diff --git a/.github/workflows/bundle-size-comment.yml b/.github/workflows/bundle-size-comment.yml
index 9efffc8fb4b7cf..676d7228a1354e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/bundle-size-comment.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/bundle-size-comment.yml
@@ -8,9 +8,14 @@ on:
 jobs:
   comment:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' && github.event.workflow_run.event == 'pull_request' && github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success' }}
+    # upstream repo + the fork used to validate large migrations before they are opened upstream
+    if: ${{ (github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' || github.repository_owner == 'mainframev') && github.event.workflow_run.event == 'pull_request' && github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success' }}
     permissions:
       pull-requests: write
+      # `actions/checkout` + `actions/download-artifact` (cross run) need these explicitly, since
+      # declaring a `permissions` block sets every unlisted scope to `none`
+      contents: read
+      actions: read
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
         with:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/bundle-size.yml b/.github/workflows/bundle-size.yml
index 186b59657f5e8f..13ab2617dd36d5 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/bundle-size.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/bundle-size.yml
@@ -8,16 +8,18 @@ concurrency:
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
 env:
-  NX_PARALLEL: 6 # ubuntu-latest = 4-core CPU / 16 GB of RAM | macos-14-xlarge (arm) = 6-core CPU / 14 GB of RAM
-  NX_PREFER_TS_NODE: true
+  # Keep the upstream larger-runner tuning; leave one core free on the fork's Ubuntu runner.
+  NX_PARALLEL: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' && '3' || '6' }}
   NX_VERBOSE_LOGGING: true
 
   BROWSERSLIST_IGNORE_OLD_DATA: true
 
 jobs:
   bundle-size:
-    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' }}
-    runs-on: macos-14-xlarge
+    # upstream repo + the fork used to validate large migrations before they are opened upstream
+    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' || github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }}
+    runs-on: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' && 'ubuntu-latest' || 'macos-14-xlarge' }}
+    timeout-minutes: 180
     permissions:
       contents: 'read'
       actions: 'read'
@@ -52,9 +54,33 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Compare bundle size with base
         if: ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.ref == 'master' }}
-        run: npx monosize compare-reports --branch=${{ github.event.pull_request.base.ref }} --output=markdown --quiet > ./monosize-report.md
         env:
           GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          # passed via env (not inlined into the script) so nothing from the event payload is
+          # evaluated by the shell
+          BASE_REF: ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.ref }}
+          REPOSITORY: ${{ github.repository }}
+          # base reports are read from the `microsoft/fluentui` "Bundle size Base" artifacts
+          # (see `storage` in monosize.config.mjs). A fork's GITHUB_TOKEN cannot read those, so a
+          # missing/unreachable baseline must not fail PR validation there - upstream keeps failing hard.
+          ALLOW_MISSING_BASE_REPORT: ${{ github.repository != 'microsoft/fluentui' }}
+        run: |
+          if npx monosize compare-reports --branch="$BASE_REF" --output=markdown --quiet > ./monosize-report.md; then
+            exit 0
+          fi
+
+          if [ "$ALLOW_MISSING_BASE_REPORT" != 'true' ]; then
+            echo "::error::'monosize compare-reports' failed."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          echo "::warning::Bundle size comparison unavailable - the base report published by 'microsoft/fluentui' is not readable from '$REPOSITORY'. The bundle-size builds themselves passed."
+          {
+            printf '### 📦 Bundle size\n\n'
+            printf 'Bundle size **builds passed**, but no comparison could be produced.\n\n'
+            printf 'Baseline reports are published by the `Bundle size Base` workflow of '
+            printf '`microsoft/fluentui` and are not readable from `%s`.\n' "$REPOSITORY"
+          } > ./monosize-report.md
 
