuild'};
         }
 
@@ -217,15 +221,6 @@ export class EnvironmentManager {
             return {isValid: false, reason: 'missing_migration_files'};
         }
 
-        const latestAppliedMigration = await this.mysql.getLatestMigrationName('ghost_e2e_base');
-        if (!latestAppliedMigration) {
-            return {isValid: false, reason: 'missing_migrations_table'};
-        }
-
-        if (latestAppliedMigration !== latestMigrationFileName) {
-            return {isValid: false, reason: 'migration_mismatch'};
-        }
-
         const expectedManifest = await createFixtureCacheManifest(latestMigrationFileName);
         const actualManifest = await this.mysql.getSnapshotMetadata();
         if (!actualManifest) {
@@ -238,4 +233,33 @@ export class EnvironmentManager {
 
         return {isValid: true, reason: 'cache_hit'};
     }
+
+    private async restoreBaseDatabaseFromSnapshot(): Promise<boolean> {
+        const latestMigrationFileName = await getLatestMigrationFileName();
+        if (!latestMigrationFileName) {
+            logging.warn('Fixture cache could not be restored because migration files are missing.');
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        try {
+            await this.mysql.recreateBaseDatabase('ghost_e2e_base');
+            await this.mysql.restoreDatabaseFromSnapshot('ghost_e2e_base');
+
+            const latestAppliedMigration = await this.mysql.getLatestMigrationName('ghost_e2e_base');
+            if (latestAppliedMigration !== latestMigrationFileName) {
+                logging.warn(
+                    `Fixture cache migration mismatch after restore: expected ${latestMigrationFileName}, received ${latestAppliedMigration || 'none'}`
+                );
+                await this.mysql.deleteSnapshot();
+                return false;
+            }
+
+            return true;
+        } catch (error) {
+            logging.warn('Fixture cache restore failed - rebuilding fixture package');
+            logging.warn(error);
+            await this.mysql.deleteSnapshot();
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/e2e/helpers/environment/service-managers/mysql-manager.ts b/e2e/helpers/environment/service-managers/mysql-manager.ts
index 8b29f1c7ac7..dbb4d6b6bce 100644
--- a/e2e/helpers/environment/service-managers/mysql-manager.ts
+++ b/e2e/helpers/environment/service-managers/mysql-manager.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import * as path from 'path';
 import Docker from 'dockerode';
 import baseDebug from '@tryghost/debug';
 import logging from '@tryghost/logging';
@@ -116,7 +117,8 @@ export class MySQLManager {
     async createSnapshot(sourceDatabase: string = 'ghost_testing', outputPath: string = SNAPSHOT_PATH): Promise<void> {
         logging.info('Creating database snapshot...');
 
-        await this.exec(`mysqldump -uroot -proot --opt --single-transaction ${sourceDatabase} > ${outputPath}`);
+        await this.ensureSnapshotDirectory(outputPath);
+        await this.exec(`mysqldump -uroot -proot --opt --single-transaction ${sourceDatabase} > ${this.shellQuote(outputPath)}`);
 
         logging.info('Database snapshot created');
     }
@@ -125,6 +127,7 @@ export class MySQLManager {
         const metadataPath = this.getSnapshotMetadataPath(snapshotPath);
         const json = JSON.stringify(metadata);
 
+        await this.ensureSnapshotDirectory(snapshotPath);
         await this.exec(`printf %s ${this.shellQuote(json)} > ${this.shellQuote(metadataPath)}`);
     }
 
@@ -156,7 +159,7 @@ export class MySQLManager {
     async restoreDatabaseFromSnapshot(database: string, snapshotPath: string = SNAPSHOT_PATH): Promise<void> {
         debug('Restoring database from snapshot:', database);
 
-        await this.exec('mysql -uroot -proot ' + database + ' < ' + snapshotPath);
+        await this.exec('mysql -uroot -proot ' + database + ' < ' + this.shellQuote(snapshotPath));
 
         debug('Database restored from snapshot:', database);
     }
@@ -165,6 +168,10 @@ export class MySQLManager {
         return `${snapshotPath}.meta.json`;
     }
 
+    private async ensureSnapshotDirectory(snapshotPath: string): Promise<void> {
+        await this.exec(`mkdir -p ${this.shellQuote(path.posix.dirname(snapshotPath))}`);
+    }
+
     private shellQuote(value: string): string {
         return `'${value.replace(/'/g, `'\\''`)}'`;
     }
@@ -188,7 +195,7 @@ export class MySQLManager {
 
     async snapshotExists(snapshotPath: string = SNAPSHOT_PATH): Promise<boolean> {
         try {
-            const output = await this.exec(`[ -f "${snapshotPath}" ] && echo "exists"`);
+            const output = await this.exec(`[ -f ${this.shellQuote(snapshotPath)} ] && echo "exists"`);
             return output.trim() === 'exists';
         } catch {
             return false;
diff --git a/e2e/helpers/utils/fixture-cache.ts b/e2e/helpers/utils/fixture-cache.ts
index f470cf74777..4a595f14c30 100644
--- a/e2e/helpers/utils/fixture-cache.ts
+++ b/e2e/helpers/utils/fixture-cache.ts
@@ -8,9 +8,10 @@ const __dirname = path.dirname(__filename);
 const E2E_ROOT = path.resolve(__dirname, '../..');
 const REPO_ROOT = path.resolve(E2E_ROOT, '..');
 
