diff --git a/.github/install-dependency-packages.sh b/.github/install-dependency-packages.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..dc2ad19e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/install-dependency-packages.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -e
+
+##############################
+# LINUX
+##############################
+GENERAL_PACKAGE_LIST_LINUX=(
+  python
+  gcc
+  make
+  cmake
+  tree
+  pkgconf
+  ninja
+  meson
+)
+IGUANA_PACKAGE_LIST_LINUX=(
+  fmt
+)
+
+##############################
+# MACOS
+##############################
+GENERAL_PACKAGE_LIST_MACOS=(
+  tree
+  ninja
+  meson
+)
+IGUANA_PACKAGE_LIST_MACOS=(
+  fmt
+)
+
+#############################################
+
+if [ $# -ne 2 ]; then
+  echo "USAGE: $0 [runner] [latest/minver]" >&2
+  exit 2
+fi
+runner=$1
+verset=$2
+summary_file=pkg_summary.md
+> $summary_file
+
+case $verset in
+  latest) echo "[+] Prefer latest version for iguana-specific dependencies" ;;
+  minver) echo "[+] Prefer minimum required version for iguana-specific dependencies" ;;
+  *)
+    echo "ERROR: unknown verset '$verset'" >&2
+    exit 1
+    ;;
+esac
+
+#############################################
+
+info_pacman() {
+  echo "| \`$1\` | $(pacman -Qi $1 | grep -Po '^Version\s*: \K.+') |" >> $summary_file
+}
+
+info_homebrew() {
+  echo "| \`$1\` | $(brew info $1 | head -n1) |" >> $summary_file
+}
+
+#############################################
+
+case $runner in
+
+  ubuntu*)
+    echo "[+] On Linux runner"
+    echo "[+] UPDATING"
+    pacman -Syu --noconfirm
+    ### install latest version of general packages
+    for pkg in ${GENERAL_PACKAGE_LIST_LINUX[@]}; do
+      echo "[+] INSTALLING PACKAGE $pkg"
+      pacman -S --noconfirm $pkg
+      info_pacman $pkg
+    done
+    ### install either the latest or minver version of iguana-specific packages
+    for pkg in ${IGUANA_PACKAGE_LIST_LINUX[@]}; do
+      echo "[+] INSTALLING PACKAGE $pkg"
+      case $verset in
+        latest) pacman -S --noconfirm $pkg ;;
+        minver) pacman -U --noconfirm $(meson/minimum-version.sh $pkg ALA) ;;
+      esac
+      info_pacman $pkg
+    done
+    ;;
+
+  macos*)
+    [ "$verset" = "minver" ] && echo "ERROR: 'minver' not implemented for macOS" >&2 && exit 1
+    echo "[+] On macOS runner"
+    export NO_COLOR=1
+    ### install the latest version of all packages
+    for pkg in ${GENERAL_PACKAGE_LIST_MACOS[@]} ${IGUANA_PACKAGE_LIST_MACOS[@]}; do
+      echo "[+] INSTALLING PACKAGE $pkg"
+      brew install $pkg
+      info_homebrew $pkg
+    done
+    ;;
+
+  *)
+    echo "ERROR: runner '$runner' is unknown to $0" >&2
+    exit 1
+    ;;
+
+esac
diff --git a/.github/test-consumer-build.sh b/.github/test-consumer-build.sh
index c62a07b3..9773bb83 100755
--- a/.github/test-consumer-build.sh
+++ b/.github/test-consumer-build.sh
@@ -25,9 +25,9 @@ exe() {
 # build and test
 case $tool in
   cmake)
-    exe cmake -S $source_dir -B $build_dir
+    exe cmake -S $source_dir -B $build_dir -G Ninja --install-prefix $install_dir
     exe cmake --build $build_dir
-    exe cmake --install $build_dir --prefix $install_dir
+    exe cmake --install $build_dir
     ;;
   make)
     pushd $source_dir
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index d0a74c69..709d814e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -7,11 +7,16 @@ on:
         description: 'GitHub runner'
         required: true
         type: string
-      num_threads:
-        description: 'Number of threads or CPUs'
+      container:
+        description: 'Docker container'
         required: false
         type: string
-        default: 2
+        default: ''
+      verset:
+        description: 'Dependency version set'
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: 'latest'
 
 defaults:
   run:
@@ -19,7 +24,6 @@ defaults:
 
 env:
   hipo_version: 4.0.1
-  fmt_version: 9.1.0 # for Linux runners, whereas macOS uses Homebrew version
   num_events: 10
 
 jobs:
@@ -30,7 +34,13 @@ jobs:
   build_hipo:
     name: Build HIPO
     runs-on: ${{ inputs.runner }}
+    container:
+      image: ${{ inputs.container }}
     steps:
+      - name: checkout iguana for dependency installation script
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: install dependency packages
+        run: .github/install-dependency-packages.sh ${{ inputs.runner }} ${{ inputs.verset }}
       - name: checkout hipo
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
@@ -38,45 +48,16 @@ jobs:
           ref: ${{ env.hipo_version }}
       - name: build
         run: |
-          cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=hipo
-          cmake --build build -j${{ inputs.num_threads }}
+          cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja --install-prefix $(pwd)/hipo
+          cmake --build build
           cmake --install build
           tar czvf hipo{.tar.gz,}
-      - run: brew install tree
-        if: ${{ inputs.runner == 'macos-latest' }}
-      - run: tree hipo
       - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
         with:
           name: build_deps_hipo
           retention-days: 1
           path: hipo.tar.gz
 
