diff --git a/.github/workflows/assign_milestone.yml b/.github/workflows/assign_milestone.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 12c651bc958..00000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/assign_milestone.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-name: Assign Milestone
-
-on:
-  pull_request_target:
-    types: [opened]
-
-permissions: read-all
-
-env:
-  GH_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
-
-jobs:
-  build:
-    name: Assign Milestone
-    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
-    permissions:
-      pull-requests: write
-
-    steps:
-      - name: Set up Go
-        uses: actions/setup-go@v5
-        with:
-          go-version: 1.22.9
-
-      - name: Checkout code
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-
-      - name: Assign Milestone
-        run: |
-          gh pr edit ${{ github.event.number }} --milestone "v$(sed -n 's/.*versionName.*\"\([[:digit:]\.]*\).*\"/\1/p' ./go/vt/servenv/version.go)"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/check_label.yml b/.github/workflows/check_label.yml
index 2c6439a29f9..b190cf02455 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/check_label.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/check_label.yml
@@ -70,11 +70,11 @@ jobs:
               exit 1
             fi
           fi
-          
+
 
       - name: Do Not Merge label
         run: |
           if [[ "${{contains( github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'Do Not Merge')}}" == "true" ]]; then
             echo "This PR should not be merged. The 'Do Not Merge' label is set. Please unset it if you wish to merge this PR."
             exit 1
-          fi
\ No newline at end of file
+          fi
diff --git a/.github/workflows/check_make_vtadmin_authz_testgen.yml b/.github/workflows/check_make_vtadmin_authz_testgen.yml
index 4766ce4c2ea..6351e687be0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/check_make_vtadmin_authz_testgen.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/check_make_vtadmin_authz_testgen.yml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/check_make_vtadmin_web_proto.yml b/.github/workflows/check_make_vtadmin_web_proto.yml
index 19b492a0e58..89b9f4d05e5 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/check_make_vtadmin_web_proto.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/check_make_vtadmin_web_proto.yml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_12.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_12.yml
index 54158229034..c52782e6425 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_12.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_12.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_13.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_13.yml
index 32c1d630c8e..250efa2c936 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_13.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_13.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_15.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_15.yml
index a87e36f331c..2caeb827233 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_15.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_15.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_18.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_18.yml
index fbc7e97ae9f..40f9c818919 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_18.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_18.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_21.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_21.yml
index d29ab113455..8c6047bfea8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_21.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_21.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_22.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_22.yml
index 0475e2a3147..5632c2df3b9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_22.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_22.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_backup_pitr.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_backup_pitr.yml
index 7db4140f2da..26dd3706cdf 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_backup_pitr.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_backup_pitr.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_backup_pitr_mysql57.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_backup_pitr_mysql57.yml
index 9e6a0cc6b34..d32be0cdbb4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_backup_pitr_mysql57.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_backup_pitr_mysql57.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_backup_pitr_xtrabackup.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_backup_pitr_xtrabackup.yml
index 39560f91eaf..d5d8194418b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_backup_pitr_xtrabackup.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_backup_pitr_xtrabackup.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_backup_pitr_xtrabackup_mysql57.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_backup_pitr_xtrabackup_mysql57.yml
index a29fd20cf4e..16355611f89 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_backup_pitr_xtrabackup_mysql57.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_backup_pitr_xtrabackup_mysql57.yml
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_ers_prs_newfeatures_heavy.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_ers_prs_newfeatures_heavy.yml
index f72260d2414..1dc76b8581c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_ers_prs_newfeatures_heavy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_ers_prs_newfeatures_heavy.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_mysql80.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_mysql80.yml
index 220a9264555..5a2130b1d02 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_mysql80.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_mysql80.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_mysql_server_vault.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_mysql_server_vault.yml
index 4756e9c5390..d8bb57be7ae 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_mysql_server_vault.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_mysql_server_vault.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_ghost.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_ghost.yml
index 685489740e9..f1d38831ada 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_ghost.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_ghost.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_ghost_mysql57.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_ghost_mysql57.yml
index 3a3a4030b98..9fcac4d17a7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_ghost_mysql57.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_ghost_mysql57.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_revert.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_revert.yml
index e713591cff1..70683693070 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_revert.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_revert.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_revert_mysql57.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_revert_mysql57.yml
index 242d5a246ac..51cb190db60 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_revert_mysql57.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_revert_mysql57.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_scheduler.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_scheduler.yml
index a06ae273ce1..c5594b5d25a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_scheduler.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_scheduler.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_scheduler_mysql57.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_scheduler_mysql57.yml
index 7aaa3fd7efd..4582e838eae 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_scheduler_mysql57.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_scheduler_mysql57.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl.yml
index d17e980973d..3f212dee04d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl.yml
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ env:
 jobs:
   build:
     name: Run endtoend tests on Cluster (onlineddl_vrepl)
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_mysql57.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_mysql57.yml
index 282772b7eec..2382599b4ea 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_mysql57.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_mysql57.yml
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ env:
 jobs:
   build:
     name: Run endtoend tests on Cluster (onlineddl_vrepl) mysql57
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1
+    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_stress.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_stress.yml
index 86792c9ae42..de6e5e9cdaf 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_stress.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_stress.yml
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ env:
 jobs:
   build:
     name: Run endtoend tests on Cluster (onlineddl_vrepl_stress)
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_stress_mysql57.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_stress_mysql57.yml
index e045f2e980b..d550433203c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_stress_mysql57.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_stress_mysql57.yml
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ env:
 jobs:
   build:
     name: Run endtoend tests on Cluster (onlineddl_vrepl_stress) mysql57
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1
+    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_stress_suite.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_stress_suite.yml
index d7db5c0000b..fd87b9a7c39 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_stress_suite.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_stress_suite.yml
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ env:
 jobs:
   build:
     name: Run endtoend tests on Cluster (onlineddl_vrepl_stress_suite)
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_stress_suite_mysql57.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_stress_suite_mysql57.yml
index 70d1ccd23fa..8246171295f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_stress_suite_mysql57.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_stress_suite_mysql57.yml
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ env:
 jobs:
   build:
     name: Run endtoend tests on Cluster (onlineddl_vrepl_stress_suite) mysql57
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1
+    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_suite.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_suite.yml
index 38dbb810a4e..9a9e3176e63 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_suite.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_suite.yml
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ env:
 jobs:
   build:
     name: Run endtoend tests on Cluster (onlineddl_vrepl_suite)
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_suite_mysql57.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_suite_mysql57.yml
index 4a93d28b8b4..94e93cb2517 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_suite_mysql57.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_onlineddl_vrepl_suite_mysql57.yml
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ env:
 jobs:
   build:
     name: Run endtoend tests on Cluster (onlineddl_vrepl_suite) mysql57
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1
+    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_schemadiff_vrepl.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_schemadiff_vrepl.yml
index 36e3b2fb427..10b04849b2f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_schemadiff_vrepl.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_schemadiff_vrepl.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_schemadiff_vrepl_mysql57.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_schemadiff_vrepl_mysql57.yml
index 5ba5bb45e07..020943eaebb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_schemadiff_vrepl_mysql57.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_schemadiff_vrepl_mysql57.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_tabletmanager_consul.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_tabletmanager_consul.yml
index 074a64ba478..231cda503e8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_tabletmanager_consul.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_tabletmanager_consul.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_tabletmanager_tablegc.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_tabletmanager_tablegc.yml
index dbcae53731c..1f95fdc333f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_tabletmanager_tablegc.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_tabletmanager_tablegc.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_tabletmanager_tablegc_mysql57.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_tabletmanager_tablegc_mysql57.yml
index 44ad188a50a..ef3105c860f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_tabletmanager_tablegc_mysql57.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_tabletmanager_tablegc_mysql57.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_tabletmanager_throttler_topo.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_tabletmanager_throttler_topo.yml
index 7d472d31949..628f534ea8e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_tabletmanager_throttler_topo.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_tabletmanager_throttler_topo.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_topo_connection_cache.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_topo_connection_cache.yml
index 3977c433455..d777cb72536 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_topo_connection_cache.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_topo_connection_cache.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_across_db_versions.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_across_db_versions.yml
index 97f02d8e07a..8762d8326c7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_across_db_versions.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_across_db_versions.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_basic.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_basic.yml
index c267c2a191a..c2d3b3af3d4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_basic.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_basic.yml
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ env:
 jobs:
   build:
     name: Run endtoend tests on Cluster (vreplication_basic)
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_cellalias.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_cellalias.yml
index f6d054979da..fc6e5132642 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_cellalias.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_cellalias.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_foreign_key_stress.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_foreign_key_stress.yml
index 3d0443b2e09..7a2d40d09da 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_foreign_key_stress.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_foreign_key_stress.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_migrate_vdiff2_convert_tz.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_migrate_vdiff2_convert_tz.yml
index c86fc7ded38..b920d43aee4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_migrate_vdiff2_convert_tz.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_migrate_vdiff2_convert_tz.yml
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ env:
 jobs:
   build:
     name: Run endtoend tests on Cluster (vreplication_migrate_vdiff2_convert_tz)
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_partial_movetables_and_materialize.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_partial_movetables_and_materialize.yml
index b8c0b3af6fb..b74b91f24b5 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_partial_movetables_and_materialize.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_partial_movetables_and_materialize.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_v2.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_v2.yml
index 3d49b0e7749..a78e85efec1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_v2.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vreplication_v2.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vstream.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vstream.yml
index 135319578c6..c5c09e5fd5d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vstream.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vstream.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtbackup.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtbackup.yml
index 598cd5228f8..0159000551f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtbackup.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtbackup.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtctlbackup_sharded_clustertest_heavy.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtctlbackup_sharded_clustertest_heavy.yml
index 87f5f073651..03d4dffe423 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtctlbackup_sharded_clustertest_heavy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtctlbackup_sharded_clustertest_heavy.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_concurrentdml.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_concurrentdml.yml
index e2df321315a..b62db2643ff 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_concurrentdml.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_concurrentdml.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_foreignkey_stress.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_foreignkey_stress.yml
index bb763c5dc1d..519d64ad2d9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_foreignkey_stress.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_foreignkey_stress.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_gen4.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_gen4.yml
index f236a7dd9a9..b89e0412e5d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_gen4.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_gen4.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_general_heavy.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_general_heavy.yml
index 6b49fafbc63..e75e210b7a7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_general_heavy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_general_heavy.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_godriver.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_godriver.yml
index 4eb65dab4d9..28c81dfdb71 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_godriver.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_godriver.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_partial_keyspace.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_partial_keyspace.yml
index 6df0b7a7c83..dfb34f39f6c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_partial_keyspace.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_partial_keyspace.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_queries.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_queries.yml
index 3f4dfb997d2..c9defe20e5f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_queries.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_queries.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_readafterwrite.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_readafterwrite.yml
index bfef472daa0..f5ccce3e421 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_readafterwrite.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_readafterwrite.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_reservedconn.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_reservedconn.yml
index cc8f2fa9d1a..d364c5a5b16 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_reservedconn.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_reservedconn.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_schema.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_schema.yml
index 46356ad8ce8..17e1cb8e037 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_schema.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_schema.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_schema_tracker.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_schema_tracker.yml
index a27928d3cb7..a2c55fbc136 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_schema_tracker.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_schema_tracker.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_tablet_healthcheck_cache.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_tablet_healthcheck_cache.yml
index 27e336c4e13..b0ec882e1ae 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_tablet_healthcheck_cache.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_tablet_healthcheck_cache.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_topo.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_topo.yml
index f83d1d5420f..4fe6767a856 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_topo.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_topo.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_topo_consul.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_topo_consul.yml
index 24e9af8ba32..c21fecdaf43 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_topo_consul.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_topo_consul.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_topo_etcd.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_topo_etcd.yml
index 0fc34eb340d..a1ff566b971 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_topo_etcd.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_topo_etcd.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_transaction.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_transaction.yml
index fa5c4f3147a..6b7eb247300 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_transaction.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_transaction.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_unsharded.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_unsharded.yml
index 125f3153fb2..6f98d6c619a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_unsharded.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_unsharded.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_vindex_heavy.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_vindex_heavy.yml
index c393c3764cb..37321b7875f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_vindex_heavy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_vindex_heavy.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_vschema.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_vschema.yml
index 6941c2d301f..d7f00e09b00 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_vschema.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtgate_vschema.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtorc.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtorc.yml
index bc6f608173f..4266d78bcc1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtorc.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtorc.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtorc_mysql57.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtorc_mysql57.yml
index fb312a8afae..f2fb7b728d9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtorc_mysql57.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vtorc_mysql57.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vttablet_prscomplex.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vttablet_prscomplex.yml
index 6196a7cd50b..ab356567f35 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vttablet_prscomplex.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_vttablet_prscomplex.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_xb_backup.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_xb_backup.yml
index 6c69871aa7b..d292e99e5c6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_xb_backup.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_xb_backup.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_xb_backup_mysql57.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_xb_backup_mysql57.yml
index 2f4a39047dc..db2ecc55ac6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_xb_backup_mysql57.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_xb_backup_mysql57.yml
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_xb_recovery.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_xb_recovery.yml
index fc471184d96..96dfaa4eca1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_xb_recovery.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_xb_recovery.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_xb_recovery_mysql57.yml b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_xb_recovery_mysql57.yml
index 27d34ba5c3c..34c0a7c0e43 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_xb_recovery_mysql57.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cluster_endtoend_xb_recovery_mysql57.yml
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/codecov.yml b/.github/workflows/codecov.yml
index 725581ad415..8078c2c5336 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/codecov.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/codecov.yml
@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@ permissions: read-all
 jobs:
   test:
     name: Code Coverage
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
-
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    if: github.repository == 'vitessio/vitess'
     steps:
     - name: Check out code
       uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ jobs:
 
