diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 74d65fee..d55cbfe6 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -24,9 +24,6 @@ WORKDIR /opt
 RUN dos2unix ./build.sh ./docker/run.sh && chmod 744 ./build.sh
 RUN ./build.sh
 
-# the label is applied last so we don't pollute the image list with a weird amount of labelled images
-LABEL io.t2bot.mmr.cleanup="true"
-
 # ---- Stage 1 ----
 # Final runtime stage.
 FROM alpine
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 3ff213ad..9d5c1c16 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -59,6 +59,9 @@ database:
 Note that the postgresql image is *insecure* and not recommended for production use. It also does not follow best practices
 for database management - use at your own risk.
 
+**Note**: Running the Go tests requires Docker, and may pollute your cached images with tons of layers. It is suggested to
+clean these images up manually from time to time, or rely on an ephemeral build system instead.
+
 ## Importing media from synapse
 
 Media is imported by connecting to your synapse database and downloading all the content from the homeserver. This is so 
diff --git a/test/test_internals/deps.go b/test/test_internals/deps.go
index 0971af82..24e2543c 100644
--- a/test/test_internals/deps.go
+++ b/test/test_internals/deps.go
@@ -177,7 +177,6 @@ func (c *ContainerDeps) Teardown() {
 	if err := os.Remove(c.mmrExtConfigPath); err != nil && !os.IsNotExist(err) {
 		log.Fatalf("Error cleaning up MMR-External config file '%s': %s", c.mmrExtConfigPath, err.Error())
 	}
-	TeardownMmrCaches()
 }
 
 func (c *ContainerDeps) Debug() {
diff --git a/test/test_internals/deps_mmr.go b/test/test_internals/deps_mmr.go
index 0c321fd2..a3d3b9af 100644
--- a/test/test_internals/deps_mmr.go
+++ b/test/test_internals/deps_mmr.go
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package test_internals
 
 import (
 	"context"
-	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"log"
@@ -10,10 +9,8 @@ import (
 	"path"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
-	"sync/atomic"
 	"text/template"
 
-	"github.com/docker/docker/api/types"
 	"github.com/docker/go-connections/nat"
 	"github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go"
 	"github.com/testcontainers/testcontainers-go/wait"
@@ -40,53 +37,6 @@ type mmrContainer struct {
 	MachineId int
 }
 