-  build_fmt:
-    name: Build fmt
-    runs-on: ${{ inputs.runner }}
-    steps:
-      - name: checkout fmt
-        if: ${{ inputs.runner != 'macos-latest' }} # prefer Homebrew fmt installation on macOS (needed on every step, since we just want this job to succeed on macOS)
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          repository: fmtlib/fmt
-          ref: ${{ env.fmt_version }}
-      - name: build
-        if: ${{ inputs.runner != 'macos-latest' }}
-        run: |
-          cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=fmt -DCMAKE_POSITION_INDEPENDENT_CODE=ON
-          cmake --build build -j${{ inputs.num_threads }}
-          cmake --install build
-          tar czvf fmt{.tar.gz,}
-      - run: tree fmt
-        if: ${{ inputs.runner != 'macos-latest' }}
-      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
-        if: ${{ inputs.runner != 'macos-latest' }}
-        with:
-          name: build_deps_fmt
-          retention-days: 1
-          path: fmt.tar.gz
-
   # build
   #########################################################
 
@@ -84,8 +65,9 @@ jobs:
     name: Build Iguana
     needs:
       - build_hipo
-      - build_fmt
     runs-on: ${{ inputs.runner }}
+    container:
+      image: ${{ inputs.container }}
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
@@ -100,44 +82,28 @@ jobs:
           clean: false
           fetch-tags: true
           fetch-depth: 0
-      - name: setup meson
-        run: python -m pip install meson ninja
       ### dependencies
-      - name: get dependency build artifacts
+      - name: install dependency packages
+        run: .github/install-dependency-packages.sh ${{ inputs.runner }} ${{ inputs.verset }}
+      - name: get local dependencies
         uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
         with:
           pattern: build_deps_*
           merge-multiple: true
-      - run: brew install fmt
-        if: ${{ inputs.runner == 'macos-latest' }}
-      - name: untar build
+      - name: untar local dependencies
         run: ls *.tar.gz | xargs -I{} tar xzvf {}
+      - name: tree local dependencies
+        run: tree hipo
       - name: summarize dependencies
         run: |
           echo '### Dependencies' >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
           echo '| Dependency | Version |' >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
           echo '| --- | --- |' >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-          for dep in python meson ninja ; do
-            echo "| \`$dep\` | $($dep --version) |" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-          done
-          if [ "${{ inputs.runner }}" = "macos-latest" ]; then
-            echo "| \`fmt\` | $(brew info fmt | head -n1) |" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-          else
-            echo "| \`fmt\` | ${{ env.fmt_version }} |" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-          fi
           echo "| \`hipo\` | ${{ env.hipo_version }} |" >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
-      ### tree
-      - run: brew install tree
-        if: ${{ inputs.runner == 'macos-latest' }}
-      - run: tree
+          cat pkg_summary.md >> $GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY
       ### build iguana
-      - name: resolve dependencies
-        run: |
-          if [ ${{ inputs.runner }} = "macos-latest" ]; then
-            meson/resolve-dependencies.py --ini native.ini --hipo ./hipo # fmt is a system installation on macOS runners
-          else
-            meson/resolve-dependencies.py --ini native.ini --hipo ./hipo --fmt ./fmt # fmt is locally built on Linux runners
-          fi
+      - name: resolve local dependencies
+        run: meson/resolve-dependencies.py --ini native.ini --hipo ./hipo
       - name: meson setup
         run: meson setup --native-file=native.ini build-iguana
       - name: meson configure
@@ -214,6 +180,8 @@ jobs:
       - download_validation_files
       - build_iguana
     runs-on: ${{ inputs.runner }}
+    container:
+      image: ${{ inputs.container }}
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
@@ -222,25 +190,18 @@ jobs:
           - { binding: cpp,    extension: ''    }
           - { binding: python, extension: '.py' }
     steps:
-      ### setup
+      ### dependencies and test data
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
           path: iguana_src # keep source code isolated
-      - name: install python binding runtime dependencies
-        if: ${{ matrix.binding == 'python' }}
-        run: |
-          python -m venv .venv
-          source .venv/bin/activate
-          echo PATH=$PATH >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          python -m pip install -r iguana_src/bind/python/requirements.txt
-      ### dependencies and test data
+      - name: install dependency packages
+        run: .github/install-dependency-packages.sh ${{ inputs.runner }} ${{ inputs.verset }}
+        working-directory: iguana_src
       - name: get dependency build artifacts
         uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
         with:
           pattern: build_deps_*
           merge-multiple: true
-      - run: brew install fmt
-        if: ${{ inputs.runner == 'macos-latest' }}
       - name: get iguana build artifacts
         uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
         with:
@@ -253,11 +214,16 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           ls *.tar.gz | xargs -I{} tar xzvf {}
           rm -v *.tar.gz
-      ### tree
-      - run: brew install tree
-        if: ${{ inputs.runner == 'macos-latest' }}
       - name: tree artifacts
         run: tree
+      ### setup python virtaul environment (for python binding tests)
+      - name: install python binding runtime dependencies
+        if: ${{ matrix.binding == 'python' }}
+        run: |
+          python -m venv .venv
+          source .venv/bin/activate
+          echo PATH=$PATH >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          python -m pip install -r iguana_src/bind/python/requirements.txt
       ### set env vars - depends on runner and binding
       - name: source environment for Linux and python
         if: ${{ inputs.runner == 'ubuntu-latest' && matrix.binding == 'python' }}
@@ -290,24 +256,22 @@ jobs:
       - download_validation_files
       - build_iguana
     runs-on: ${{ inputs.runner }}
+    container:
+      image: ${{ inputs.container }}
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
         tool: [ cmake, make, meson ]
     steps:
-      ### setup
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - name: setup meson
-        if: ${{ matrix.tool == 'meson' }}
-        run: python -m pip install meson ninja
       ### dependencies and test data
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: install dependency packages
+        run: .github/install-dependency-packages.sh ${{ inputs.runner }} ${{ inputs.verset }}
       - name: get dependency build artifacts
         uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
         with:
           pattern: build_deps_*
           merge-multiple: true
-      - run: brew install fmt
-        if: ${{ inputs.runner == 'macos-latest' }}
       - name: get iguana build artifacts
         uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
         with:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/linux.yml b/.github/workflows/linux.yml
index 7e0502ed..823d370d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/linux.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/linux.yml
@@ -11,8 +11,9 @@ concurrency:
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
 jobs:
-  Linux:
+  linux:
+    name: Linux (latest)
     uses: ./.github/workflows/ci.yml
     with:
       runner: ubuntu-latest
-      num_threads: 4
+      container: archlinux/archlinux:latest
diff --git a/.github/workflows/macos.yml b/.github/workflows/macos.yml
index 90f080fa..7ceedd0e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/macos.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/macos.yml
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ concurrency:
 