       - name: Save PR number
         if: ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.ref == 'master' }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/check-packages.yml b/.github/workflows/check-packages.yml
index 2736994f3b41a8..5c8d61810406a4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/check-packages.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/check-packages.yml
@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@ on:
 jobs:
   dependency-deduplication:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' }}
+    # upstream repo + the fork used to validate large migrations before they are opened upstream
+    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' || github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
         with:
@@ -38,7 +39,8 @@ jobs:
 
   dependency-mismatches:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' }}
+    # upstream repo + the fork used to validate large migrations before they are opened upstream
+    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' || github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
         with:
@@ -65,7 +67,8 @@ jobs:
 
   change-files:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' }}
+    # upstream repo + the fork used to validate large migrations before they are opened upstream
+    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' || github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
         with:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/check-tooling.yml b/.github/workflows/check-tooling.yml
index b7f0830b0897c6..845e46758c8aa7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/check-tooling.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/check-tooling.yml
@@ -14,11 +14,14 @@ env:
 
 jobs:
   check-tools:
-    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' }}
+    # upstream repo + the fork used to validate large migrations before they are opened upstream
+    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' || github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }}
     strategy:
       matrix:
+        # both are GitHub hosted runners, no change needed for fork validation
         os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest]
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
+    timeout-minutes: 60
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
         with:
@@ -39,12 +42,16 @@ jobs:
       # pre-build react-jsx-runtime - as generate-api executor doesn't provide copy assets capability
       - run: yarn nx run react-jsx-runtime:build
 
-      - run: yarn nx g @fluentui/workspace-plugin:react-library --name hello-world --owner '@microsoft/fluentui-react-build' --kind standard --no-interactive
+      # The workflow validates generated files and follow-on generators after installing above.
+      # Avoid a redundant native dependency rebuild on the smaller Ubuntu runner.
+      - run: yarn nx g @fluentui/workspace-plugin:react-library --name hello-world --owner '@microsoft/fluentui-react-build' --kind standard --skip-install=${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }} --no-interactive
       - run: yarn nx g @fluentui/workspace-plugin:react-component --project hello-world-preview --name Aiur --no-interactive
       - run: yarn nx g @fluentui/workspace-plugin:cypress-component-configuration --project hello-world-preview --no-interactive
       - run: yarn nx g @fluentui/workspace-plugin:bundle-size-configuration --project hello-world-preview --no-interactive
       - run: yarn nx g @fluentui/workspace-plugin:prepare-initial-release --project hello-world-preview --phase=preview --no-interactive
-      - run: yarn nx g @fluentui/workspace-plugin:prepare-initial-release --project hello-world-preview --phase=stable --no-interactive
+      # API generation resolves the newly stable package through its workspace link, which is created
+      # by the install skipped on the fork. Upstream retains the complete post-generation validation.
+      - run: yarn nx g @fluentui/workspace-plugin:prepare-initial-release --project hello-world-preview --phase=stable --skip-install=${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }} --skip-generate-api=${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }} --no-interactive
       - run: yarn nx g @nx/workspace:remove --project hello-world --forceRemove --no-interactive
       - run: yarn nx g @nx/workspace:remove --project hello-world-stories --forceRemove --no-interactive
       - run: yarn nx g @fluentui/workspace-plugin:tsconfig-base-all --no-interactive
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr-vrt-comment.yml b/.github/workflows/pr-vrt-comment.yml
index 4198336a102504..bb795a67cf0d3e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr-vrt-comment.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr-vrt-comment.yml
@@ -6,13 +6,17 @@ on:
       - completed
 
 env:
-  NX_PARALLEL: 4 # ubuntu-latest = 4-core CPU / 16 GB of RAM | macos-14-xlarge (arm) = 6-core CPU / 14 GB of RAM
-  NX_PREFER_TS_NODE: true
+  # this workflow runs on `ubuntu-latest` = 4-core CPU / 16 GB of RAM
+  NX_PARALLEL: 4
   NX_VERBOSE_LOGGING: true
 
 jobs:
   run_vr_diff:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    # NOTE: intentionally upstream only - the VR approval CLI authenticates against Azure via OIDC
+    # (`AZURE_VRT_CLIENT_ID`/`AZURE_TENANT_ID`/`AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID`) and writes to the shared
+    # baseline storage. Forks do not have those secrets, so this stays skipped there instead of
+    # failing PR validation - screenshot *generation* is still validated by `pr-vrt.yml`.
     if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' && github.event.workflow_run.event == 'pull_request' && github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success' }}
     permissions:
       # necessary to write comments to the PR from the vr-approval-cli
@@ -28,7 +32,7 @@ jobs:
 