-var mmrCachedImage string
-var mmrCachedContext *os.File
-var mmrCachedSuites atomic.Int32
-
-func MarkUsingCachedMmrBuild() {
-	mmrCachedSuites.Add(1)
-	log.Println("+1 cached build usage")
-}
-
-func reuseMmrBuild(ctx context.Context) (string, error) {
-	if mmrCachedImage != "" {
-		return mmrCachedImage, nil
-	}
-	log.Println("[Test Deps] Building MMR image...")
-	cr, err := createDockerContext()
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-	mmrCachedContext = cr
-	buildReq := testcontainers.GenericContainerRequest{
-		ContainerRequest: testcontainers.ContainerRequest{
-			FromDockerfile: testcontainers.FromDockerfile{
-				Dockerfile:     "Dockerfile",
-				Context:        ".",
-				ContextArchive: cr,
-				PrintBuildLog:  true,
-			},
-		},
-		Started: false,
-	}
-	provider, err := buildReq.ProviderType.GetProvider(testcontainers.WithLogger(testcontainers.Logger))
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-	if dockerProvider, ok := provider.(*testcontainers.DockerProvider); !ok {
-		return "", errors.New("expected a docker provider")
-	} else {
-		tag, err := dockerProvider.BuildImage(ctx, &buildReq)
-		if err != nil {
-			return "", err
-		}
-		mmrCachedImage = tag
-	}
-	log.Println("[Test Deps] Cached build as ", mmrCachedImage)
-	return mmrCachedImage, nil
-}
-
 func writeMmrConfig(tmplArgs mmrTmplArgs) (string, error) {
 	// Prepare a config template
 	t, err := template.New("mmr.config.yaml").ParseFiles(path.Join(".", "test", "templates", "mmr.config.yaml"))
@@ -126,20 +76,24 @@ func makeMmrInstances(ctx context.Context, count int, depNet *NetworkDep, tmplAr
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	// Cache the MMR image
-	mmrImage, err := reuseMmrBuild(ctx)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
 	// Start the containers (using the same DB and config)
 	mmrs := make([]*mmrContainer, 0)
 	for i := 0; i < count; i++ {
 		// Create the docker container (from dockerfile)
+		cr, err := createDockerContext()
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
 		p, _ := nat.NewPort("tcp", "8000")
 		container, err := testcontainers.GenericContainer(ctx, testcontainers.GenericContainerRequest{
 			ContainerRequest: testcontainers.ContainerRequest{
-				Image:        mmrImage,
+				FromDockerfile: testcontainers.FromDockerfile{
+					Dockerfile:     "Dockerfile",
+					Context:        ".",
+					ContextArchive: cr,
+					PrintBuildLog:  true,
+					KeepImage:      true,
+				},
 				ExposedPorts: []string{"8000/tcp"},
 				Mounts: []testcontainers.ContainerMount{
 					testcontainers.BindMount(intTmpName, "/data/media-repo.yaml"),
@@ -193,43 +147,3 @@ func (c *mmrContainer) Teardown() {
 func (c *mmrContainer) Logs() (io.ReadCloser, error) {
 	return c.container.Logs(c.ctx)
 }
-
-func TeardownMmrCaches() {
-	mmrCachedSuites.Add(-1)
-	if mmrCachedSuites.Load() > 0 {
-		log.Println("Not cleaning up MMR cached images: image still in use")
-		return
-	}
-
-	if mmrCachedContext != nil {
-		_ = mmrCachedContext.Close() // ignore errors because testcontainers might have already closed it
-		if err := os.Remove(mmrCachedContext.Name()); err != nil && !os.IsNotExist(err) {
-			log.Fatalf("Error cleaning up MMR cached context file '%s': %s", mmrCachedContext.Name(), err.Error())
-		}
-	}
-	if mmrCachedImage != "" {
-		if p, err := (testcontainers.GenericContainerRequest{}.ProviderType.GetProvider()); err != nil {
-			log.Fatalf("Error cleaning up MMR cached build image '%s': %s", mmrCachedImage, err.Error())
-		} else if dockerProvider, ok := p.(*testcontainers.DockerProvider); !ok {
-			log.Fatalf("Error cleaning up MMR cached build image '%s': unable to cast provider to DockerProvider", mmrCachedImage)
-		} else {
-			rmImage := func(imageName string) {
-				if _, err = dockerProvider.Client().ImageRemove(context.Background(), imageName, types.ImageRemoveOptions{
-					PruneChildren: true,
-				}); err != nil {
-					log.Fatalf("Error removing MMR cached build image '%s': %s", imageName, err.Error())
-				}
-			}
-			if images, err := dockerProvider.Client().ImageList(context.Background(), types.ImageListOptions{All: true}); err != nil {
-				log.Fatalf("Error listing Docker images to clean up MMR image '%s': %s", mmrCachedImage, err.Error())
-			} else {
-				rmImage(mmrCachedImage)
-				for _, i := range images {
-					if i.Labels != nil && i.Labels["io.t2bot.mmr.cleanup"] == "true" {
-						rmImage(i.ID)
-					}
-				}
-			}
-		}
-	}
-}
diff --git a/test/upload_suite_test.go b/test/upload_suite_test.go
index 49b8094d..157192a7 100644
--- a/test/upload_suite_test.go
+++ b/test/upload_suite_test.go
@@ -18,10 +18,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/turt2live/matrix-media-repo/util"
 )
 
-func init() {
-	test_internals.MarkUsingCachedMmrBuild()
-}
-
 type UploadTestSuite struct {
 	suite.Suite
 	deps *test_internals.ContainerDeps