         go mod download
         go install golang.org/x/tools/cmd/goimports@latest
-        
+
     - name: Run make tools
       if: steps.changes.outputs.changed_files == 'true'
       run: |
diff --git a/.github/workflows/codeql_analysis.yml b/.github/workflows/codeql_analysis.yml
index f70fa257d13..d050f8de209 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/codeql_analysis.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/codeql_analysis.yml
@@ -71,10 +71,10 @@ jobs:
           sudo bash -c "echo '/usr/sbin/mysqld { }' > /etc/apparmor.d/usr.sbin.mysqld" # https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/mariadb-10.1/+bug/1806263
           sudo ln -s /etc/apparmor.d/usr.sbin.mysqld /etc/apparmor.d/disable/
           sudo apparmor_parser -R /etc/apparmor.d/usr.sbin.mysqld || echo "could not remove mysqld profile"
-          
+
           # install JUnit report formatter
           go install github.com/vitessio/go-junit-report@HEAD
-          
+
       - name: Building binaries
         timeout-minutes: 30
         run: |
diff --git a/.github/workflows/docker_test_cluster_10.yml b/.github/workflows/docker_test_cluster_10.yml
index 0c02a3358ec..a05df7e7284 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/docker_test_cluster_10.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/docker_test_cluster_10.yml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip $skip
diff --git a/.github/workflows/docker_test_cluster_25.yml b/.github/workflows/docker_test_cluster_25.yml
index 423322d4eb8..677e991e56c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/docker_test_cluster_25.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/docker_test_cluster_25.yml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e_race.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e_race.yml
index dae5057d329..92001d5742c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e_race.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e_race.yml
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ jobs:
         echo mysql-apt-config mysql-apt-config/select-server select mysql-8.0 | sudo debconf-set-selections
         sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND="noninteractive" dpkg -i mysql-apt-config*
         sudo apt-get update
-        
+
         # Install everything else we need, and configure
         sudo apt-get install -y mysql-server mysql-client make unzip g++ etcd-client etcd-server curl git wget eatmydata xz-utils
         sudo service mysql stop
diff --git a/.github/workflows/endtoend.yml b/.github/workflows/endtoend.yml
index 8e94abeb1c6..0db792bcfe8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/endtoend.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/endtoend.yml
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/local_example.yml b/.github/workflows/local_example.yml
index a341cb9d74d..b4324fa6af5 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/local_example.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/local_example.yml
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@ permissions: read-all
 jobs:
 
   build:
-    name: Local example using ${{ matrix.topo }} on Ubuntu
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    name: Local example using ${{ matrix.topo }} on ubuntu-22.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
     strategy:
       matrix:
         topo: [consul,etcd,zk2]
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
@@ -73,6 +73,24 @@ jobs:
     - name: Get dependencies
       if: steps.skip-workflow.outputs.skip-workflow == 'false' && steps.changes.outputs.examples == 'true'
       run: |
+        if [ ${{matrix.os}} = "ubuntu-22.04" ]; then
+          # Get key to latest MySQL repo
+          sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys A8D3785C
+          # Setup MySQL 8.0
+          wget -c https://dev.mysql.com/get/mysql-apt-config_0.8.29-1_all.deb
+          echo mysql-apt-config mysql-apt-config/select-server select mysql-8.0 | sudo debconf-set-selections
+          sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND="noninteractive" dpkg -i mysql-apt-config*
+          sudo apt-get update
+
+          # Install everything else we need, and configure
+          sudo apt-get install -y mysql-server mysql-client make unzip g++ etcd curl git wget eatmydata
+          sudo service mysql stop
+          sudo service etcd stop
+          sudo ln -s /etc/apparmor.d/usr.sbin.mysqld /etc/apparmor.d/disable/
+          sudo apparmor_parser -R /etc/apparmor.d/usr.sbin.mysqld
+        elif [ ${{matrix.os}} = "macos-latest" ]; then
+          brew install mysql@5.7 make unzip etcd curl git wget
+        fi
         go mod download
 
