diff --git a/.envrc b/.envrc
index f5ce87435..47c5fefb2 100644
--- a/.envrc
+++ b/.envrc
@@ -48,6 +48,21 @@ if ! has readlink; then
 	exit 1
 fi
 
+if ! has pv; then
+	echo "pv is not installed"
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+if ! has lz4; then
+	echo "lz4 is not installed"
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+if ! has git-cliff; then
+	echo "git-cliff  is not installed"
+	exit 1
+fi
+
 if [ -z "$GOPATH" ]; then
 	GOPATH=$(go env GOPATH)
 	export GOPATH
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yaml b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
index e4c41638d..9ecbf8884 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - run: git fetch --prune --unshallow
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: ./script/tools.sh gha-deps
       - name: Detect required Go version
         run: |
           toolchain=$(./script/tools.sh gotoolchain | sed 's/go*//')
@@ -47,7 +49,7 @@ jobs:
           # using PAT as homebrew is located in different repo
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
   test-network-upgrade-on-release:
-    runs-on: upgrade-tester
+    runs-on: gh-runner-test
     needs:
       - publish
     steps:
@@ -57,6 +59,12 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           toolchain=$(./script/tools.sh gotoolchain | sed 's/go*//')
           echo "GOVERSION=${toolchain}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: sudo apt install -y make build-essentials direnv unzip lz4 wget curl npm jq pv coreutils
+      - name: Install git-cliff
+        uses: baptiste0928/cargo-install@v3
+        with:
+          crate: git-cliff
       - uses: actions/setup-go@v5
         with:
           go-version: "${{ env.GOVERSION }}"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yaml b/.github/workflows/tests.yaml
index 3f1b4ae40..f7b1d2ba6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yaml
@@ -20,8 +20,12 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: |
-          brew install bash direnv
+          brew install bash direnv pv lz4 git-cliff
           sudo chsh -s /usr/local/bin/bash
+      - name: Install git-cliff
+        uses: baptiste0928/cargo-install@v3
+        with:
+          crate: git-cliff
       - name: Hook direnv to bash
         run: echo 'eval "$(direnv hook bash)"' >> $HOME/.bashrc
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -44,6 +48,12 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - run: git fetch --prune --unshallow
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: sudo apt install -y make build-essentials direnv unzip lz4 wget curl npm jq pv coreutils
+      - name: Install git-cliff
+        uses: baptiste0928/cargo-install@v3
+        with:
+          crate: git-cliff
       - name: Detect required Go version
         run: |
           toolchain=$(./script/tools.sh gotoolchain | sed 's/go*//')
@@ -64,6 +74,12 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - run: git fetch --prune --unshallow
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: sudo apt install -y make build-essentials direnv unzip lz4 wget curl npm jq pv coreutils
+      - name: Install git-cliff
+        uses: baptiste0928/cargo-install@v3
+        with:
+          crate: git-cliff
       - name: Detect required Go version
         run: |
           toolchain=$(./script/tools.sh gotoolchain | sed 's/go*//')
@@ -82,6 +98,12 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - run: git fetch --prune --unshallow
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: sudo apt install -y make build-essentials direnv unzip lz4 wget curl npm jq pv coreutils
+      - name: Install git-cliff
+        uses: baptiste0928/cargo-install@v3
+        with:
+          crate: git-cliff
       - name: Detect required Go version
         run: |
           toolchain=$(./script/tools.sh gotoolchain | sed 's/go*//')
@@ -101,6 +123,12 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - run: git fetch --prune --unshallow
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: sudo apt install -y make build-essentials direnv unzip lz4 wget curl npm jq pv coreutils
+      - name: Install git-cliff
+        uses: baptiste0928/cargo-install@v3
+        with:
+          crate: git-cliff
       - name: Detect required Go version
         run: |
           toolchain=$(./script/tools.sh gotoolchain | sed 's/go*//')
@@ -119,6 +147,12 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: sudo apt install -y make build-essentials direnv unzip lz4 wget curl npm jq pv coreutils
+      - name: Install git-cliff
+        uses: baptiste0928/cargo-install@v3
+        with:
+          crate: git-cliff
       - run: git fetch --prune --unshallow
       - name: Detect required Go version
         run: |
@@ -140,6 +174,12 @@ jobs:
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: "${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}"
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: sudo apt install -y make build-essentials direnv unzip lz4 wget curl npm jq pv coreutils
+      - name: Install git-cliff
+        uses: baptiste0928/cargo-install@v3
+        with:
+          crate: git-cliff
       - name: Detect required Go version
         run: |
           toolchain=$(./script/tools.sh gotoolchain | sed 's/go*//')
@@ -165,6 +205,12 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - run: git fetch --prune --unshallow
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: sudo apt install -y make build-essentials direnv unzip lz4 wget curl npm jq pv coreutils
+      - name: Install git-cliff
+        uses: baptiste0928/cargo-install@v3
+        with:
+          crate: git-cliff
       - name: Detect required Go version
         run: |
           toolchain=$(./script/tools.sh gotoolchain | sed 's/go*//')
@@ -189,7 +235,7 @@ jobs:
         run: make release
 