       # downloaded artifacts will contain screenshots from affected project including 'screenshots-report.json' which contains proper image mappings for affected project
       # - see @{link file://./../scripts/prepare-vr-screenshots-for-upload.js#45}
-      # - see @{link file://./pr-vrt.yml#56}
+      # - see @{link file://./pr-vrt.yml#80}
 
       - uses: actions/download-artifact@v7
         with:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr-vrt.yml b/.github/workflows/pr-vrt.yml
index 4d7a717b33d311..6ccc52e87f1985 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr-vrt.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr-vrt.yml
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ concurrency:
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
 env:
-  NX_PARALLEL: 6 # ubuntu-latest = 4-core CPU / 16 GB of RAM | macos-14-xlarge (arm) = 6-core CPU / 14 GB of RAM
-  NX_PREFER_TS_NODE: true
+  # Keep the upstream larger-runner tuning; limit memory-heavy Storybook/Playwright work on the fork.
+  NX_PARALLEL: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' && '2' || '6' }}
   NX_VERBOSE_LOGGING: true
 
 permissions:
@@ -21,10 +21,12 @@ permissions:
 
 jobs:
   generate_vrt_screenshots:
-    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' }}
-    runs-on: macos-14-xlarge
+    # upstream repo + the fork used to validate large migrations before they are opened upstream
+    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' || github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }}
+    # The fork validates screenshot generation on Ubuntu. Upstream stays on macOS to match its baseline.
+    runs-on: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' && 'ubuntu-latest' || 'macos-14-xlarge' }}
     name: Generate screenshots
-    timeout-minutes: 60
+    timeout-minutes: 120
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
         with:
@@ -40,6 +42,14 @@ jobs:
           cache: 'yarn'
           node-version: '22'
 
+      # storybook builds + playwright browsers do not fit next to the preinstalled SDKs of the image
+      - name: Free up runner disk space
+        if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }}
+        run: |
+          df -h /
+          sudo rm -rf /usr/local/lib/android /usr/share/dotnet /opt/ghc /usr/local/.ghcup /opt/hostedtoolcache/CodeQL || true
+          df -h /
+
       - run: yarn install --frozen-lockfile
       - run: yarn playwright install --with-deps
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr-website-deploy-comment.yml b/.github/workflows/pr-website-deploy-comment.yml
index 42f808fe0dcd9f..481c95cfeae36c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr-website-deploy-comment.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr-website-deploy-comment.yml
@@ -17,6 +17,11 @@ env:
 jobs:
   deploy:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    # NOTE: intentionally upstream only - uploading to the `fluentuipr` storage account requires the
+    # Azure OIDC credentials (`AZURE_CLIENT_ID`/`AZURE_TENANT_ID`/`AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID`), which do
+    # not exist in forks. Keeping it skipped there (the dependent `comment` job is skipped with it)
+    # means PR validation is not failed by a missing deployment target - the website artifact itself
+    # is still built and validated by `pr-website-deploy.yml`.
     if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' && github.event.workflow_run.event == 'pull_request' && github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success' }}
     outputs:
       pr_number: ${{ steps.pr_number.outputs.result }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr-website-deploy.yml b/.github/workflows/pr-website-deploy.yml
index 2b7c54f0d7faba..609d9612980b97 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr-website-deploy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr-website-deploy.yml
@@ -8,16 +8,20 @@ concurrency:
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
 env:
-  NX_PARALLEL: 6 # ubuntu-latest = 4-core CPU / 16 GB of RAM | macos-14-xlarge (arm) = 6-core CPU / 14 GB of RAM
-  NX_PREFER_TS_NODE: true
+  # Keep the upstream larger-runner tuning; limit memory-heavy webpack work on the fork.
+  NX_PARALLEL: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' && '2' || '6' }}
   NX_VERBOSE_LOGGING: true
 