     - name: Run make minimaltools
diff --git a/.github/workflows/region_example.yml b/.github/workflows/region_example.yml
index 133ca5f5c1b..66b5267d64e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/region_example.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/region_example.yml
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@ permissions: read-all
 jobs:
 
   build:
-    name: Region Sharding example using ${{ matrix.topo }} on Ubuntu
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    name: Region Sharding example using ${{ matrix.topo }} on ubuntu-22.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
     strategy:
       matrix:
         topo: [etcd]
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/static_checks_etc.yml b/.github/workflows/static_checks_etc.yml
index d8ea924b32b..a12b11ffda7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/static_checks_etc.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/static_checks_etc.yml
@@ -23,11 +23,11 @@ jobs:
         id: skip-workflow
         run: |
           skip='false'
-          if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+          if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
             skip='true'
           fi
           echo Skip ${skip}
-          echo "skip-workflow=${skip}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT  
+          echo "skip-workflow=${skip}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
       - name: Checkout code
         if: steps.skip-workflow.outputs.skip-workflow == 'false'
diff --git a/.github/workflows/unit_race.yml b/.github/workflows/unit_race.yml
index d9142602e43..876746d071f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/unit_race.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/unit_race.yml
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ jobs:
 
   build:
     name: Unit Test (Race)
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
       run: |
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/unit_test_mysql57.yml b/.github/workflows/unit_test_mysql57.yml
index 87de2cd7963..b0d48f3d558 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/unit_test_mysql57.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/unit_test_mysql57.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ jobs:
 
         go mod download
         go install golang.org/x/tools/cmd/goimports@latest
-        
+
         # install JUnit report formatter
         go install github.com/vitessio/go-junit-report@HEAD
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/unit_test_mysql80.yml b/.github/workflows/unit_test_mysql80.yml
index 891130aa447..248d8a2cd43 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/unit_test_mysql80.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/unit_test_mysql80.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ jobs:
 
         go mod download
         go install golang.org/x/tools/cmd/goimports@latest
-        
+
         # install JUnit report formatter
         go install github.com/vitessio/go-junit-report@HEAD
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/update_golang_version.yml b/.github/workflows/update_golang_version.yml
index acf52e94c1e..94900da9148 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/update_golang_version.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/update_golang_version.yml
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ jobs:
           if [ -z "${output}" ]; then
             exit 0
           fi
-          
+
           go_version=$(go run ./go/tools/go-upgrade/go-upgrade.go get go-version)
           bootstrap_version=$(go run ./go/tools/go-upgrade/go-upgrade.go get bootstrap-version)
           echo "go-version=${go_version}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
diff --git a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_backups_e2e.yml b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_backups_e2e.yml
index 1a76a84705b..bfe6e9f7d48 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_backups_e2e.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_backups_e2e.yml
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ jobs:
   upgrade_downgrade_test_e2e:
     timeout-minutes: 60
     name: Run Upgrade Downgrade Test - Backups - E2E
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
         skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ jobs:
       if: steps.skip-workflow.outputs.skip-workflow == 'false'
       id: output-previous-release-ref
       run: |
-        previous_release_ref=$(./tools/get_previous_release.sh ${{github.base_ref}} ${{github.ref}})
+        previous_release_ref=$(./tools/get_previous_release_shopify.sh)
         echo $previous_release_ref
         echo "previous_release_ref=${previous_release_ref}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_backups_e2e_next_release.yml b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_backups_e2e_next_release.yml
index c911f0aa2a9..fbaa11de87d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_backups_e2e_next_release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_backups_e2e_next_release.yml
@@ -10,11 +10,10 @@ concurrency:
 permissions: read-all
 
 jobs:
-
   upgrade_downgrade_test_e2e:
     timeout-minutes: 60
     name: Run Upgrade Downgrade Test - Backups - E2E - Next Release
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -32,7 +31,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Set output with latest release branch
       id: output-next-release-ref
       run: |
-        next_release_ref=$(./tools/get_next_release.sh ${{github.base_ref}} ${{github.ref}})
+        next_release_ref=$(./tools/get_next_release_shopify.sh)
         echo $next_release_ref
         echo "next_release_ref=${next_release_ref}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
@@ -40,7 +39,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         if [[ "${{steps.output-next-release-ref.outputs.next_release_ref}}" == "" ]]; then
diff --git a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_backups_manual.yml b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_backups_manual.yml
index fa75da090c3..3c1f6a49bcd 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_backups_manual.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_backups_manual.yml
@@ -10,12 +10,11 @@ concurrency:
 permissions: read-all
 
 jobs:
-
   # This job usually execute in ± 20 minutes
   upgrade_downgrade_test_manual:
     timeout-minutes: 40
     name: Run Upgrade Downgrade Test - Backups - Manual
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -29,7 +28,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
@@ -46,7 +45,7 @@ jobs:
       id: output-previous-release-ref
       if: steps.skip-workflow.outputs.skip-workflow == 'false'
       run: |
-        previous_release_ref=$(./tools/get_previous_release.sh ${{github.base_ref}} ${{github.ref}})
+        previous_release_ref=$(./tools/get_previous_release_shopify.sh)
         echo $previous_release_ref
         echo "previous_release_ref=${previous_release_ref}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_backups_manual_next_release.yml b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_backups_manual_next_release.yml
index 1ae5877413d..854f6509073 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_backups_manual_next_release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_backups_manual_next_release.yml
@@ -10,12 +10,11 @@ concurrency:
 permissions: read-all
 
 jobs:
-
   # This job usually execute in ± 20 minutes
   upgrade_downgrade_test_manual:
     timeout-minutes: 40
     name: Run Upgrade Downgrade Test - Backups - Manual - Next Release
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -34,7 +33,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Set output with latest release branch
       id: output-next-release-ref
       run: |
-        next_release_ref=$(./tools/get_next_release.sh ${{github.base_ref}} ${{github.ref}})
+        next_release_ref=$(./tools/get_next_release_shopify.sh)
         echo $next_release_ref
         echo "next_release_ref=${next_release_ref}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
@@ -42,7 +41,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         if [[ "${{steps.output-next-release-ref.outputs.next_release_ref}}" == "" ]]; then
diff --git a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_query_serving_queries.yml b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_query_serving_queries.yml
index 04906299dd9..d26794ff2db 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_query_serving_queries.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_query_serving_queries.yml
@@ -13,10 +13,9 @@ permissions: read-all
 # (vtgate, vttablet, etc) built on different versions.
 
 jobs:
-
   upgrade_downgrade_test:
     name: Run Upgrade Downgrade Test - Query Serving (Queries)
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -30,7 +29,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
@@ -46,7 +45,7 @@ jobs:
       id: output-previous-release-ref
       if: steps.skip-workflow.outputs.skip-workflow == 'false'
       run: |
-        previous_release_ref=$(./tools/get_previous_release.sh ${{github.base_ref}} ${{github.ref}})
+        previous_release_ref=$(./tools/get_previous_release_shopify.sh)
         echo $previous_release_ref
         echo "previous_release_ref=${previous_release_ref}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
@@ -192,7 +191,7 @@ jobs:
       if: steps.skip-workflow.outputs.skip-workflow == 'false' && steps.changes.outputs.end_to_end == 'true'
       run: |
         source build.env
-        
+
         rm -Rf bin/*
         cp -r /tmp/vitess-build-current/bin/* $PWD/bin/
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_query_serving_queries_next_release.yml b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_query_serving_queries_next_release.yml
index 1931dc5f580..b0f8d57d238 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_query_serving_queries_next_release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_query_serving_queries_next_release.yml
@@ -13,10 +13,9 @@ permissions: read-all
 # (vtgate, vttablet, etc) built on different versions.
 
 jobs:
-
   upgrade_downgrade_test:
     name: Run Upgrade Downgrade Test - Query Serving (Queries) Next Release
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -34,7 +33,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Set output with latest release branch
       id: output-next-release-ref
       run: |
-        next_release_ref=$(./tools/get_next_release.sh ${{github.base_ref}} ${{github.ref}})
+        next_release_ref=$(./tools/get_next_release_shopify.sh)
         echo $next_release_ref
         echo "next_release_ref=${next_release_ref}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
@@ -42,7 +41,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         if [[ "${{steps.output-next-release-ref.outputs.next_release_ref}}" == "" ]]; then
diff --git a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_query_serving_schema.yml b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_query_serving_schema.yml
index ed37bb66c7d..f965a5d487f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_query_serving_schema.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_query_serving_schema.yml
@@ -13,10 +13,9 @@ permissions: read-all
 # (vtgate, vttablet, etc) built on different versions.
 