   network-upgrade-names:
-    runs-on: upgrade-tester
+    runs-on: gh-runner-test
     steps:
       - name: Cleanup build folder
         run: |
@@ -197,6 +243,12 @@ jobs:
           sudo rm -rf ./.??* || true
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - run: git fetch --prune --unshallow
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: sudo apt install -y make build-essentials direnv unzip lz4 wget curl npm jq pv coreutils
+      - name: Install git-cliff
+        uses: baptiste0928/cargo-install@v3
+        with:
+          crate: git-cliff
       - name: Detect required Go version
         run: |
           toolchain=$(./script/tools.sh gotoolchain | sed 's/go*//')
@@ -222,7 +274,7 @@ jobs:
               ./script/semver.sh validate "$upgrade"
           done <<< $(find "$dir" ! -path "$dir" -maxdepth 1 -type d -exec basename {} \;)
   network-upgrade:
-    runs-on: upgrade-tester
+    runs-on: gh-runner-test
     steps:
       - name: Cleanup build folder
         run: |
@@ -234,6 +286,12 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           toolchain=$(./script/tools.sh gotoolchain | sed 's/go*//')
           echo "GOVERSION=${toolchain}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: sudo apt install -y make build-essentials direnv unzip lz4 wget curl npm jq pv coreutils
+      - name: Install git-cliff
+        uses: baptiste0928/cargo-install@v3
+        with:
+          crate: git-cliff
       - uses: actions/setup-go@v5
         with:
           go-version: "${{ env.GOVERSION }}"
diff --git a/make/test-upgrade.mk b/make/test-upgrade.mk
index 4b74a7ebd..e0c48b310 100644
--- a/make/test-upgrade.mk
+++ b/make/test-upgrade.mk
@@ -42,33 +42,6 @@ test: $(COSMOVISOR) init
 		-upgrade-version="$(UPGRADE_BINARY_VERSION)" \
 		-test-cases=test-cases.json
 
-$(COSMOVISOR_DEBUG_VERSION_FILE): $(AKASH_DEVCACHE)
-	@echo "installing cosmovisor for remote debug $(COSMOVISOR_VERSION) ..."
-	rm -f $(COSMOVISOR_DEBUG)
-	wget -qO- "https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/releases/download/cosmovisor/$(COSMOVISOR_VERSION)/cosmovisor-$(COSMOVISOR_VERSION)-$(GOOS)-$(GOARCH).tar.gz" | \
-		tar xvz -C $(AKASH_RUN_BIN) cosmovisor
-	rm -rf "$(dir $@)"
-	mkdir -p "$(dir $@)"
-	touch $@
-$(COSMOVISOR_DEBUG): $(COSMOVISOR_DEBUG_VERSION_FILE)
-
-.PHONY: test-remote-prep
-test-remote-prep: $(COSMOVISOR_DEBUG) bins
-	$(GO_TEST) -c -tags e2e.upgrade -timeout 60m \
-		-o $(AKASH_DEVCACHE_BIN)/upgrade.test \
-		-gcflags "all=-N -l" pkg.akt.dev/node/tests/upgrade
-	chmod +x $(AKASH_DEVCACHE_BIN)/upgrade.test
-	rsync -Pl $(AKASH_DEVCACHE_BIN)/upgrade.test $(REMOTE_TEST_HOST):$(REMOTE_TEST_WORKDIR)/
-	rsync -Prl --delete $(AKASH_RUN) $(REMOTE_TEST_HOST):$(REMOTE_TEST_WORKDIR)/
-	rsync -Pl $(AKASH_ROOT)/tests/upgrade/test-config.json $(REMOTE_TEST_HOST):$(REMOTE_TEST_WORKDIR)
-	rsync -Pl $(AKASH_ROOT)/tests/upgrade/test-cases.json $(REMOTE_TEST_HOST):$(REMOTE_TEST_WORKDIR)
-
-.PHONY: test-remote-start
-test-remote-start:
-	ssh -t $(REMOTE_TEST_HOST) 'cd $(REMOTE_TEST_WORKDIR); bash -ic "\
-		dlv --listen=:2345 --headless=true --api-version=2 --accept-multiclient exec ./upgrade.test \
-		-- -test.v=test2json -test.paniconexit0 -test.run ^\QTestUpgrade\E$ -cosmovisor=$$(pwd)/bin/cosmovisor -workdir=$$(pwd)/run/upgrade/validators -config=test-config.json -upgrade-name=$(UPGRADE_TO) -upgrade-version=$(UPGRADE_BINARY_VERSION) -test-cases=test-cases.json"'
-
 .PHONY: test-reset
 test-reset:
 	$(ROOT_DIR)/script/upgrades.sh --workdir=$(AP_RUN_DIR) --config="$(PWD)/config.json" --uto=$(UPGRADE_TO) clean
diff --git a/script/tools.sh b/script/tools.sh
index 187775d38..8772e707a 100755
--- a/script/tools.sh
+++ b/script/tools.sh
@@ -6,117 +6,182 @@ SEMVER=$SCRIPT_DIR/semver.sh
 gomod="$SCRIPT_DIR/../go.mod"
 
