diff --git a/.github/workflows/zombienet_cumulus.yml b/.github/workflows/zombienet_cumulus.yml
index 1d7c78afc9669..921b11b3d623f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/zombienet_cumulus.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/zombienet_cumulus.yml
@@ -74,22 +74,13 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-      - name: script
-        run: |
-          echo "RELAY_IMAGE: $RELAY_IMAGE"
-          echo "COL_IMAGE: $COL_IMAGE"
-          export DEBUG=${{ needs.preflight.outputs.DEBUG }}
-          /home/nonroot/zombie-net/scripts/ci/run-test-local-env-manager.sh \
-            --local-dir="$(pwd)/$LOCAL_DIR" \
-            --concurrency=1 \
-            --test="0002-pov_recovery.zndsl"
-
-      - name: upload logs
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      #
+      - name: zombienet_test
+        uses: ./.github/actions/zombienet
         with:
-          name: zombienet-logs-${{ github.job }}-${{ github.sha }}
-          path: |
-            /tmp/zombie*/logs/*
+          test: "0002-pov_recovery.zndsl"
+          local-dir: "${{ env.LOCAL_DIR }}"
+          concurrency: 1
 
   zombienet-cumulus-0003-full_node_catching_up:
     needs: [preflight]
@@ -105,22 +96,13 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-      - name: script
-        run: |
-          echo "RELAY_IMAGE: $RELAY_IMAGE"
-          echo "COL_IMAGE: $COL_IMAGE"
-          export DEBUG=${{ needs.preflight.outputs.DEBUG }}
-          /home/nonroot/zombie-net/scripts/ci/run-test-local-env-manager.sh \
-            --local-dir="$(pwd)/$LOCAL_DIR" \
-            --concurrency=1 \
-            --test="0003-full_node_catching_up.zndsl"
-
-      - name: upload logs
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      #
+      - name: zombienet_test
+        uses: ./.github/actions/zombienet
         with:
-          name: zombienet-logs-${{ github.job }}-${{ github.sha }}
-          path: |
-            /tmp/zombie*/logs/*
+          test: "0003-full_node_catching_up.zndsl"
+          local-dir: "${{ env.LOCAL_DIR }}"
+          concurrency: 1
 
   zombienet-cumulus-0004-runtime_upgrade:
     needs: [preflight]
@@ -145,25 +127,20 @@ jobs:
       - name: tar
         run: tar -xvf artifacts.tar
 
-      - name: script
+      - name: cp
+        shell: bash
         run: |
-          echo "RELAY_IMAGE: $RELAY_IMAGE"
-          echo "COL_IMAGE: $COL_IMAGE"
           ls -ltr *
           cp ./artifacts/zombienet/wasm_binary_spec_version_incremented.rs.compact.compressed.wasm /tmp/
           ls /tmp
-          export DEBUG=${{ needs.preflight.outputs.DEBUG }}
-          /home/nonroot/zombie-net/scripts/ci/run-test-local-env-manager.sh \
-            --local-dir="$(pwd)/$LOCAL_DIR" \
-            --concurrency=1 \
-            --test="0004-runtime_upgrade.zndsl"
 
-      - name: upload logs
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      #
+      - name: zombienet_test
+        uses: ./.github/actions/zombienet
         with:
-          name: zombienet-logs-${{ github.job }}-${{ github.sha }}
-          path: |
-            /tmp/zombie*/logs/*
+          test: "0004-runtime_upgrade.zndsl"
+          local-dir: "${{ env.LOCAL_DIR }}"
+          concurrency: 1
 
   zombienet-cumulus-0005-migrate_solo_to_para:
     needs: [preflight]
@@ -179,22 +156,13 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-      - name: script
-        run: |
-          echo "RELAY_IMAGE: $RELAY_IMAGE"
-          echo "COL_IMAGE: $COL_IMAGE"
-          export DEBUG=${{ needs.preflight.outputs.DEBUG }}
-          /home/nonroot/zombie-net/scripts/ci/run-test-local-env-manager.sh \
-            --local-dir="$(pwd)/$LOCAL_DIR" \
-            --concurrency=1 \
-            --test="0005-migrate_solo_to_para.zndsl"
-
-      - name: upload logs
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      #
+      - name: zombienet_test
+        uses: ./.github/actions/zombienet
         with:
-          name: zombienet-logs-${{ github.job }}-${{ github.sha }}
-          path: |
-            /tmp/zombie*/logs/*
+          test: "0005-migrate_solo_to_para.zndsl"
+          local-dir: "${{ env.LOCAL_DIR }}"
+          concurrency: 1
 
