diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 74328bab4b..f52a55ef72 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -31,9 +31,12 @@ concurrency:
   cancel-in-progress: true
 
 jobs:
-  job_get_metadata:
-    name: Metadata
+  job_setup:
+    name: Setup
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 15
+    env:
+      IS_MAIN: ${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' }}
     permissions:
       pull-requests: read
     steps:
@@ -106,28 +109,7 @@ jobs:
               - 'apps/sodo-search/**'
             any-code:
               - '!**/*.md'
-    outputs:
-      changed_admin: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.admin }}
-      changed_core: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.core }}
-      changed_admin_x_settings: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.admin-x-settings }}
-      changed_announcement_bar: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.announcement-bar }}
-      changed_comments_ui: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.comments-ui }}
-      changed_portal: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.portal }}
-      changed_signup_form: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.signup-form }}
-      changed_sodo_search: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.sodo-search }}
-      changed_any_code: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.any-code }}
-      changed_new_package: ${{ steps.added.outputs.new-package }}
-      base_commit: ${{ env.BASE_COMMIT }}
-      is_canary_branch: ${{ github.event_name == 'push' && (github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' || github.ref == 'refs/heads/arch') }}
-      is_main: ${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' }}
-      has_browser_tests_label: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request' && contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'browser-tests') }}
 
-  job_install_deps:
-    name: Install Dependencies
-    needs: job_get_metadata
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    timeout-minutes: 15
-    steps:
       - name: 'Checkout current commit'
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
@@ -154,7 +136,7 @@ jobs:
         with:
           path: .nxcache
           key: nx-Linux-${{ github.ref }}-${{ env.HEAD_COMMIT }}
-          restore-keys: ${{needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.is_main == 'false' && env.NX_CACHE_RESTORE_KEYS || 'nx-never-restore'}}
+          restore-keys: ${{ env.IS_MAIN == 'false' && env.NX_CACHE_RESTORE_KEYS || 'nx-never-restore'}}
 
       - name: Check dependency cache
         uses: actions/cache@v4
@@ -162,7 +144,7 @@ jobs:
         with:
           path: ${{ env.CACHED_DEPENDENCY_PATHS }}
           key: ${{ env.cachekey }}
-          restore-keys: ${{needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.is_main == 'false' && env.DEPENDENCY_CACHE_RESTORE_KEYS || 'dep-never-restore'}}
+          restore-keys: ${{ env.IS_MAIN == 'false' && env.DEPENDENCY_CACHE_RESTORE_KEYS || 'dep-never-restore'}}
 
       - name: Check build cache
         uses: actions/cache@v4
@@ -185,13 +167,28 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build packages
         if: steps.cache_built_packages.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
         run: yarn nx run-many -t build:ts
+
     outputs:
+      changed_admin: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.admin }}
+      changed_core: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.core }}
+      changed_admin_x_settings: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.admin-x-settings }}
+      changed_announcement_bar: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.announcement-bar }}
+      changed_comments_ui: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.comments-ui }}
+      changed_portal: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.portal }}
+      changed_signup_form: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.signup-form }}
+      changed_sodo_search: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.sodo-search }}
+      changed_any_code: ${{ steps.changed.outputs.any-code }}
+      changed_new_package: ${{ steps.added.outputs.new-package }}
+      base_commit: ${{ env.BASE_COMMIT }}
+      is_canary_branch: ${{ github.event_name == 'push' && (github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' || github.ref == 'refs/heads/arch') }}
+      is_main: ${{ env.IS_MAIN }}
+      has_browser_tests_label: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request' && contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'browser-tests') }}
       dependency_cache_key: ${{ env.cachekey }}
 
   job_lint:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: [job_get_metadata, job_install_deps]
-    if: needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.changed_any_code == 'true'
+    needs: [job_setup]
+    if: needs.job_setup.outputs.changed_any_code == 'true'
     name: Lint
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -206,14 +203,14 @@ jobs:
       - name: Restore caches
         uses: ./.github/actions/restore-cache
         env:
-          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_install_deps.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
+          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_setup.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
 
       - uses: actions/cache@v4
         with:
           path: ghost/**/.eslintcache
           key: eslint-cache
 