 function get_gotoolchain() {
-    local gotoolchain
-    local goversion
-    local local_goversion
-
-    gotoolchain=$(grep -E '^toolchain go[0-9]{1,}.[0-9]{1,}.[0-9]{1,}$' < "$gomod" | cut -d ' ' -f 2 | tr -d '\n')
-    goversion=$(grep -E '^go [0-9]{1,}.[0-9]{1,}(.[0-9]{1,})?$' < "$gomod" | cut -d ' ' -f 2 | tr -d '\n')
-
-    if [[ ${gotoolchain} == "" ]]; then
-        # determine go toolchain from go version in go.mod
-        if which go > /dev/null 2>&1 ; then
-            local_goversion=$(GOTOOLCHAIN=local go version | cut -d ' ' -f 3 | sed 's/go*//' | tr -d '\n')
-            if [[ $($SEMVER compare "v$local_goversion" v"$goversion") -ge 0 ]]; then
-                goversion=$local_goversion
-            else
-                local_goversion=
-            fi
-        fi
-
-        if [[ "$local_goversion" == "" ]]; then
-            goversion=$(curl -s "https://go.dev/dl/?mode=json&include=all" | jq -r --arg regexp "^go$goversion" '.[] | select(.stable == true) | select(.version | match($regexp)) | .version' | head -n 1 |  sed -e s/^go//)
-        fi
-
-        if [[ $goversion != "" ]] && [[ $($SEMVER compare "v$goversion" v1.21.0) -ge 0 ]]; then
-            gotoolchain=go${goversion}
-        else
-            gotoolchain=go$(grep -E '^go [0-9]{1,}.[0-9]{1,}$' < "$gomod" | cut -d ' ' -f 2 | tr -d '\n').0
-        fi
-    fi
-
-    echo -n "$gotoolchain"
+	local gotoolchain
+	local goversion
+	local local_goversion
+
+	gotoolchain=$(grep -E '^toolchain go[0-9]{1,}.[0-9]{1,}.[0-9]{1,}$' <"$gomod" | cut -d ' ' -f 2 | tr -d '\n')
+	goversion=$(grep -E '^go [0-9]{1,}.[0-9]{1,}(.[0-9]{1,})?$' <"$gomod" | cut -d ' ' -f 2 | tr -d '\n')
+
+	if [[ ${gotoolchain} == "" ]]; then
+		# determine go toolchain from go version in go.mod
+		if which go >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+			local_goversion=$(GOTOOLCHAIN=local go version | cut -d ' ' -f 3 | sed 's/go*//' | tr -d '\n')
+			if [[ $($SEMVER compare "v$local_goversion" v"$goversion") -ge 0 ]]; then
+				goversion=$local_goversion
+			else
+				local_goversion=
+			fi
+		fi
+
+		if [[ "$local_goversion" == "" ]]; then
+			goversion=$(curl -s "https://go.dev/dl/?mode=json&include=all" | jq -r --arg regexp "^go$goversion" '.[] | select(.stable == true) | select(.version | match($regexp)) | .version' | head -n 1 | sed -e s/^go//)
+		fi
+
+		if [[ $goversion != "" ]] && [[ $($SEMVER compare "v$goversion" v1.21.0) -ge 0 ]]; then
+			gotoolchain=go${goversion}
+		else
+			gotoolchain=go$(grep -E '^go [0-9]{1,}.[0-9]{1,}$' <"$gomod" | cut -d ' ' -f 2 | tr -d '\n').0
+		fi
+	fi
+
+	echo -n "$gotoolchain"
 }
 
 replace_paths() {
-    local file="${1}"
-    local cimport="${2}"
-    local nimport="${3}"
-    local sedcmd=sed
+	local file="${1}"
+	local cimport="${2}"
+	local nimport="${3}"
+	local sedcmd=sed
 
