diff --git a/.github/workflows/jtreg.yml b/.github/workflows/jtreg.yml
index 1d29176..0739e31 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/jtreg.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/jtreg.yml
@@ -57,10 +57,15 @@ jobs:
           cache: pnpm
       - uses: actions/cache@v6
         with:
-          path: ~/.cache/java-web
+          # the downloads build-jdk.sh keeps; boot snapshots there stay out
+          path: |
+            ~/.cache/java-web/jdk-*
+            ~/.cache/java-web/dejavu-*
           key: jdk-${{ runner.os }}-${{ runner.arch }}-${{ hashFiles('scripts/build-jdk.sh') }}
       - run: pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
       - run: pnpm jdk
+      # each test VM starts from the bundle, which loads faster than src/
+      - run: pnpm build
       - name: OpenJDK regression tests
         env:
           FILTERS: ${{ needs.plan.outputs.filters }}
@@ -70,7 +75,7 @@ jobs:
           dirs=$(grep -v '^#' test/jtreg/passing.txt | cut -d/ -f1-2 | sort -u | sed 's|^|test/jdk/|')
           git -C build/ref/jdk25u sparse-checkout set test/lib test/jdk/lib test/jdk/tools/lib $dirs
           read -ra filters <<< "$FILTERS"
-          node scripts/jtreg/run.ts build/ref/jdk25u --only-passing --jobs 4 --timeout 600 \
+          node scripts/jtreg/run.ts build/ref/jdk25u --only-passing --jobs 4 --timeout 600 --vm dist/node.js \
             --shard ${{ matrix.shard }}/${{ strategy.job-total }} "${filters[@]}"
 
   # one check for branch protection, whatever the number of shards
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 3e65d71..6451dc4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -27,7 +27,10 @@ jobs:
           cache: pnpm
       - uses: actions/cache@v6
         with:
-          path: ~/.cache/java-web
+          # the downloads build-jdk.sh keeps; boot snapshots there stay out
+          path: |
+            ~/.cache/java-web/jdk-*
+            ~/.cache/java-web/dejavu-*
           key: jdk-${{ runner.os }}-${{ runner.arch }}-${{ hashFiles('scripts/build-jdk.sh') }}
       - run: pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
       - run: pnpm jdk
diff --git a/scripts/jtreg/select.ts b/scripts/jtreg/select.ts
index 5d3fdd5..e2837ae 100644
--- a/scripts/jtreg/select.ts
+++ b/scripts/jtreg/select.ts
@@ -15,8 +15,9 @@ const root = join(import.meta.dirname, "..", "..");
 const passingFile = "test/jtreg/passing.txt";
 
 // TypeScript the tests load: everything src/node.ts (the VM each test runs on),
-// the runner and this selection import, followed through their imports. Other .ts files under
-// src/ and scripts/ (the page API, the web build) cannot change a test's result.
+// the web build that bundles it into dist/node.js, the runner and this
+// selection import, followed through their imports. Other .ts files under
+// src/ and scripts/ (the page API) cannot change a test's result.
 function loaded(): Set<string> {
   const seen = new Set<string>();
   const visit = (file: string) => {
@@ -26,6 +27,7 @@ function loaded(): Set<string> {
     for (const m of text.matchAll(/(?:from|import)\s*\(?\s*["'](\.{1,2}\/[^"']+\.ts)["']/g)) visit(join(dirname(file), m[1]));
   };
   visit("src/node.ts");
+  visit("scripts/build-web.ts");
   visit("scripts/jtreg/run.ts");
   visit("scripts/jtreg/select.ts");
   return seen;