-export const SNAPSHOT_PATH = '/tmp/dump.sql';
+export const SNAPSHOT_PATH = '/mnt/e2e-cache/dump.sql';
 export const FORCE_FIXTURE_RESET_ENV = 'E2E_FORCE_FIXTURE_RESET';
-export const FIXTURE_CACHE_VERSION = 2;
+export const CI_FIXTURE_CACHE_ENV = 'E2E_ENABLE_CI_FIXTURE_CACHE';
+export const FIXTURE_CACHE_VERSION = 3;
 
 export type FixtureRole = 'owner' | 'administrator' | 'editor' | 'author' | 'contributor';
 export type StaffFixtureRole = Exclude<FixtureRole, 'owner'>;
@@ -27,25 +28,7 @@ const MIGRATIONS_DIR = path.join(
 );
 
 const CACHE_FINGERPRINT_FILES = [
-    'docker/dev-gateway/Caddyfile',
-    'docker/dev-gateway/Caddyfile.build',
-    'e2e/package.json',
-    'e2e/playwright.config.mjs',
-    'e2e/data-factory/factories/user-factory.ts',
-    'e2e/data-factory/index.ts',
-    'e2e/helpers/pages/admin/admin-page.ts',
-    'e2e/helpers/pages/admin/analytics/analytics-overview-page.ts',
-    'e2e/helpers/pages/admin/login-page.ts',
-    'e2e/helpers/pages/admin/settings/settings-page.ts',
-    'e2e/helpers/pages/admin/settings/sections/staff-section.ts',
-    'e2e/helpers/pages/admin/signup-page.ts',
-    'e2e/helpers/playwright/context-with-auth-state.ts',
-    'e2e/helpers/playwright/flows/sign-in.ts',
-    'e2e/helpers/playwright/fixture.ts',
-    'e2e/helpers/services/email/utils.ts',
-    'e2e/helpers/utils/fixture-cache.ts',
-    'e2e/helpers/utils/setup-user.ts',
-    'e2e/tests/global.setup.ts'
+    'ghost/core/test/unit/server/data/schema/integrity.test.js'
 ];
 
 export const STATE_DIR = path.join(E2E_ROOT, 'data', 'state');
@@ -74,6 +57,11 @@ export function shouldForceFixtureReset(): boolean {
     return raw === '1' || raw === 'true';
 }
 
+export function shouldUseCIFixtureCache(): boolean {
+    const raw = process.env[CI_FIXTURE_CACHE_ENV];
+    return raw === '1' || raw === 'true';
+}
+
 export function getMissingAuthStateFiles(): string[] {
     return Object.values(AUTH_STATE_BY_ROLE).filter(file => !fs.existsSync(file));
 }
diff --git a/e2e/scripts/infra-up.sh b/e2e/scripts/infra-up.sh
index 31b4bf8475e..de3c4941870 100755
--- a/e2e/scripts/infra-up.sh
+++ b/e2e/scripts/infra-up.sh
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ source "$SCRIPT_DIR/resolve-e2e-mode.sh"
 
 cd "$REPO_ROOT"
 
+mkdir -p e2e/data/cache/mysql e2e/data/state/auth
+
 MODE="$(resolve_e2e_mode)"
 export GHOST_E2E_MODE="$MODE"
 ANALYTICS_ENABLED="${GHOST_E2E_ANALYTICS:-true}"
diff --git a/e2e/scripts/run-playwright-container.sh b/e2e/scripts/run-playwright-container.sh
index b2eb64c5bf5..a5316049e39 100755
--- a/e2e/scripts/run-playwright-container.sh
+++ b/e2e/scripts/run-playwright-container.sh
@@ -34,11 +34,14 @@ docker run --rm --network host --ipc host \
   -v "${WORKSPACE_PATH}:${WORKSPACE_PATH}" \
   -w "${WORKSPACE_PATH}/e2e" \
   -e CI=true \
+  -e NODE_VERSION="${NODE_VERSION:-}" \
   -e TEST_WORKERS_COUNT="${TEST_WORKERS_COUNT:-1}" \
   -e COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME="${COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME:-ghost-dev}" \
   -e GHOST_E2E_MODE="${GHOST_E2E_MODE:-build}" \
   -e GHOST_E2E_IMAGE="${GHOST_E2E_IMAGE:-ghost-e2e:local}" \
   -e GHOST_E2E_GATEWAY_IMAGE="${GHOST_E2E_GATEWAY_IMAGE:-caddy:2-alpine}" \
   -e GHOST_E2E_ANALYTICS="${GHOST_E2E_ANALYTICS:-true}" \
+  -e E2E_ENABLE_CI_FIXTURE_CACHE="${E2E_ENABLE_CI_FIXTURE_CACHE:-false}" \
+  -e E2E_FORCE_FIXTURE_RESET="${E2E_FORCE_FIXTURE_RESET:-false}" \
   "$PLAYWRIGHT_IMAGE" \
   bash -c "corepack enable && bash ./scripts/run-playwright-host.sh pnpm exec playwright test ${project_args_string}--shard=${SHARD_INDEX}/${SHARD_TOTAL} --retries=${RETRIES}"