   BROWSERSLIST_IGNORE_OLD_DATA: true
 
 jobs:
   bundle:
-    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' }}
-    runs-on: macos-14-xlarge
+    # upstream repo + the fork used to validate large migrations before they are opened upstream.
+    # NOTE: this job only *builds* the PR website artifact - uploading it to Azure happens in
+    # `pr-website-deploy-comment.yml`, which stays upstream only (needs Azure credentials).
+    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' || github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }}
+    runs-on: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' && 'ubuntu-latest' || 'macos-14-xlarge' }}
+    timeout-minutes: 240
     permissions:
       contents: 'read'
       actions: 'read'
@@ -41,6 +45,14 @@ jobs:
       - name: NodeJS heap default size
         run: node -e 'console.log(v8.getHeapStatistics().heap_size_limit / 1024 / 1024 + " MB");'
 
+      # bundles + storybook builds of the whole workspace do not fit next to the preinstalled SDKs
+      - name: Free up runner disk space
+        if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }}
+        run: |
+          df -h /
+          sudo rm -rf /usr/local/lib/android /usr/share/dotnet /opt/ghc /usr/local/.ghcup /opt/hostedtoolcache/CodeQL || true
+          df -h /
+
       - run: yarn install --frozen-lockfile
 
       - name: Install Playwright Browsers
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr.yml b/.github/workflows/pr.yml
index bfe29d543e43f8..4bb6aba82ded98 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr.yml
@@ -11,10 +11,13 @@ concurrency:
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
 env:
-  NX_PARALLEL: 6 # ubuntu-latest = 4-core CPU / 16 GB of RAM | macos-14-xlarge (arm) = 6-core CPU / 14 GB of RAM
-  NX_PREFER_TS_NODE: true
+  # Keep the upstream larger-runner tuning; use one Nx task per core on the fork's Ubuntu runner.
+  NX_PARALLEL: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' && '4' || '6' }}
   NX_VERBOSE_LOGGING: true
 
+  # Nx already runs tasks concurrently, so use one Jest worker per task on the 4-core fork runner.
+  FLUENT_JEST_WORKER: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' && '1' || '2' }}
+
   BROWSERSLIST_IGNORE_OLD_DATA: true
 
   DEPLOY_HOST: fluentuipr.z22.web.core.windows.net
@@ -23,8 +26,10 @@ env:
 
 jobs:
   main:
-    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' }}
-    runs-on: macos-14-xlarge
+    # upstream repo + the fork used to validate large migrations before they are opened upstream
+    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' || github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }}
+    runs-on: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' && 'ubuntu-latest' || 'macos-14-xlarge' }}
+    timeout-minutes: 300
     permissions:
       contents: 'read'
       actions: 'read'
@@ -74,16 +79,62 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: build, test, lint, test-ssr (affected)
         run: |
-          FLUENT_JEST_WORKER=2 yarn nx affected -t build test lint type-check test-ssr test-integration verify-packaging --nxBail
+          yarn nx affected -t build test lint type-check test-ssr test-integration verify-packaging --nxBail
 
       - name: 'Check for unstaged changes'
         run: |
           git status --porcelain
           git diff-index --quiet HEAD -- || exit 1
 
+  type-check-benchmark:
+    name: TypeScript benchmark
+    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 180
+    env:
+      NX_PARALLEL: 2
+      NX_VERBOSE_LOGGING: true
+
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
+        with:
+          cache: yarn
+          node-version: 22
+
+      - run: yarn install --frozen-lockfile
+
+      - name: Report TypeScript version
+        run: yarn tsc --version
+
+      - name: Run uncached workspace type-check
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          started_at=$(date +%s)
+          set +e
+          yarn nx run-many -t type-check --all --parallel="$NX_PARALLEL" --skip-nx-cache
+          status=$?
+          set -e
+          duration_seconds=$(($(date +%s) - started_at))
+
+          {
+            echo "## TypeScript type-check benchmark"
+            echo
+            echo "- Duration: ${duration_seconds} seconds"
+            echo "- Parallelism: ${NX_PARALLEL}"
+            echo "- Nx cache: disabled"
+          } >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
+
+          exit "$status"
+
   react-compiler-analyzer:
-    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' }}
-    runs-on: macos-14-xlarge
+    # upstream repo + the fork used to validate large migrations before they are opened upstream
+    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' || github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }}
+    runs-on: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' && 'ubuntu-latest' || 'macos-14-xlarge' }}
+    timeout-minutes: 120
     permissions:
       contents: 'read'
       actions: 'read'
@@ -110,8 +161,15 @@ jobs:
           yarn nx affected -t react-compiler-analyzer--lint --nxBail
 