 jobs:
-
   upgrade_downgrade_test:
     name: Run Upgrade Downgrade Test - Query Serving (Schema)
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -30,7 +29,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
@@ -46,7 +45,7 @@ jobs:
       id: output-previous-release-ref
       if: steps.skip-workflow.outputs.skip-workflow == 'false'
       run: |
-        previous_release_ref=$(./tools/get_previous_release.sh ${{github.base_ref}} ${{github.ref}})
+        previous_release_ref=$(./tools/get_previous_release_shopify.sh)
         echo $previous_release_ref
         echo "previous_release_ref=${previous_release_ref}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_query_serving_schema_next_release.yml b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_query_serving_schema_next_release.yml
index 3e33016e324..9aa67357940 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_query_serving_schema_next_release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_query_serving_schema_next_release.yml
@@ -13,10 +13,9 @@ permissions: read-all
 # (vtgate, vttablet, etc) built on different versions.
 
 jobs:
-
   upgrade_downgrade_test:
     name: Run Upgrade Downgrade Test - Query Serving (Schema) Next Release
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -34,7 +33,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Set output with latest release branch
       id: output-next-release-ref
       run: |
-        next_release_ref=$(./tools/get_next_release.sh ${{github.base_ref}} ${{github.ref}})
+        next_release_ref=$(./tools/get_next_release_shopify.sh ${{github.base_ref}} ${{github.ref}})
         echo $next_release_ref
         echo "next_release_ref=${next_release_ref}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
@@ -42,7 +41,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         if [[ "${{steps.output-next-release-ref.outputs.next_release_ref}}" == "" ]]; then
diff --git a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_reparent_new_vtctl.yml b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_reparent_new_vtctl.yml
index 4ff8183ae6a..b24515d1df4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_reparent_new_vtctl.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_reparent_new_vtctl.yml
@@ -13,10 +13,9 @@ permissions: read-all
 # (vtctl, vttablet, etc) built on different versions.
 
 jobs:
-
   upgrade_downgrade_test:
     name: Run Upgrade Downgrade Test - Reparent New Vtctl
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -34,7 +33,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Set output with latest release branch
       id: output-next-release-ref
       run: |
-        next_release_ref=$(./tools/get_next_release.sh ${{github.base_ref}} ${{github.ref}})
+        next_release_ref=$(./tools/get_next_release_shopify.sh ${{github.base_ref}} ${{github.ref}})
         echo $next_release_ref
         echo "next_release_ref=${next_release_ref}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
@@ -42,7 +41,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         if [[ "${{steps.output-next-release-ref.outputs.next_release_ref}}" == "" ]]; then
diff --git a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_reparent_new_vttablet.yml b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_reparent_new_vttablet.yml
index 87954a2d8d5..8e5d51eb114 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_reparent_new_vttablet.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_reparent_new_vttablet.yml
@@ -13,10 +13,9 @@ permissions: read-all
 # (vtctl, vttablet, etc) built on different versions.
 
 jobs:
-
   upgrade_downgrade_test:
     name: Run Upgrade Downgrade Test - Reparent New VTTablet
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -34,7 +33,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Set output with latest release branch
       id: output-next-release-ref
       run: |
-        next_release_ref=$(./tools/get_next_release.sh ${{github.base_ref}} ${{github.ref}})
+        next_release_ref=$(./tools/get_next_release_shopify.sh ${{github.base_ref}} ${{github.ref}})
         echo $next_release_ref
         echo "next_release_ref=${next_release_ref}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
@@ -42,7 +41,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         if [[ "${{steps.output-next-release-ref.outputs.next_release_ref}}" == "" ]]; then
diff --git a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_reparent_old_vtctl.yml b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_reparent_old_vtctl.yml
index bebf0b00421..688b26f235d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_reparent_old_vtctl.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_reparent_old_vtctl.yml
@@ -13,10 +13,9 @@ permissions: read-all
 # (vtctl, vttablet, etc) built on different versions.
 
 jobs:
-
   upgrade_downgrade_test:
     name: Run Upgrade Downgrade Test - Reparent Old Vtctl
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -30,7 +29,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
@@ -46,7 +45,7 @@ jobs:
       id: output-previous-release-ref
       if: steps.skip-workflow.outputs.skip-workflow == 'false'
       run: |
-        previous_release_ref=$(./tools/get_previous_release.sh ${{github.base_ref}} ${{github.ref}})
+        previous_release_ref=$(./tools/get_previous_release_shopify.sh)
         echo $previous_release_ref
         echo "previous_release_ref=${previous_release_ref}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_reparent_old_vttablet.yml b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_reparent_old_vttablet.yml
index a797d1ba4dc..1e830076203 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_reparent_old_vttablet.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/upgrade_downgrade_test_reparent_old_vttablet.yml
@@ -13,10 +13,9 @@ permissions: read-all
 # (vtctl, vttablet, etc) built on different versions.
 
 jobs:
-
   upgrade_downgrade_test:
     name: Run Upgrade Downgrade Test - Reparent Old VTTablet
-    runs-on: gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -30,7 +29,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
@@ -46,7 +45,7 @@ jobs:
       id: output-previous-release-ref
       if: steps.skip-workflow.outputs.skip-workflow == 'false'
       run: |
-        previous_release_ref=$(./tools/get_previous_release.sh ${{github.base_ref}} ${{github.ref}})
+        previous_release_ref=$(./tools/get_previous_release_shopify.sh ${{github.base_ref}} ${{github.ref}})
         echo $previous_release_ref
         echo "previous_release_ref=${previous_release_ref}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/vitess_tester_vtgate.yml b/.github/workflows/vitess_tester_vtgate.yml
index 8993dfbe0b4..968850dcd8d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/vitess_tester_vtgate.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/vitess_tester_vtgate.yml
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ jobs:
 
         # install JUnit report formatter
         go install github.com/vitessio/go-junit-report@HEAD
-        
+
         # install vitess tester
         go install github.com/vitessio/vt/go/vt@e43009309f599378504905d4b804460f47822ac5
 
@@ -139,12 +139,12 @@ jobs:
         set -exo pipefail
 
         i=1
-        for dir in ./go/test/endtoend/vtgate/vitess_tester/*/; do 
+        for dir in ./go/test/endtoend/vtgate/vitess_tester/*/; do
           # We go over all the directories in the given path.
           # If there is a vschema file there, we use it, otherwise we let vt tester autogenerate it.
           if [ -f $dir/vschema.json ]; then
             vt tester --xunit --vschema "$dir"vschema.json $dir/*.test
-          else 
+          else
             vt tester --sharded --xunit $dir/*.test
           fi
           # Number the reports by changing their file names.
diff --git a/.github/workflows/vtadmin_web_build.yml b/.github/workflows/vtadmin_web_build.yml
index 9b9ca3771ea..c4c6f3c4a3f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/vtadmin_web_build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/vtadmin_web_build.yml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 name: vtadmin-web build
 
-# In specifying the 'paths' property, we need to include the path to this workflow .yml file. 
+# In specifying the 'paths' property, we need to include the path to this workflow .yml file.
 # See https://github.community/t/trigger-a-workflow-on-change-to-the-yml-file-itself/17792/4)
 on:
   push:
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ jobs:
         id: skip-workflow
         run: |
           skip='false'
-          if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+          if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
           fi
           echo Skip ${skip}
@@ -53,6 +53,6 @@ jobs:
         run: cd ./web/vtadmin && npm run build
 
     # Cancel pending and in-progress runs of this workflow if a newer ref is pushed to CI.
-    concurrency: 
+    concurrency:
       group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
       cancel-in-progress: true
diff --git a/.github/workflows/vtadmin_web_lint.yml b/.github/workflows/vtadmin_web_lint.yml
index bd0ce41c237..df8967ef0fb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/vtadmin_web_lint.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/vtadmin_web_lint.yml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 name: vtadmin-web linting + formatting
 
-# In specifying the 'paths' property, we need to include the path to this workflow .yml file. 
+# In specifying the 'paths' property, we need to include the path to this workflow .yml file.
 # See https://github.community/t/trigger-a-workflow-on-change-to-the-yml-file-itself/17792/4)
 on:
   push:
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ jobs:
         id: skip-workflow
         run: |
           skip='false'
-          if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+          if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
           fi
           echo Skip ${skip}
@@ -49,13 +49,13 @@ jobs:
         run: cd ./web/vtadmin && npm ci
 
       # Using "if: always()" means each step will run, even if a previous
-      # step fails. This is nice because, for example, we want stylelint and 
-      # prettier to run even if eslint fails. 
+      # step fails. This is nice because, for example, we want stylelint and
+      # prettier to run even if eslint fails.
       #
       # An undesirable secondary effect of this is these steps
       # will run even if the install, etc. steps fail, which is... weird.
       # A nice enhancement is to parallelize these steps into jobs, with the
-      # trade-off of more complexity around sharing npm install artifacts. 
+      # trade-off of more complexity around sharing npm install artifacts.
       - name: Run eslint
         if: steps.skip-workflow.outputs.skip-workflow == 'false' && always()
         run: cd ./web/vtadmin && npm run lint:eslint
@@ -63,12 +63,12 @@ jobs:
       - name: Run stylelint
         if: steps.skip-workflow.outputs.skip-workflow == 'false' && always()
         run: cd ./web/vtadmin && npm run lint:stylelint -- -f verbose
-        
+
       - name: Run prettier
         if: steps.skip-workflow.outputs.skip-workflow == 'false' && always()
         run: cd ./web/vtadmin && npm run lint:prettier
 