   zombienet-cumulus-0006-rpc_collator_builds_blocks:
     needs: [preflight]
@@ -210,22 +178,13 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-      - name: script
-        run: |
-          echo "RELAY_IMAGE: $RELAY_IMAGE"
-          echo "COL_IMAGE: $COL_IMAGE"
-          export DEBUG=${{ needs.preflight.outputs.DEBUG }}
-          /home/nonroot/zombie-net/scripts/ci/run-test-local-env-manager.sh \
-            --local-dir="$(pwd)/$LOCAL_DIR" \
-            --concurrency=1 \
-            --test="0006-rpc_collator_builds_blocks.zndsl"
-
-      - name: upload logs
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      #
+      - name: zombienet_test
+        uses: ./.github/actions/zombienet
         with:
-          name: zombienet-logs-${{ github.job }}-${{ github.sha }}
-          path: |
-            /tmp/zombie*/logs/*
+          test: "0006-rpc_collator_builds_blocks.zndsl"
+          local-dir: "${{ env.LOCAL_DIR }}"
+          concurrency: 1
 
   zombienet-cumulus-0007-full_node_warp_sync:
     needs: [preflight]
@@ -241,22 +200,14 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-      - name: script
-        run: |
-          echo "RELAY_IMAGE: $RELAY_IMAGE"
-          echo "COL_IMAGE: $COL_IMAGE"
-          export DEBUG=${{ needs.preflight.outputs.DEBUG }}
-          /home/nonroot/zombie-net/scripts/ci/run-test-local-env-manager.sh \
-            --local-dir="$(pwd)/$LOCAL_DIR" \
-            --concurrency=1 \
-            --test="0007-full_node_warp_sync.zndsl"
-
-      - name: upload logs
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      #
+      - name: zombienet_test
+        uses: ./.github/actions/zombienet
         with:
-          name: zombienet-logs-${{ github.job }}-${{ github.sha }}
-          path: |
-            /tmp/zombie*/logs/*
+          test: "0007-full_node_warp_sync.zndsl"
+          local-dir: "${{ env.LOCAL_DIR }}"
+          concurrency: 1
+
 
   zombienet-cumulus-0008-elastic_authoring:
     needs: [preflight]
@@ -272,22 +223,13 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-      - name: script
-        run: |
-          echo "RELAY_IMAGE: $RELAY_IMAGE"
-          echo "COL_IMAGE: $COL_IMAGE"
-          export DEBUG=${{ needs.preflight.outputs.DEBUG }}
-          /home/nonroot/zombie-net/scripts/ci/run-test-local-env-manager.sh \
-            --local-dir="$(pwd)/$LOCAL_DIR" \
-            --concurrency=1 \
-            --test="0008-elastic_authoring.zndsl"
-
-      - name: upload logs
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      #
+      - name: zombienet_test
+        uses: ./.github/actions/zombienet
         with:
-          name: zombienet-logs-${{ github.job }}-${{ github.sha }}
-          path: |
-            /tmp/zombie*/logs/*
+          test: "0008-elastic_authoring.zndsl"
+          local-dir: "${{ env.LOCAL_DIR }}"
+          concurrency: 1
 
   zombienet-cumulus-0009-elastic_pov_recovery:
     needs: [preflight]
@@ -303,22 +245,13 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-      - name: script
-        run: |
-          echo "RELAY_IMAGE: $RELAY_IMAGE"
-          echo "COL_IMAGE: $COL_IMAGE"
-          export DEBUG=${{ needs.preflight.outputs.DEBUG }}
-          /home/nonroot/zombie-net/scripts/ci/run-test-local-env-manager.sh \
-            --local-dir="$(pwd)/$LOCAL_DIR" \
-            --concurrency=1 \
-            --test="0009-elastic_pov_recovery.zndsl"
-
-      - name: upload logs
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      #
+      - name: zombienet_test
+        uses: ./.github/actions/zombienet
         with:
-          name: zombienet-logs-${{ github.job }}-${{ github.sha }}
-          path: |
-            /tmp/zombie*/logs/*
+          test: "0009-elastic_pov_recovery.zndsl"
+          local-dir: "${{ env.LOCAL_DIR }}"
+          concurrency: 1
 
   zombienet-cumulus-0010-elastic_scaling_multiple_block_per_slot:
     needs: [preflight]
diff --git a/.github/workflows/zombienet_polkadot.yml b/.github/workflows/zombienet_polkadot.yml
index f8cebfc566e8b..99964cf3821a1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/zombienet_polkadot.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/zombienet_polkadot.yml
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ env:
   X_INFRA_INSTANCE: "spot"
   # don't retry sdk tests
   NEXTEST_RETRIES: 0
+  KUBECONFIG: "/data/config"
+  ZOMBIE_CLEANER_DISABLED: 1
 