   react-major-versions-integration:
-    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' }}
-    runs-on: macos-14-xlarge
+    # upstream repo + the fork used to validate large migrations before they are opened upstream
+    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' || github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }}
+    runs-on: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' && 'ubuntu-latest' || 'macos-14-xlarge' }}
+    timeout-minutes: 300
+    permissions:
+      contents: 'read'
+      # required by `nrwl/nx-set-shas` to look up the last successful workflow run
+      actions: 'read'
+
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
         with:
@@ -129,6 +187,15 @@ jobs:
 
       - run: echo number of CPUs "$(getconf _NPROCESSORS_ONLN)"
 
+      # this job installs 2 additional React workspaces (+ 2 Cypress binaries) next to the
+      # workspace `node_modules`, which does not fit next to the preinstalled SDKs of the image
+      - name: Free up runner disk space
+        if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }}
+        run: |
+          df -h /
+          sudo rm -rf /usr/local/lib/android /usr/share/dotnet /opt/ghc /usr/local/.ghcup /opt/hostedtoolcache/CodeQL || true
+          df -h /
+
       - run: |
           yarn install --frozen-lockfile
           yarn rit --react 17 --install-deps
@@ -156,15 +223,18 @@ jobs:
       - name: React Versions Integration Tests (17,18) - Type-check & Test
         env:
           NODE_OPTIONS: --max-old-space-size=4096
+        # Each task gets a 4 GB heap, so limit the 16 GB fork runner while preserving upstream tuning.
         run: |
-          FLUENT_JEST_WORKER=2 yarn nx affected -t test-rit--17--type-check,test-rit--18--type-check,test-rit--17--test,test-rit--18--test --exclude='react-19-tests-v9'
+          yarn nx affected -t test-rit--17--type-check,test-rit--18--type-check,test-rit--17--test,test-rit--18--test --exclude='react-19-tests-v9' --parallel=${{ github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' && '2' || '6' }}
 
   e2e:
-    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' }}
-    # TODO: switch to macos once problematic tests are fixed
+    # upstream repo + the fork used to validate large migrations before they are opened upstream
+    if: ${{ github.repository_owner == 'microsoft' || github.repository_owner == 'mainframev' }}
+    # NOTE: this job was already running on ubuntu
     # https://github.com/microsoft/fluentui/issues/33173
     # https://github.com/microsoft/fluentui/issues/33172
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 120
     permissions:
       contents: 'read'
       actions: 'read'
diff --git a/apps/public-docsite-resources/package.json b/apps/public-docsite-resources/package.json
index 362cb5c11f9a6a..9629404cad53d3 100644
--- a/apps/public-docsite-resources/package.json
+++ b/apps/public-docsite-resources/package.json
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@
   "license": "MIT",
   "scripts": {
     "build": "just-scripts build",
-    "prebundle": "yarn build",
     "bundle": "just-scripts bundle",
     "lint": "eslint --ext .js,.ts,.tsx ./src",
     "just": "just-scripts",
diff --git a/apps/public-docsite-resources/project.json b/apps/public-docsite-resources/project.json
index 3e2fd9316813c6..316c333afabba0 100644
--- a/apps/public-docsite-resources/project.json
+++ b/apps/public-docsite-resources/project.json
@@ -3,5 +3,10 @@
   "$schema": "../../node_modules/nx/schemas/project-schema.json",
   "projectType": "library",
   "implicitDependencies": [],
-  "tags": ["v8"]
+  "tags": ["v8"],
+  "targets": {
+    "bundle": {
+      "dependsOn": ["build", "^build"]
+    }
+  }
 }
diff --git a/packages/react-components/babel-preset-global-context/project.json b/packages/react-components/babel-preset-global-context/project.json
index a692c5e265aeb1..d1a97ad0efa11b 100644
--- a/packages/react-components/babel-preset-global-context/project.json
+++ b/packages/react-components/babel-preset-global-context/project.json
@@ -4,5 +4,10 @@
   "projectType": "library",
   "implicitDependencies": [],
   "sourceRoot": "packages/react-components/babel-preset-global-context/src",
-  "tags": ["vNext", "platform:node", "tools"]
+  "tags": ["vNext", "platform:node", "tools"],
+  "targets": {
+    "e2e": {
+      "dependsOn": ["build"]
+    }
+  }
 }
diff --git a/packages/react-components/react-headless-components-preview/library/src/components/Dialog/Dialog.cy.tsx b/packages/react-components/react-headless-components-preview/library/src/components/Dialog/Dialog.cy.tsx
index b1a8a183cd68f6..dbf45bc6e2fcbd 100644
--- a/packages/react-components/react-headless-components-preview/library/src/components/Dialog/Dialog.cy.tsx
+++ b/packages/react-components/react-headless-components-preview/library/src/components/Dialog/Dialog.cy.tsx
@@ -186,7 +186,9 @@ describe('Dialog', () => {
     cy.get('#open-popover-btn').should('have.focus');
 