     # Cancel pending and in-progress runs of this workflow if a newer ref is pushed to CI.
-    concurrency: 
+    concurrency:
       group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
       cancel-in-progress: true
diff --git a/.github/workflows/vtadmin_web_unit_tests.yml b/.github/workflows/vtadmin_web_unit_tests.yml
index 3d6e7d60a8a..3bdf1b0b38e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/vtadmin_web_unit_tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/vtadmin_web_unit_tests.yml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 name: vtadmin-web unit tests
 
-# In specifying the 'paths' property, we need to include the path to this workflow .yml file. 
+# In specifying the 'paths' property, we need to include the path to this workflow .yml file.
 # See https://github.community/t/trigger-a-workflow-on-change-to-the-yml-file-itself/17792/4)
 on:
   push:
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ jobs:
         id: skip-workflow
         run: |
           skip='false'
-          if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "${{github.ref}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "${{github.ref}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+          if [[ "${{github.event.pull_request}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
           fi
           echo Skip ${skip}
@@ -51,8 +51,8 @@ jobs:
       - name: Run unit tests
         if: steps.skip-workflow.outputs.skip-workflow == 'false'
         run: cd ./web/vtadmin && CI=true npm run test
-        
+
     # Cancel pending and in-progress runs of this workflow if a newer ref is pushed to CI.
-    concurrency: 
+    concurrency:
       group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
       cancel-in-progress: true
diff --git a/go/test/endtoend/vtcombo/recreate/recreate_test.go b/go/test/endtoend/vtcombo/recreate/recreate_test.go
index e66edb7688a..15cb63c3d7d 100644
--- a/go/test/endtoend/vtcombo/recreate/recreate_test.go
+++ b/go/test/endtoend/vtcombo/recreate/recreate_test.go
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -101,6 +102,9 @@ func TestDropAndRecreateWithSameShards(t *testing.T) {
 
 	cur := conn.Session(ks1+"@primary", nil)
 
+	mysqlConnCountBefore, err := getMySQLConnectionCount(ctx, cur)
+	require.Nil(t, err)
+
 	_, err = cur.Execute(ctx, "DROP DATABASE "+ks1, nil)
 	require.Nil(t, err)
 
@@ -108,6 +112,23 @@ func TestDropAndRecreateWithSameShards(t *testing.T) {
 	require.Nil(t, err)
 
 	assertTabletsPresent(t)
+
+	// Check the connection count after the CREATE. There will be zero connections after the DROP as the database
+	// no longer exists, but after it gets recreated any open pools will be able to reestablish connections.
+	mysqlConnCountAfter, err := getMySQLConnectionCount(ctx, cur)
+	require.Nil(t, err)
+
+	// Assert that we're not leaking mysql connections, but allow for some wiggle room due to transient connections
+	assert.InDelta(t, mysqlConnCountBefore, mysqlConnCountAfter, 5,
+		"not within allowable delta: mysqlConnCountBefore=%d, mysqlConnCountAfter=%d", mysqlConnCountBefore, mysqlConnCountAfter)
+}
+
+func getMySQLConnectionCount(ctx context.Context, session *vtgateconn.VTGateSession) (int, error) {
+	result, err := session.Execute(ctx, "select variable_value from performance_schema.global_status where variable_name='threads_connected'", nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	return strconv.Atoi(result.Rows[0][0].ToString())
 }
 
 func assertTabletsPresent(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/go/test/endtoend/vtcombo/vttest_sample_test.go b/go/test/endtoend/vtcombo/vttest_sample_test.go
index daeb5e8deb9..4895c1195b0 100644
--- a/go/test/endtoend/vtcombo/vttest_sample_test.go
+++ b/go/test/endtoend/vtcombo/vttest_sample_test.go
@@ -130,6 +130,8 @@ func TestStandalone(t *testing.T) {
 	tmp, _ := cmd.([]any)
 	require.Contains(t, tmp[0], "vtcombo")
 
+	assertVSchemaExists(t, grpcAddress)
+
 	ctx := context.Background()
 	conn, err := vtgateconn.Dial(ctx, grpcAddress)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
@@ -160,6 +162,17 @@ func TestStandalone(t *testing.T) {
 	assertTransactionalityAndRollbackObeyed(ctx, t, conn, idStart)
 }
 
+func assertVSchemaExists(t *testing.T, grpcAddress string) {
+	tmpCmd := exec.Command("vtctldclient", "--server", grpcAddress, "--compact", "GetVSchema", "routed")
+
+	log.Infof("Running vtctldclient with command: %v", tmpCmd.Args)
+
+	output, err := tmpCmd.CombinedOutput()
+	require.NoError(t, err, fmt.Sprintf("Output:\n%v", string(output)))
+
+	assert.Equal(t, "{}\n", string(output))
+}
+
 func assertInsertedRowsExist(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, conn *vtgateconn.VTGateConn, idStart, rowCount int) {
 	cur := conn.Session(ks1+":-80@rdonly", nil)
 	bindVariables := map[string]*querypb.BindVariable{
diff --git a/go/vt/vtcombo/tablet_map.go b/go/vt/vtcombo/tablet_map.go
index 369a8138b5a..b1c045335a6 100644
--- a/go/vt/vtcombo/tablet_map.go
+++ b/go/vt/vtcombo/tablet_map.go
@@ -234,7 +234,11 @@ func DeleteKs(
 			tablet.tm.Stop()
 			tablet.tm.Close()
 			tablet.qsc.SchemaEngine().Close()
-			err := ts.DeleteTablet(ctx, tablet.alias)
+			err := tablet.qsc.QueryService().Close(ctx)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			err = ts.DeleteTablet(ctx, tablet.alias)
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
@@ -301,6 +305,11 @@ func CreateKs(
 		return 0, fmt.Errorf("CreateKeyspace(%v) failed: %v", keyspace, err)
 	}
 