 # only run if we have changes in [subtrate, polkadot] directories or this workflow.
 jobs:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/zombienet_substrate.yml b/.github/workflows/zombienet_substrate.yml
index 13105136d4969..ebcfe6b7b1328 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/zombienet_substrate.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/zombienet_substrate.yml
@@ -52,18 +52,14 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-      - name: script
-        run: |
-          echo "Img: $ZOMBIENET_INTEGRATION_TEST_IMAGE"
-          export DEBUG=${{ needs.preflight.outputs.DEBUG }}
-          /home/nonroot/zombie-net/scripts/ci/run-test-local-env-manager.sh --local-dir="$(pwd)/$LOCAL_DIR/0000-block-building" --test="block-building.zndsl"
-
-      - name: upload logs
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      #
+      - name: zombienet_test
+        uses: ./.github/actions/zombienet
         with:
-          name: zombienet-logs-${{ github.job }}-${{ github.sha }}
-          path: |
-            /tmp/zombie*/logs/*
+          test: "block-building.zndsl"
+          local-dir: "${{ env.LOCAL_DIR }}/0000-block-building"
+          concurrency: 1
+
 
   zombienet-substrate-0001-basic-warp-sync:
     needs: [preflight]
@@ -79,18 +75,14 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-      - name: script
-        run: |
-          echo "Img: $ZOMBIENET_INTEGRATION_TEST_IMAGE"
-          export DEBUG=${{ needs.preflight.outputs.DEBUG }}
-          /home/nonroot/zombie-net/scripts/ci/run-test-local-env-manager.sh --local-dir="$(pwd)/$LOCAL_DIR/0001-basic-warp-sync" --test="test-warp-sync.zndsl"
-
-      - name: upload logs
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      #
+      - name: zombienet_test
+        uses: ./.github/actions/zombienet
         with:
-          name: zombienet-logs-${{ github.job }}-${{ github.sha }}
-          path: |
-            /tmp/zombie*/logs/*
+          test: "test-warp-sync.zndsl"
+          local-dir: "${{ env.LOCAL_DIR }}/0001-basic-warp-sync"
+          concurrency: 1
+
 
   zombienet-substrate-0002-validators-warp-sync:
     needs: [preflight]
@@ -106,19 +98,18 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-      - name: script
+      - name: cp
+        shell: bash
         run: |
-          echo "Img: $ZOMBIENET_INTEGRATION_TEST_IMAGE"
           cp --remove-destination ${LOCAL_DIR}/0001-basic-warp-sync/chain-spec.json ${LOCAL_DIR}/0002-validators-warp-sync
-          export DEBUG=${{ needs.preflight.outputs.DEBUG }}
-          /home/nonroot/zombie-net/scripts/ci/run-test-local-env-manager.sh --local-dir="$(pwd)/$LOCAL_DIR/0002-validators-warp-sync" --test="test-validators-warp-sync.zndsl"
 
-      - name: upload logs
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      #
+      - name: zombienet_test
+        uses: ./.github/actions/zombienet
         with:
-          name: zombienet-logs-${{ github.job }}-${{ github.sha }}
-          path: |
-            /tmp/zombie*/logs/*
+          test: "test-validators-warp-sync.zndsl"
+          local-dir: "${{ env.LOCAL_DIR }}/0002-validators-warp-sync"
+          concurrency: 1
 
   zombienet-substrate-0003-block-building-warp-sync:
     needs: [preflight]
@@ -134,16 +125,16 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-      - name: script
+      - name: cp
+        shell: bash
         run: |
-          echo "Img: $ZOMBIENET_INTEGRATION_TEST_IMAGE"
           cp --remove-destination ${LOCAL_DIR}/0001-basic-warp-sync/chain-spec.json ${LOCAL_DIR}/0003-block-building-warp-sync
-          export DEBUG=${{ needs.preflight.outputs.DEBUG }}
-          /home/nonroot/zombie-net/scripts/ci/run-test-local-env-manager.sh --local-dir="$(pwd)/$LOCAL_DIR/0003-block-building-warp-sync" --test="test-block-building-warp-sync.zndsl"
 
-      - name: upload logs
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      #
+      - name: zombienet_test
+        uses: ./.github/actions/zombienet
         with:
-          name: zombienet-logs-${{ github.job }}-${{ github.sha }}
-          path: |
-            /tmp/zombie*/logs/*
+          test: "test-block-building-warp-sync.zndsl"
+          local-dir: "${{ env.LOCAL_DIR }}/0003-block-building-warp-sync"
+          concurrency: 1
+