-      - run: yarn nx affected -t lint --base=${{ needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.BASE_COMMIT }}
+      - run: yarn nx affected -t lint --base=${{ needs.job_setup.outputs.BASE_COMMIT }}
 
       - uses: tryghost/actions/actions/slack-build@main
         if: failure() && github.event_name == 'push' && github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
@@ -224,13 +221,13 @@ jobs:
 
   job_i18n:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: [job_get_metadata, job_install_deps]
+    needs: [job_setup]
     name: i18n
     if: |
-        needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.changed_comments_ui == 'true'
-        || needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.changed_signup_form == 'true'
-        || needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.changed_portal == 'true'
-        || needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.changed_core == 'true'
+        needs.job_setup.outputs.changed_comments_ui == 'true'
+        || needs.job_setup.outputs.changed_signup_form == 'true'
+        || needs.job_setup.outputs.changed_portal == 'true'
+        || needs.job_setup.outputs.changed_core == 'true'
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
@@ -240,15 +237,15 @@ jobs:
       - name: Restore caches
         uses: ./.github/actions/restore-cache
         env:
-          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_install_deps.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
+          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_setup.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
 
       - name: Run i18n tests
         run: yarn nx run @tryghost/i18n:test
 
   job_admin-tests:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: [job_get_metadata, job_install_deps]
-    if: needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.changed_admin == 'true'
+    needs: [job_setup]
+    if: needs.job_setup.outputs.changed_admin == 'true'
     name: Admin tests - Chrome
     env:
       MOZ_HEADLESS: 1
@@ -264,7 +261,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Restore caches
         uses: ./.github/actions/restore-cache
         env:
-          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_install_deps.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
+          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_setup.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
 
       - run: yarn nx run ghost-admin:test
         env:
@@ -291,8 +288,8 @@ jobs:
     timeout-minutes: 60
     runs-on:
       labels: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: [job_get_metadata, job_install_deps]
-    if: needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.changed_any_code == 'true' && (needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.is_main == 'true' || needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.has_browser_tests_label == 'true')
+    needs: [job_setup]
+    if: needs.job_setup.outputs.changed_any_code == 'true' && (needs.job_setup.outputs.is_main == 'true' || needs.job_setup.outputs.has_browser_tests_label == 'true')
     concurrency:
       group: ${{ github.workflow }}
     steps:
@@ -317,7 +314,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Restore caches
       uses: ./.github/actions/restore-cache
       env:
-        DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_install_deps.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
+        DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_setup.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
 
     - name: Run migrations
       working-directory: ghost/core
@@ -366,8 +363,8 @@ jobs:
   job_perf-tests:
     runs-on:
       labels: ubuntu-latest-4-cores
-    needs: [job_get_metadata, job_install_deps]
-    if: needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.changed_core == 'true' && needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.is_main == 'true'
+    needs: [job_setup]
+    if: needs.job_setup.outputs.changed_core == 'true' && needs.job_setup.outputs.is_main == 'true'
     name: Performance tests
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -382,7 +379,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Restore caches
         uses: ./.github/actions/restore-cache
         env:
-          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_install_deps.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
+          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_setup.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
 
       - name: Install hyperfine
         run: |
@@ -413,8 +410,8 @@ jobs:
 
   job_unit-tests:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: [job_get_metadata, job_install_deps]
-    if: needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.changed_any_code == 'true'
+    needs: [job_setup]
+    if: needs.job_setup.outputs.changed_any_code == 'true'
     strategy:
       matrix:
         node: [ '18.12.1', '20.11.1' ]
@@ -432,9 +429,9 @@ jobs:
       - name: Restore caches
         uses: ./.github/actions/restore-cache
         env:
-          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_install_deps.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
+          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_setup.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
 
-      - run: yarn nx affected -t test:unit --base=${{ needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.BASE_COMMIT }}
+      - run: yarn nx affected -t test:unit --base=${{ needs.job_setup.outputs.BASE_COMMIT }}
 
       - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
         if: startsWith(matrix.node, '18')
@@ -451,8 +448,8 @@ jobs:
 
   job_database-tests:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: [job_get_metadata, job_install_deps]
-    if: needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.changed_core == 'true'
+    needs: [job_setup]
+    if: needs.job_setup.outputs.changed_core == 'true'
     strategy:
       matrix:
         node: [ '18.12.1', '20.11.1' ]
@@ -491,7 +488,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Restore caches
         uses: ./.github/actions/restore-cache
         env:
-          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_install_deps.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
+          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_setup.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
 
       - name: Record start time
         run: date +%s > ${{ runner.temp }}/startTime # Get start time for test suite
@@ -572,8 +569,8 @@ jobs:
 
   job_regression-tests:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: [job_get_metadata, job_install_deps]
-    if: needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.changed_core == 'true'
+    needs: [job_setup]
+    if: needs.job_setup.outputs.changed_core == 'true'
     strategy:
       matrix:
         include:
@@ -614,7 +611,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Restore caches
         uses: ./.github/actions/restore-cache
         env:
-          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_install_deps.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
+          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_setup.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
 
       - name: Set env vars (SQLite)
         if: contains(matrix.env.DB, 'sqlite')
@@ -637,8 +634,8 @@ jobs:
 
   job_admin_x_settings:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: [job_get_metadata, job_install_deps]
-    if: needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.changed_admin_x_settings == 'true'
+    needs: [job_setup]
+    if: needs.job_setup.outputs.changed_admin_x_settings == 'true'
     name: Admin-X Settings tests
     env:
       CI: true
@@ -653,7 +650,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Restore caches
         uses: ./.github/actions/restore-cache
         env:
-          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_install_deps.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
+          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_setup.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
 
       - name: Get Playwright version
         id: playwright-version
@@ -690,8 +687,8 @@ jobs:
 
   job_comments_ui:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: [job_get_metadata, job_install_deps]
-    if: needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.changed_comments_ui == 'true'
+    needs: [job_setup]
+    if: needs.job_setup.outputs.changed_comments_ui == 'true'
     name: Comments-UI tests
     env:
       CI: true
@@ -706,7 +703,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Restore caches
         uses: ./.github/actions/restore-cache
         env:
-          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_install_deps.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
+          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_setup.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
 
       - name: Get Playwright version
         id: playwright-version
@@ -743,8 +740,8 @@ jobs:
 
   job_signup_form:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: [job_get_metadata, job_install_deps]
-    if: needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.changed_signup_form == 'true'
+    needs: [job_setup]
+    if: needs.job_setup.outputs.changed_signup_form == 'true'
     name: Signup-form tests
     env:
       CI: true
@@ -759,7 +756,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Restore caches
         uses: ./.github/actions/restore-cache
         env:
-          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_install_deps.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
+          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_setup.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
 
       - name: Get Playwright version
         id: playwright-version
@@ -796,8 +793,8 @@ jobs:
 
   job_ghost-cli:
     name: Ghost-CLI tests
-    needs: [job_get_metadata, job_install_deps]
-    if: needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.changed_core == 'true'
+    needs: [job_setup]
+    if: needs.job_setup.outputs.changed_core == 'true'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -816,7 +813,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Restore caches
         uses: ./.github/actions/restore-cache
         env:
-          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_install_deps.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
+          DEPENDENCY_CACHE_KEY: ${{ needs.job_setup.outputs.dependency_cache_key }}
 
       - run: npm --no-git-tag-version version minor # We need to artificially bump the minor version to get migrations to run
         working-directory: ghost/core
@@ -923,8 +920,7 @@ jobs:
     name: All required tests passed or skipped
     needs:
       [
-        job_get_metadata,
-        job_install_deps,
+        job_setup,
         job_lint,
         job_i18n,
         job_ghost-cli,
@@ -950,12 +946,12 @@ jobs:
 
   canary:
     needs: [
-      job_get_metadata,
+      job_setup,
       job_required_tests
     ]
     name: Canary
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    if: always() && needs.job_get_metadata.outputs.is_canary_branch == 'true' && needs.job_required_tests.result == 'success' && needs.job_get_metadata.result == 'success'
+    if: always() && needs.job_setup.outputs.is_canary_branch == 'true' && needs.job_setup.result == 'success' && needs.job_setup.result == 'success'
     steps:
       - name: Output needs (for debugging)
         run: echo "${{ toJson(needs) }}"