+	// make sure a valid vschema has been loaded
+	if err := ts.EnsureVSchema(ctx, keyspace); err != nil {
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("EnsureVSchema(%v) failed: %v", keyspace, err)
+	}
+
 	// iterate through the shards
 	for _, spb := range kpb.Shards {
 		shard := spb.Name
diff --git a/go/vt/vtgate/vindexes/cached_size.go b/go/vt/vtgate/vindexes/cached_size.go
index a97411a6ac8..2051876895d 100644
--- a/go/vt/vtgate/vindexes/cached_size.go
+++ b/go/vt/vtgate/vindexes/cached_size.go
@@ -416,6 +416,42 @@ func (cached *NumericStaticMap) CachedSize(alloc bool) int64 {
 	}
 	return size
 }
+
+//go:nocheckptr
+func (cached *Placement) CachedSize(alloc bool) int64 {
+	if cached == nil {
+		return int64(0)
+	}
+	size := int64(0)
+	if alloc {
+		size += int64(80)
+	}
+	// field name string
+	size += hack.RuntimeAllocSize(int64(len(cached.name)))
+	// field placementMap vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/vtgate/vindexes.PlacementMap
+	if cached.placementMap != nil {
+		size += int64(48)
+		hmap := reflect.ValueOf(cached.placementMap)
+		numBuckets := int(math.Pow(2, float64((*(*uint8)(unsafe.Pointer(hmap.Pointer() + uintptr(9)))))))
+		numOldBuckets := (*(*uint16)(unsafe.Pointer(hmap.Pointer() + uintptr(10))))
+		size += hack.RuntimeAllocSize(int64(numOldBuckets * 208))
+		if len(cached.placementMap) > 0 || numBuckets > 1 {
+			size += hack.RuntimeAllocSize(int64(numBuckets * 208))
+		}
+		for k := range cached.placementMap {
+			size += hack.RuntimeAllocSize(int64(len(k)))
+		}
+	}
+	// field subVindex vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/vtgate/vindexes.Vindex
+	if cc, ok := cached.subVindex.(cachedObject); ok {
+		size += cc.CachedSize(true)
+	}
+	// field subVindexType string
+	size += hack.RuntimeAllocSize(int64(len(cached.subVindexType)))
+	// field subVindexName string
+	size += hack.RuntimeAllocSize(int64(len(cached.subVindexName)))
+	return size
+}
 func (cached *RegionExperimental) CachedSize(alloc bool) int64 {
 	if cached == nil {
 		return int64(0)
diff --git a/go/vt/vtgate/vindexes/placement.go b/go/vt/vtgate/vindexes/placement.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4382bc95c83
--- /dev/null
+++ b/go/vt/vtgate/vindexes/placement.go
@@ -0,0 +1,224 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2022 The Vitess Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+/*
+
+A Vindex which uses a mapping lookup table `placement_map` to set the first `placement_prefix_bytes` of the Keyspace ID
+and another Vindex type `placement_sub_vindex_type` (which must support Hashing) as a sub-Vindex to set the rest.
+This is suitable for regional sharding (like region_json or region_experimental) but does not require a mapping file,
+and can support non-integer types for the sharding column. All parameters are prefixed with `placement_` so as to avoid
+conflict, because the `params` map is passed to the sub-Vindex as well.
+
+*/
+
+package vindexes
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"context"
+	"encoding/binary"
+	"fmt"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+
+	vtrpcpb "vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/proto/vtrpc"
+	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/vterrors"
+
+	"vitess.io/vitess/go/sqltypes"
+	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/key"
+)
+
+var (
+	_ MultiColumn = (*Placement)(nil)
+
+	PlacementRequiredParams = []string{
+		"placement_map",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type",
+	}
+)
+
+func init() {
+	Register("placement", NewPlacement)
+}
+
+type PlacementMap map[string]uint64
+
+type Placement struct {
+	name          string
+	placementMap  PlacementMap
+	subVindex     Vindex
+	subVindexType string
+	subVindexName string
+	prefixBytes   int
+}
+
+// Parse a string containing a list of delimited string:integer key-value pairs, e.g. "foo:1,bar:2".
+func parsePlacementMap(s string) (*PlacementMap, error) {
+	placementMap := make(PlacementMap)
+	for _, entry := range strings.Split(s, ",") {
+		if entry == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		kv := strings.Split(entry, ":")
+		if len(kv) != 2 {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("entry: %v; expected key:value", entry)
+		}
+		if kv[0] == "" {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("entry: %v; unexpected empty key", entry)
+		}
+		if kv[1] == "" {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("entry: %v; unexpected empty value", entry)
+		}
+
+		value, err := strconv.ParseUint(kv[1], 0, 64)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("entry: %v; %v", entry, err)
+		}
+		placementMap[kv[0]] = value
+	}
+	return &placementMap, nil
+}
+
+func NewPlacement(name string, params map[string]string) (Vindex, error) {
+	var missingParams []string
+	for _, param := range PlacementRequiredParams {
+		if params[param] == "" {
+			missingParams = append(missingParams, param)
+		}
+	}
+
+	if len(missingParams) > 0 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("missing params: %s", strings.Join(missingParams, ", "))
+	}
+
+	placementMap, parseError := parsePlacementMap(params["placement_map"])
+	if parseError != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("malformed placement_map; %v", parseError)
+	}
+
+	prefixBytes, prefixError := strconv.Atoi(params["placement_prefix_bytes"])
+	if prefixError != nil {
+		return nil, prefixError
+	}
+
+	if prefixBytes < 1 || prefixBytes > 7 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid placement_prefix_bytes: %v; expected integer between 1 and 7", prefixBytes)
+	}
+
+	subVindexType := params["placement_sub_vindex_type"]
+	subVindexName := fmt.Sprintf("%s_sub_vindex", name)
+	subVindex, createVindexError := CreateVindex(subVindexType, subVindexName, params)
+	if createVindexError != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid placement_sub_vindex_type: %v", createVindexError)
+	}
+
+	// TODO: Should we support MultiColumn Vindex?
+	if _, subVindexSupportsHashing := subVindex.(Hashing); !subVindexSupportsHashing {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid placement_sub_vindex_type: %v; does not support the Hashing interface", createVindexError)
+	}
+
+	return &Placement{
+		name:          name,
+		placementMap:  *placementMap,
+		subVindex:     subVindex,
+		subVindexType: subVindexType,
+		subVindexName: subVindexName,
+		prefixBytes:   prefixBytes,
+	}, nil
+}
+
+func (p *Placement) String() string {
+	return p.name
+}
+
+func (p *Placement) Cost() int {
+	return 1
+}
+
+func (p *Placement) IsUnique() bool {
+	return true
+}
+
+func (p *Placement) NeedsVCursor() bool {
+	return false
+}
+
+func (p *Placement) PartialVindex() bool {
+	return true
+}
+
+func makeDestinationPrefix(value uint64, prefixBytes int) []byte {
+	destinationPrefix := make([]byte, 8)
+	binary.BigEndian.PutUint64(destinationPrefix, value)
+	if prefixBytes < 8 {
+		// Shorten the prefix to the desired length.
+		destinationPrefix = destinationPrefix[(8 - prefixBytes):]
+	}
+
+	return destinationPrefix
+}
+
+func (p *Placement) Map(ctx context.Context, vcursor VCursor, rowsColValues [][]sqltypes.Value) ([]key.Destination, error) {
+	destinations := make([]key.Destination, 0, len(rowsColValues))
+
+	for _, row := range rowsColValues {
+		if len(row) != 1 && len(row) != 2 {
+			return nil, vterrors.Errorf(vtrpcpb.Code_INTERNAL, "wrong number of column values were passed: expected 1-2, got %d", len(row))
+		}
+
+		// Calculate the destination prefix from the placement key which will be the same whether this is a partial
+		// or full usage of the Vindex.
+		placementKey := row[0].ToString()
+		placementDestinationValue, placementMappingFound := p.placementMap[placementKey]
+		if !placementMappingFound {
+			destinations = append(destinations, key.DestinationNone{})
+			continue
+		}
+
+		placementDestinationPrefix := makeDestinationPrefix(placementDestinationValue, p.prefixBytes)
+
+		if len(row) == 1 { // Partial Vindex usage with only the placement column provided.
+			destinations = append(destinations, NewKeyRangeFromPrefix(placementDestinationPrefix))
+		} else if len(row) == 2 { // Full Vindex usage with the placement column and subVindex column provided.
+			subVindexValue, hashingError := p.subVindex.(Hashing).Hash(row[1])
+			if hashingError != nil {
+				return nil, hashingError // TODO: Should we be less fatal here and use DestinationNone?
+			}
+
+			// Concatenate and add to destinations.
+			rowDestination := append(placementDestinationPrefix, subVindexValue...)
+			destinations = append(destinations, key.DestinationKeyspaceID(rowDestination[0:8]))
+		}
+	}
+
+	return destinations, nil
+}
+
+func (p *Placement) Verify(ctx context.Context, vcursor VCursor, rowsColValues [][]sqltypes.Value, keyspaceIDs [][]byte) ([]bool, error) {
+	result := make([]bool, len(rowsColValues))
+	destinations, _ := p.Map(ctx, vcursor, rowsColValues)
+	for i, destination := range destinations {
+		switch d := destination.(type) {
+		case key.DestinationKeyspaceID:
+			result[i] = bytes.Equal(d, keyspaceIDs[i])
+		default:
+			result[i] = false
+		}
+	}
+	return result, nil
+}
diff --git a/go/vt/vtgate/vindexes/placement_test.go b/go/vt/vtgate/vindexes/placement_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c590f1de3e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/go/vt/vtgate/vindexes/placement_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,354 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2022 The Vitess Authors.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package vindexes
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	"vitess.io/vitess/go/sqltypes"
+	"vitess.io/vitess/go/vt/key"
+)
+
+func createBasicPlacementVindex(t *testing.T) (Vindex, error) {
+	return CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"table":                     "t",
+		"from":                      "f1,f2",
+		"to":                        "toc",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes":    "1",
+		"placement_map":             "foo:1,bar:2",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "xxhash",
+	})
+}
+
+func TestPlacementName(t *testing.T) {
+	vindex, err := createBasicPlacementVindex(t)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "placement", vindex.String())
+}
+
+func TestPlacementCost(t *testing.T) {
+	vindex, err := createBasicPlacementVindex(t)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, vindex.Cost())
+}
+
+func TestPlacementIsUnique(t *testing.T) {
+	vindex, err := createBasicPlacementVindex(t)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.True(t, vindex.IsUnique())
+}
+
+func TestPlacementNeedsVCursor(t *testing.T) {
+	vindex, err := createBasicPlacementVindex(t)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.False(t, vindex.NeedsVCursor())
+}
+
+func TestPlacementNoParams(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", nil)
+	assert.EqualError(t, err, "missing params: placement_map, placement_prefix_bytes, placement_sub_vindex_type")
+}
+
+func TestPlacementPlacementMapMissing(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"placement_prefix_bytes":    "1",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "hash",
+	})
+	assert.EqualError(t, err, "missing params: placement_map")
+}
+
+func TestPlacementPlacementMapMalformedMap(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"placement_map":             "xyz",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes":    "1",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "hash",
+	})
+	assert.EqualError(t, err, "malformed placement_map; entry: xyz; expected key:value")
+}
+
+func TestPlacementPlacementMapMissingKey(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"placement_map":             "abc:1,:2,ghi:3",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes":    "1",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "hash",
+	})
+	assert.EqualError(t, err, "malformed placement_map; entry: :2; unexpected empty key")
+}
+
+func TestPlacementPlacementMapMissingValue(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"placement_map":             "abc:1,def:,ghi:3",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes":    "1",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "hash",
+	})
+	assert.EqualError(t, err, "malformed placement_map; entry: def:; unexpected empty value")
+}
+