     // Open Tooltip, wait for the tooltip to appear and then close it with Escape
-    cy.get(dialogTriggerCloseSelector).focus().wait(0).realType('{esc}');
+    cy.get(dialogTriggerCloseSelector).focus();
+    cy.get('[role="tooltip"]').should('be.visible');
+    cy.focused().realType('{esc}');
     cy.get(dialogSurfaceSelector).should('exist');
   });
 
diff --git a/scripts/jest/src/shared.js b/scripts/jest/src/shared.js
index 6c8ce0e1b8b9af..dcec9524df1a8c 100644
--- a/scripts/jest/src/shared.js
+++ b/scripts/jest/src/shared.js
@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@
  * based on testing spawning only 50% of available workers is fastest on both Local Machine and CI env atm ( 8 Core machine, 16GB RAM)
  */
 
-// - for macos large runner on GHA we need to set it to 2 {@link file://./../../../.github/workflows/pr.yml#77}
+// - on GHA `FLUENT_JEST_WORKER` is set per runner size because Nx already runs tasks concurrently
+//   {@link file://./../../../.github/workflows/pr.yml}
 // - for ADO runners it's 50%
 // - temporary adding FLUENT_JEST_WORKER var in order to make it pass on both GHA and ADO
 const workersConfig = { maxWorkers: process.env.FLUENT_JEST_WORKER || '50%' };
diff --git a/scripts/puppeteer/src/utils.ts b/scripts/puppeteer/src/utils.ts
index 27d6c40b3b58d4..6c801a0a3f4bfc 100644
--- a/scripts/puppeteer/src/utils.ts
+++ b/scripts/puppeteer/src/utils.ts
@@ -4,16 +4,20 @@ import type { LaunchOptions } from './types';
 
 export async function launch(options: LaunchOptions = {}) {
   const maxAttempts = 5;
+  const launchOptions =
+    process.platform === 'linux' && process.env.CI
+      ? { ...options, args: [...(options.args ?? []), '--no-sandbox', '--disable-setuid-sandbox'] }
+      : options;
 
   let attempt = 1;
 
   let browser: puppeteer.Browser | undefined;
 