-    if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
-        sedcmd=gsed
-    fi
+	if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
+		sedcmd=gsed
+	fi
 
-    $sedcmd -ri "s~$cimport~$nimport~" "${file}"
+	$sedcmd -ri "s~$cimport~$nimport~" "${file}"
 }
 
 function replace_import_path() {
-    local next_major_version=$1
-    local curr_module_name
-    local curr_version
-    local new_module_name
-
-    curr_module_name=$(cd go || exit; go list -m)
-    curr_version=$(echo "$curr_module_name" | sed -n 's/.*v\([0-9]*\).*/\1/p')
-    new_module_name=${curr_module_name%/"v$curr_version"}/$next_major_version
-
-    echo "current import paths are $curr_module_name, replacing with $new_module_name"
-
-    declare -a modules_to_upgrade_manually
-
-    modules_to_upgrade_manually+=("./go/go.mod")
-
-    echo "preparing files to replace"
-
-    declare -a files
-
-    while IFS= read -r line; do
-        files+=("$line")
-    done < <(find . -type f -not \( \
-            -path "./install.sh" \
-        -or -path "./upgrades/*" \
-        -or -path "./.cache/*" \
-        -or -path "./dist/*" \
-        -or -path "./.git*" \
-        -or -name "*.md" \
-        -or -path "./.idea/*" \))
-
-    echo "updating all files"
-
-    for file in "${files[@]}"; do
-        if test -f "$file"; then
-            # skip files that need manual upgrading
-            for excluded_file in "${modules_to_upgrade_manually[@]}"; do
-                if [[ "$file" == *"$excluded_file"* ]]; then
-                    continue 2
-                fi
-            done
-
-            replace_paths "$file" "\"$curr_module_name" "\"$new_module_name"
-        fi
-    done
-
-    echo "updating go.mod"
-    for retract in $(cd go || exit; go mod edit --json | jq -cr '.Retract | if . != null then .[] else empty end'); do
-        local low
-        local high
-
-        low=$(jq -r '.Low' <<<"$retract")
-        high=$(jq -r '.High' <<<"$retract")
-        echo "    dropping retract: [$low, $high]"
-        go mod edit -dropretract=["$low","$high"]
-    done
-
-    replace_paths "./go/go.mod" "$curr_module_name" "$new_module_name"
+	local next_major_version=$1
+	local curr_module_name
+	local curr_version
+	local new_module_name
+
+	curr_module_name=$(
+		cd go || exit
+		go list -m
+	)
+	curr_version=$(echo "$curr_module_name" | sed -n 's/.*v\([0-9]*\).*/\1/p')
+	new_module_name=${curr_module_name%/"v$curr_version"}/$next_major_version
+
+	echo "current import paths are $curr_module_name, replacing with $new_module_name"
+
+	declare -a modules_to_upgrade_manually
+
+	modules_to_upgrade_manually+=("./go/go.mod")
+
+	echo "preparing files to replace"
+
+	declare -a files
+
+	while IFS= read -r line; do
+		files+=("$line")
+	done < <(find . -type f -not \( \
+		-path "./install.sh" \
+		-or -path "./upgrades/*" \
+		-or -path "./.cache/*" \
+		-or -path "./dist/*" \
+		-or -path "./.git*" \
+		-or -name "*.md" \
+		-or -path "./.idea/*" \))
+
+	echo "updating all files"
+
+	for file in "${files[@]}"; do
+		if test -f "$file"; then
+			# skip files that need manual upgrading
+			for excluded_file in "${modules_to_upgrade_manually[@]}"; do
+				if [[ "$file" == *"$excluded_file"* ]]; then
+					continue 2
+				fi
+			done
+
+			replace_paths "$file" "\"$curr_module_name" "\"$new_module_name"
+		fi
+	done
+
+	echo "updating go.mod"
+	for retract in $(
+		cd go || exit
+		go mod edit --json | jq -cr '.Retract | if . != null then .[] else empty end'
+	); do
+		local low
+		local high
+
+		low=$(jq -r '.Low' <<<"$retract")
+		high=$(jq -r '.High' <<<"$retract")
+		echo "    dropping retract: [$low, $high]"
+		go mod edit -dropretract=["$low","$high"]
+	done
+
+	replace_paths "./go/go.mod" "$curr_module_name" "$new_module_name"
+}
+
+function install_gha_dependencies() {
+	local debian_deps=(
+		"make"
+		"build-essentials"
+		"direnv"
+		"unzip"
+		"lz4"
+		"wget"
+		"curl"
+		"npm"
+		"jq"
+		"pv"
+		"coreutils"
+	)
+
+	tools=
+
+	# shellcheck disable=SC2068
+	for dep in ${debian_deps[@]}; do
+		echo -n "detecting $dep ..."
+		status="(installed)"
+		if ! dpkg -l "$dep" ; then
+			tools="$tools $dep"
+			status="(not installed)"
+		fi
+		echo " $status"
+	done
+
+	cmd="apt-get"
+
+	if is_command sudo; then
+		cmd="sudo $cmd"
+	fi
+
+	if [[ "$tools" != "" ]]; then
+		$cmd update
+		# don't put quotes around $tools!
+		# shellcheck disable=SC2086
+		(set -x; $cmd install -y $tools)
+	else
+		echo "All requirements already met. Nothing to install"
+	fi
+
+#	if [[ "$OSTYPE" == "linux-gnu"* ]]; then
+#		sudo apt install pv lz4 npm jq curl unzip wget make
+#		# version="1.0.0"
+#		local version
+#		version=2.6.0
+#		wget -qO- "https://github.com/orhun/git-cliff/releases/download/v${version}/git-cliff-${version}-$(uname -m)-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz" | tar xvz -C /usr/local/bin --strip-components=1 git-cliff-${version}/git-cliff
+#	elif [[ "$OSTYPE" == "darwin"* ]]; then
+#		brew install bash direnv pv lz4 git-cliff
+#		chsh -s /usr/local/bin/bash
+#	fi
 }
 