+func TestPlacementPlacementMapMalformedValue(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"placement_map":             "abc:xyz",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes":    "1",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "hash",
+	})
+	assert.EqualError(t, err, "malformed placement_map; entry: abc:xyz; strconv.ParseUint: parsing \"xyz\": invalid syntax")
+}
+
+func TestPlacementPrefixBytesMissing(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"placement_map":             "foo:1,bar:2",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "hash",
+	})
+	assert.EqualError(t, err, "missing params: placement_prefix_bytes")
+}
+
+func TestPlacementPrefixBytesTooLow(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"placement_map":             "foo:1,bar:2",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes":    "0",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "hash",
+	})
+	assert.EqualError(t, err, "invalid placement_prefix_bytes: 0; expected integer between 1 and 7")
+}
+
+func TestPlacementPrefixBytesTooHigh(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"placement_map":             "foo:1,bar:2",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes":    "17",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "hash",
+	})
+	assert.EqualError(t, err, "invalid placement_prefix_bytes: 17; expected integer between 1 and 7")
+}
+
+func TestPlacementSubVindexTypeMissing(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"placement_map":          "foo:1,bar:2",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes": "1",
+	})
+	assert.EqualError(t, err, "missing params: placement_sub_vindex_type")
+}
+
+func TestPlacementSubVindexTypeIncorrect(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"placement_map":             "foo:1,bar:2",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes":    "1",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "doesnotexist",
+	})
+	assert.EqualError(t, err, "invalid placement_sub_vindex_type: vindexType \"doesnotexist\" not found")
+}
+
+func TestPlacementMapSqlTypeVarChar(t *testing.T) {
+	vindex, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"table":                     "t",
+		"from":                      "f1,f2",
+		"to":                        "toc",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes":    "1",
+		"placement_map":             "foo:1,bar:2",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "xxhash",
+	})
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	actualDestinations, err := vindex.(MultiColumn).Map(context.Background(), nil, [][]sqltypes.Value{{
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("foo"), sqltypes.NewVarChar("hello world"),
+	}, {
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("bar"), sqltypes.NewVarChar("hello world"),
+	}, {
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("xyz"), sqltypes.NewVarChar("hello world"),
+	}})
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+
+	expectedDestinations := []key.Destination{
+		key.DestinationKeyspaceID{0x01, 0x68, 0x69, 0x1e, 0xb2, 0x34, 0x67, 0xab},
+		key.DestinationKeyspaceID{0x02, 0x68, 0x69, 0x1e, 0xb2, 0x34, 0x67, 0xab},
+		key.DestinationNone{},
+	}
+	assert.Equal(t, expectedDestinations, actualDestinations)
+}
+
+func TestPlacementMapSqlTypeInt64(t *testing.T) {
+	vindex, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"table":                     "t",
+		"from":                      "f1,f2",
+		"to":                        "toc",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes":    "1",
+		"placement_map":             "foo:1,bar:2",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "xxhash",
+	})
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	actualDestinations, err := vindex.(MultiColumn).Map(context.Background(), nil, [][]sqltypes.Value{{
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("foo"), sqltypes.NewInt64(1),
+	}, {
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("bar"), sqltypes.NewInt64(1),
+	}, {
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("xyz"), sqltypes.NewInt64(1),
+	}})
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+
+	expectedDestinations := []key.Destination{
+		key.DestinationKeyspaceID{0x01, 0xd4, 0x64, 0x05, 0x36, 0x76, 0x12, 0xb4},
+		key.DestinationKeyspaceID{0x02, 0xd4, 0x64, 0x05, 0x36, 0x76, 0x12, 0xb4},
+		key.DestinationNone{},
+	}
+	assert.Equal(t, expectedDestinations, actualDestinations)
+}
+
+func TestPlacementMapWithHexValues(t *testing.T) {
+	vindex, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"table":                     "t",
+		"from":                      "f1,f2",
+		"to":                        "toc",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes":    "1",
+		"placement_map":             "foo:0x01,bar:0x02",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "xxhash",
+	})
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	actualDestinations, err := vindex.(MultiColumn).Map(context.Background(), nil, [][]sqltypes.Value{{
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("foo"), sqltypes.NewInt64(1),
+	}, {
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("bar"), sqltypes.NewInt64(1),
+	}, {
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("xyz"), sqltypes.NewInt64(1),
+	}})
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+
+	expectedDestinations := []key.Destination{
+		key.DestinationKeyspaceID{0x01, 0xd4, 0x64, 0x05, 0x36, 0x76, 0x12, 0xb4},
+		key.DestinationKeyspaceID{0x02, 0xd4, 0x64, 0x05, 0x36, 0x76, 0x12, 0xb4},
+		key.DestinationNone{},
+	}
+	assert.Equal(t, expectedDestinations, actualDestinations)
+}
+
+func TestPlacementMapMultiplePrefixBytes(t *testing.T) {
+	vindex, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"table":                     "t",
+		"from":                      "f1,f2",
+		"to":                        "toc",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes":    "4",
+		"placement_map":             "foo:1,bar:2",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "xxhash",
+	})
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	actualDestinations, err := vindex.(MultiColumn).Map(context.Background(), nil, [][]sqltypes.Value{{
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("foo"), sqltypes.NewInt64(1),
+	}, {
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("bar"), sqltypes.NewInt64(1),
+	}, {
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("xyz"), sqltypes.NewInt64(1),
+	}})
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+
+	expectedDestinations := []key.Destination{
+		key.DestinationKeyspaceID{0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0xd4, 0x64, 0x05, 0x36},
+		key.DestinationKeyspaceID{0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x02, 0xd4, 0x64, 0x05, 0x36},
+		key.DestinationNone{},
+	}
+	assert.Equal(t, expectedDestinations, actualDestinations)
+}
+
+func TestPlacementSubVindexNumeric(t *testing.T) {
+	vindex, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"table":                     "t",
+		"from":                      "f1,f2",
+		"to":                        "toc",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes":    "1",
+		"placement_map":             "foo:1,bar:2",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "numeric",
+	})
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	actualDestinations, err := vindex.(MultiColumn).Map(context.Background(), nil, [][]sqltypes.Value{{
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("foo"), sqltypes.NewInt64(0x01234567deadbeef),
+	}, {
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("bar"), sqltypes.NewInt64(0x01234567deadbeef),
+	}, {
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("xyz"), sqltypes.NewInt64(0x01234567deadbeef),
+	}})
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+
+	expectedDestinations := []key.Destination{
+		key.DestinationKeyspaceID{0x01, 0x01, 0x23, 0x45, 0x67, 0xde, 0xad, 0xbe},
+		key.DestinationKeyspaceID{0x02, 0x01, 0x23, 0x45, 0x67, 0xde, 0xad, 0xbe},
+		key.DestinationNone{},
+	}
+	assert.Equal(t, expectedDestinations, actualDestinations)
+}
+
+func TestPlacementMapPrefixOnly(t *testing.T) {
+	vindex, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"table":                     "t",
+		"from":                      "f1,f2",
+		"to":                        "toc",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes":    "1",
+		"placement_map":             "foo:1,bar:2",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "xxhash",
+	})
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	actualDestinations, err := vindex.(MultiColumn).Map(context.Background(), nil, [][]sqltypes.Value{{
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("foo"),
+	}, {
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("bar"),
+	}, {
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("xyz"),
+	}})
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+
+	expectedDestinations := []key.Destination{
+		NewKeyRangeFromPrefix([]byte{0x01}),
+		NewKeyRangeFromPrefix([]byte{0x02}),
+		key.DestinationNone{},
+	}
+	assert.Equal(t, expectedDestinations, actualDestinations)
+}
+
+func TestPlacementMapTooManyColumns(t *testing.T) {
+	vindex, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"table":                     "t",
+		"from":                      "f1,f2",
+		"to":                        "toc",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes":    "1",
+		"placement_map":             "foo:1,bar:2",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "xxhash",
+	})
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	actualDestinations, err := vindex.(MultiColumn).Map(context.Background(), nil, [][]sqltypes.Value{{
+		// Too many columns; expecting two, providing three.
+		sqltypes.NewVarChar("a"), sqltypes.NewVarChar("b"), sqltypes.NewVarChar("c"),
+	}})
+	assert.EqualError(t, err, "wrong number of column values were passed: expected 1-2, got 3")
+
+	assert.Nil(t, actualDestinations)
+}
+
+func TestPlacementMapNoColumns(t *testing.T) {
+	vindex, err := CreateVindex("placement", "placement", map[string]string{
+		"table":                     "t",
+		"from":                      "f1,f2",
+		"to":                        "toc",
+		"placement_prefix_bytes":    "1",
+		"placement_map":             "foo:1,bar:2",
+		"placement_sub_vindex_type": "xxhash",
+	})
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	actualDestinations, err := vindex.(MultiColumn).Map(context.Background(), nil, [][]sqltypes.Value{{
+		// Empty column list.
+	}})
+	assert.EqualError(t, err, "wrong number of column values were passed: expected 1-2, got 0")
+
+	assert.Nil(t, actualDestinations)
+}
diff --git a/test/templates/cluster_endtoend_test.tpl b/test/templates/cluster_endtoend_test.tpl
index b4a3c2f8c04..600bf6147bb 100644
--- a/test/templates/cluster_endtoend_test.tpl
+++ b/test/templates/cluster_endtoend_test.tpl
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ env:
 jobs:
   build:
     name: Run endtoend tests on {{.Name}}
-    runs-on: {{if .Cores16}}gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04{{else}}ubuntu-24.04{{end}}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "{{"${{github.event.pull_request}}"}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "{{"${{github.event.pull_request}}"}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/test/templates/cluster_endtoend_test_docker.tpl b/test/templates/cluster_endtoend_test_docker.tpl
index 4c8b2376529..90ed432db9d 100644
--- a/test/templates/cluster_endtoend_test_docker.tpl
+++ b/test/templates/cluster_endtoend_test_docker.tpl
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ permissions: read-all
 jobs:
   build:
     name: Run endtoend tests on {{.Name}}
-    runs-on: {{if .Cores16}}gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1-24.04{{else}}ubuntu-24.04{{end}}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "{{"${{github.event.pull_request}}"}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "{{"${{github.event.pull_request}}"}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/test/templates/cluster_endtoend_test_mysql57.tpl b/test/templates/cluster_endtoend_test_mysql57.tpl
index c000c710963..37896602626 100644
--- a/test/templates/cluster_endtoend_test_mysql57.tpl
+++ b/test/templates/cluster_endtoend_test_mysql57.tpl
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ env:
 jobs:
   build:
     name: Run endtoend tests on {{.Name}}
-    runs-on: {{if .Cores16}}gh-hosted-runners-16cores-1{{else}}ubuntu-22.04{{end}}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
 