-  console.log(`puppeteer: launching with settings: ${JSON.stringify(options)}`);
+  console.log(`puppeteer: launching with settings: ${JSON.stringify(launchOptions)}`);
 
   while (!browser) {
     try {
-      browser = await puppeteer.launch(options);
+      browser = await puppeteer.launch(launchOptions);
       console.log('puppeteer: launched...');
     } catch (err) {
       if (attempt === maxAttempts) {
diff --git a/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/prepare-initial-release/index.ts b/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/prepare-initial-release/index.ts
index e5ae740281b08f..5b1d2186690067 100644
--- a/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/prepare-initial-release/index.ts
+++ b/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/prepare-initial-release/index.ts
@@ -235,13 +235,17 @@ async function stableRelease(tree: Tree, options: NormalizedSchema & { isSplitPr
   }
 
   return (_tree: Tree) => {
-    installPackagesTask(tree, true);
+    if (!options.skipInstall) {
+      installPackagesTask(tree, true);
+    }
     generateChangefileTask(tree, newPackage.npmName, { message: 'feat: release stable', changeType: 'minor' });
     generateChangefileTask(tree, suiteNpmProjectName, {
       message: `feat: add ${newPackage.npmName} to suite`,
       changeType: 'minor',
     });
-    generateApiMarkdownTask(tree, suiteProjectName);
+    if (!options.skipGenerateApi) {
+      generateApiMarkdownTask(tree, suiteProjectName);
+    }
   };
 
   async function updateProjectsThatUsedPreviewPackage() {
diff --git a/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/prepare-initial-release/schema.json b/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/prepare-initial-release/schema.json
index 89cff067882dcc..38f9cb34ad2e32 100644
--- a/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/prepare-initial-release/schema.json
+++ b/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/prepare-initial-release/schema.json
@@ -37,6 +37,16 @@
           }
         ]
       }
+    },
+    "skipInstall": {
+      "type": "boolean",
+      "description": "Skip installing dependencies after preparing the release",
+      "default": false
+    },
+    "skipGenerateApi": {
+      "type": "boolean",
+      "description": "Skip generating API documentation after preparing a stable release",
+      "default": false
     }
   },
   "required": ["project", "phase"]
diff --git a/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/prepare-initial-release/schema.ts b/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/prepare-initial-release/schema.ts
index 07b25f9267f630..1e27771b0ce73a 100644
--- a/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/prepare-initial-release/schema.ts
+++ b/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/prepare-initial-release/schema.ts
@@ -14,4 +14,12 @@ export interface ReleasePackageGeneratorSchema {
    * Phase of npm release life cycle for fluent v9 core package
    */
   phase: 'preview' | 'stable' | 'compat';
+  /**
+   * Skip installing dependencies after preparing the release
+   */
+  skipInstall?: boolean;
+  /**
+   * Skip generating API documentation after preparing a stable release
+   */
+  skipGenerateApi?: boolean;
 }
diff --git a/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/react-library/index.ts b/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/react-library/index.ts
index f70a75d90469de..92752d08aa4fd4 100644
--- a/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/react-library/index.ts
+++ b/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/react-library/index.ts
@@ -40,6 +40,10 @@ export default async function (tree: Tree, schema: ReactLibraryGeneratorSchema)
 
   await formatFiles(tree);
 
+  if (schema.skipInstall) {
+    return;
+  }
+
   return () => {
     installPackagesTask(
       tree,
diff --git a/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/react-library/schema.json b/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/react-library/schema.json
index 0576cdcbd353e7..c85c77253e72ea 100644
--- a/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/react-library/schema.json
+++ b/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/react-library/schema.json
@@ -38,6 +38,11 @@
       "x-prompt": {
         "message": "What kind of react-components library do you wanna create?"
       }
+    },
+    "skipInstall": {
+      "type": "boolean",
+      "description": "Skip installing dependencies after generating the library",
+      "default": false
     }
   },
   "required": ["name", "owner"]
diff --git a/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/react-library/schema.ts b/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/react-library/schema.ts
index b15e11fbb0d5ce..cd9de6cd196aff 100644
--- a/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/react-library/schema.ts
+++ b/tools/workspace-plugin/src/generators/react-library/schema.ts
@@ -18,4 +18,8 @@ export interface ReactLibraryGeneratorSchema {
    * v9 library kind either embracing converged patterns(standard) or using griffel only with old framework patterns(compat)
    */
   kind?: 'standard' | 'compat';
+  /**
+   * Skip installing dependencies after generating the library
+   */
+  skipInstall?: boolean;
 }