 case "$1" in
-gotoolchain)
-    get_gotoolchain
-    ;;
-replace-import-path)
-    shift
-    replace_import_path "$@"
-    ;;
+	gotoolchain)
+		get_gotoolchain
+		;;
+	replace-import-path)
+		shift
+		replace_import_path "$@"
+		;;
+	gha-deps)
+		shift
+		install_gha_dependencies
+		;;
 esac
diff --git a/script/upgrades.sh b/script/upgrades.sh
index 0a5b257df..10e3c0a8f 100755
--- a/script/upgrades.sh
+++ b/script/upgrades.sh
@@ -258,13 +258,6 @@ function init() {
 			cp "$validators_dir/.akash0/cosmovisor/upgrades/$UPGRADE_TO/bin/akash" "$upgrade_bin/akash"
 		fi
 
-		pushd "$(pwd)"
-		cd "$cosmovisor_dir"
-
-		ln -snf "current" "genesis"
-
-		popd
-
 		AKASH=$genesis_bin/akash
 
 		$AKASH init --home "$valdir" "$(jq -rc '.moniker' <<<"$val")" >/dev/null 2>&1
@@ -286,6 +279,7 @@ function init() {
 
 					tar_cmd=$(content_type "$(content_name "$GENESIS_ORIG")")
 
+					# shellcheck disable=SC2086
 					wget -nv -O - "$GENESIS_ORIG" | pv $pv_args | eval "$tar_cmd"
 				else
 					echo "unable to download genesis"
@@ -441,13 +435,6 @@ function bins() {
 			cp "$validators_dir/.akash0/cosmovisor/upgrades/$UPGRADE_TO/bin/akash" "$upgrade_bin/akash"
 		fi
 
-		pushd "$(pwd)"
-		cd "$cosmovisor_dir"
-
-		ln -snf "genesis" "current"
-
-		popd
-
 		((cnt++)) || true
 	done
 }
diff --git a/tests/upgrade/upgrade_test.go b/tests/upgrade/upgrade_test.go
index 4bbea9123..8c26a3dc8 100644
--- a/tests/upgrade/upgrade_test.go
+++ b/tests/upgrade/upgrade_test.go
@@ -546,13 +546,6 @@ func TestUpgrade(t *testing.T) {
 				fail = true
 			}
 		}
-
-		// select {
-		// case errs := <-vl.testErrsCh:
-		//
-		//
-		// case <-vl.ctx.Done():
-		// }
 	}
 
 	if fail {