     steps:
     - name: Skip CI
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "{{"${{github.event.pull_request}}"}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "{{"${{github.event.pull_request}}"}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/test/templates/cluster_endtoend_test_self_hosted.tpl b/test/templates/cluster_endtoend_test_self_hosted.tpl
index e28de83004e..848608f120d 100644
--- a/test/templates/cluster_endtoend_test_self_hosted.tpl
+++ b/test/templates/cluster_endtoend_test_self_hosted.tpl
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ jobs:
         id: skip-workflow
         run: |
           skip='false'
-          if [[ "{{"${{github.event.pull_request}}"}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+          if [[ "{{"${{github.event.pull_request}}"}}" ==  "" ]]; then
             skip='true'
           fi
           echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/test/templates/cluster_vitess_tester.tpl b/test/templates/cluster_vitess_tester.tpl
index 784f4b992c2..f8feecf7ccd 100644
--- a/test/templates/cluster_vitess_tester.tpl
+++ b/test/templates/cluster_vitess_tester.tpl
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ jobs:
 
         # install JUnit report formatter
         go install github.com/vitessio/go-junit-report@HEAD
-        
+
         # install vitess tester
         go install github.com/vitessio/vt/go/vt@e43009309f599378504905d4b804460f47822ac5
 
@@ -137,12 +137,12 @@ jobs:
         set -exo pipefail
 
         i=1
-        for dir in {{.Path}}/*/; do 
+        for dir in {{.Path}}/*/; do
           # We go over all the directories in the given path.
           # If there is a vschema file there, we use it, otherwise we let vt tester autogenerate it.
           if [ -f $dir/vschema.json ]; then
             vt tester --xunit --vschema "$dir"vschema.json $dir/*.test
-          else 
+          else
             vt tester --sharded --xunit $dir/*.test
           fi
           # Number the reports by changing their file names.
diff --git a/test/templates/unit_test.tpl b/test/templates/unit_test.tpl
index cda781e071e..df86b687408 100644
--- a/test/templates/unit_test.tpl
+++ b/test/templates/unit_test.tpl
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ jobs:
       id: skip-workflow
       run: |
         skip='false'
-        if [[ "{{"${{github.event.pull_request}}"}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+        if [[ "{{"${{github.event.pull_request}}"}}" ==  "" ]]; then
           skip='true'
         fi
         echo Skip ${skip}
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ jobs:
 
         go mod download
         go install golang.org/x/tools/cmd/goimports@latest
-        
+
         # install JUnit report formatter
         go install github.com/vitessio/go-junit-report@HEAD
 
diff --git a/test/templates/unit_test_self_hosted.tpl b/test/templates/unit_test_self_hosted.tpl
index c6d6790fbfb..2b638676145 100644
--- a/test/templates/unit_test_self_hosted.tpl
+++ b/test/templates/unit_test_self_hosted.tpl
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ jobs:
         id: skip-workflow
         run: |
           skip='false'
-          if [[ "{{"${{github.event.pull_request}}"}}" ==  "" ]] && [[ "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" != "refs/heads/main" ]] && [[ ! "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" =~ ^refs/heads/release-[0-9]+\.[0-9]$ ]] && [[ ! "{{"${{github.ref}}"}}" =~ "refs/tags/.*" ]]; then
+          if [[ "{{"${{github.event.pull_request}}"}}" ==  "" ]]; then
             skip='true'
           fi
           echo Skip ${skip}
diff --git a/tools/get_next_release_shopify.sh b/tools/get_next_release_shopify.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..38cc78784a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/get_next_release_shopify.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Copyright 2022 The Vitess Authors.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+# github.base_ref $1
+git fetch --tags origin
+
+target_release=""
+
+latest_major_release=$(git show-ref --tags | grep -E 'refs/tags/v[0-9]*\.[0-9]*\.[0-9]*$' | sed 's/[a-z0-9]* refs\/tags\/v//' | awk -v FS=. '{print $1}' | sort -Vr | head -n1)
+major_release=$(cat ./go/vt/servenv/version.go| grep versionName | awk -v 'FS= ' '{print $4}' | tr -d '"' | sed 's/\..*//')
+target_major_release=$((major_release+1))
+
+# Try to get the latest shopify release
+target_release_number=$(git show-ref | grep -E 'refs/remotes/origin/v[0-9]*\.[0-9]*\.[0-9]*-shopify-[0-9]*$' | sed 's/[a-z0-9]* refs\/remotes\/origin\/v//' | awk -v FS=. -v RELEASE="$target_major_release" '{if ($1 == RELEASE) print; }' | sort -Vr | head -n1)
+if [ -z "$target_release_number" ]; then
+  # Fallback to upstream release if shopify release doesn't exist
+  target_release_number=$(git show-ref --tags | grep -E 'refs/tags/v[0-9]*\.[0-9]*\.[0-9]*$' | sed 's/[a-z0-9]* refs\/tags\/v//' | awk -v FS=. -v RELEASE="$target_major_release" '{if ($1 == RELEASE) print; }' | sort -Vr | head -n1)
+fi
+target_release="v$target_release_number"
+
+if [ "$major_release" == "$latest_major_release" ]; then
+  target_release="main"
+fi
+
+echo "$target_release"
diff --git a/tools/get_previous_release_shopify.sh b/tools/get_previous_release_shopify.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..74ad558648b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/get_previous_release_shopify.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Copyright 2022 The Vitess Authors.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+# This script is used to build and copy the Angular 2 based vtctld UI
+# into the release folder (app) for checkin. Prior to running this script,
+# bootstrap.sh and bootstrap_web.sh should already have been run.
+
+# github.base_ref $1
+
+target_release=""
+
+major_release=$(cat ./go/vt/servenv/version.go| grep versionName | awk -v 'FS= ' '{print $4}' | tr -d '"' | sed 's/\..*//')
+target_major_release=$((major_release-1))
+target_release_number=$(git show-ref | grep -E 'refs/remotes/origin/v[0-9]*.[0-9]*.[0-9]*-shopify-[0-9]*$' | sed 's/[a-z0-9]* refs\/remotes\/origin\/v//' | awk -v FS=. -v RELEASE="$target_major_release" '{if ($1 == RELEASE) print; }' | sort -Vr | head -n1)
+if [ ! -z "$target_release_number" ]
+then
+  target_release="v$target_release_number"
+fi
+
+echo "$target_release"