 jobs:
   macOS:
+    name: macOS (latest)
     uses: ./.github/workflows/ci.yml
     with:
       runner: macos-latest
-      num_threads: 3
diff --git a/.github/workflows/minver.yml b/.github/workflows/minver.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..312f43a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/minver.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+name: MinVer # minimum required-version of dependencies on Linux
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+  push:
+    branches: [ main ]
+    tags: [ '*' ]
+
+concurrency:
+  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.head_ref || github.run_id }}
+  cancel-in-progress: true
+
+jobs:
+  Linux:
+    name: Linux (minver)
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/ci.yml
+    with:
+      runner: ubuntu-latest
+      container: archlinux/archlinux:latest
+      verset: minver
diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 4404a9e8..9d0cb797 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -25,9 +25,18 @@ add_project_arguments(
 )
 
 # resolve dependencies
-fmt_dep  = dependency('fmt',   version: '>=9.1.0', method: 'pkg-config')
-hipo_dep = dependency('hipo4', version: '>=4.0.1', method: 'pkg-config')
+# NOTE: those that are typically installed by package managers should use `meson/minimum-version.sh`
+fmt_dep = dependency(
+  'fmt',
+  method:  'pkg-config',
+  version: run_command('meson' / 'minimum-version.sh', 'fmt', check: true).stdout().strip()
+)
 yamlcpp_dep = dependency('yaml-cpp', version: '>=0.8.0', method: 'pkg-config')
+hipo_dep = dependency(
+  'hipo4',
+  method:  'pkg-config',
+  version: '>=4.0.1',
+)
 
 # list of dependencies
 # FIXME: for users which use LD_LIBRARY_PATH, we should try to keep this list
diff --git a/meson/minimum-version.sh b/meson/minimum-version.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..6361ab17
--- /dev/null
+++ b/meson/minimum-version.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+if [ $# -eq 0 ]; then
+  echo """USAGE: $0 [package] [command(default=meson)]
+
+  package:  the package name; since this varies between package manager
+            repositories, we prefer to use the name from that used by the CI
+
+  command:  meson   return a string for meson function \`dependency()\`
+
+            ALA     return a URL for the Arch Linux Archive (ALA), for CI
+                    https://archive.archlinux.org/
+  """
+  exit 2
+fi
+dep=$1
+[ $# -ge 2 ] && cmd=$2 || cmd=meson
+
+#############################################
+
+case $dep in
+  fmt)
+    result_meson='>=9.1.0'
+    result_ala='https://archive.archlinux.org/packages/f/fmt/fmt-9.1.0-4-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst'
+    ;;
+  *)
+    echo "ERROR: dependency '$dep' is unknown" >&2
+    exit 1
+    ;;
+esac
+
+#############################################
+
+case $cmd in
+  meson) echo $result_meson ;;
+  ALA)   echo $result_ala   ;;
+  *)
+    echo "ERROR: command '$cmd' is unknown" >&2
+    exit 1
+    ;;
+esac