diff --git a/.github/workflows/installer.yml b/.github/workflows/installer.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 012b1bddd42e..000000000000
--- a/.github/workflows/installer.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,63 +0,0 @@
----
-# Tools that can save round-trips to github and a lot of time:
-#
-# yamllint -f parsable this.yml
-# pip3 install ruamel.yaml.cmd
-# yaml merge-expand this.yml exp.yml && diff -w -u this.yml exp.yml
-#
-# github.com also has a powerful web editor that can be used without
-# committing.
-
-name: installer
-
-# 'workflow_dispatch' allows running this workflow manually from the
-# 'Actions' tab
-# yamllint disable-line rule:truthy
-on: [push, pull_request, workflow_dispatch, workflow_call]
-
-jobs:
-  checktree:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
-
-    strategy:
-      fail-fast: false
-      matrix:  # just a vector in this case
-        make_env: [
-          IPC_VERSION= UNSIGNED_list='imx8m' SIGNED_list=,  # default version
-        ]
-
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with: {fetch-depth: 0, submodules: recursive, filter: 'tree:0'}
-
-      - name: docker
-        run: docker pull thesofproject/sof && docker tag thesofproject/sof sof
-
-      # -j3 tests the ability to build multiple platforms
-      # concurrently. It makes the build log unreadable, so retry with
-      # a single thread in case of failure
-      - name: build all and stage
-        env:
-          gh_make_env: ${{ matrix.make_env }}
-        # Use 'eval' to have two different levels of whitespace:
-        # 1. between vars, and 2. inside _lists. Quoting is hard, even
-        # harder through 'docker-run.sh'.
-        run: eval env_array=($gh_make_env) &&
-             ./scripts/docker-run.sh
-                make -j3 -C installer/ tarball "${env_array[@]}" ||
-            VERBOSE=1 NO_PROCESSORS=1 USE_XARGS=no
-             ./scripts/docker-run.sh
-                make -j1 -C installer/ tarball "${env_array[@]}"
-
-      - name: check staging tree
-        env:
-          gh_make_env: ${{ matrix.make_env }}
-        run: eval env_array=($gh_make_env) &&
-             make -C installer/ checktree "${env_array[@]}"
-
-      - name: test make cleanall
-        run: |
-           make -C installer cleanall
-           # Make sure there's nothing left
-           rm -rf scripts/kconfig/__pycache__/
-           ! git status --porcelain --ignored | grep .
diff --git a/.github/workflows/testbench.yml b/.github/workflows/testbench.yml
index 9c1dfdfb22ec..7a7b32a99ac0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/testbench.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/testbench.yml
@@ -29,33 +29,63 @@ on:
   workflow_call:
 
 jobs:
-
-  build-run:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
+  build-and-test:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.10
 
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with: {fetch-depth: 0, filter: 'tree:0'}
-
-      - name: docker
-        run: docker pull thesofproject/sof && docker tag thesofproject/sof sof
+      - name: Checkout SOF repository (PR source)
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          path: sof
 
       - name: apt get
         run: sudo apt-get update &&
-             sudo apt-get -y install valgrind alsa-utils libasound2-dev ninja-build
-             octave octave-signal
+               sudo apt-get -y install valgrind ninja-build
+                  octave octave-signal automake autoconf libtool
+                  gettext linux-headers-6.11.0-8
+
+      - name: Build Alsa-lib
+        run: |
+          cd ${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}
+          git clone https://github.com/thesofproject/alsa-lib.git
+          cd alsa-lib
+          git checkout df8f1cc1ec9d9ee15be5e2c23ad25b9389fd8766 -b build
+          ./gitcompile --prefix=${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/tools
+          make install
+
+      - name: Build Alsa-utils
+        run: |
+          cd ${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}
+          git clone https://github.com/thesofproject/alsa-utils.git
+          cd alsa-utils
+          git checkout 0ffa105942a06cdfa98e5918b8dc82e3cac12792 -b build
+          ./gitcompile --prefix=${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/tools \
+             --with-alsa-prefix=${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/tools \
+             --with-alsa-inc-prefix=${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/tools/include \
+             --with-sysroot=${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/tools \
+             --with-udev-rules-dir=${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/tools \
+             PKG_CONFIG_PATH=${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/tools \
+             LDFLAGS=-L${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/tools/lib \
+             --disable-old-symbols \
+             --enable-alsatopology \
+             --with-asound-state-dir=${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/tools/var/lib/alsa \
+             --with-systemdsystemunitdir=${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/tools/lib/systemd/system
+          make install
 
       # testbench needs some topologies.
       - name: build test topologies
-        run: CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ./scripts/docker-run.sh
-          ./scripts/build-tools.sh -Y ||
+        run: |
+          CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ./sof/scripts/build-tools.sh -Y ||
              VERBOSE=1 NO_PROCESSORS=1 USE_XARGS=no
-             CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ./scripts/docker-run.sh
-          ./scripts/build-tools.sh -Y
+          CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ./sof/scripts/build-tools.sh -Y
 
+      # build testbench
       - name: build testbench
-        run: ./scripts/rebuild-testbench.sh ||
-             ./scripts/rebuild-testbench.sh -j 1
+        run: |
+          ./sof/scripts/rebuild-testbench.sh ||
+          ./sof/scripts/rebuild-testbench.sh -j 1
 
+      # run testbench
       - name: run testbench
-        run: ./scripts/host-testbench.sh
+        run: |
+          ./sof/scripts/host-testbench.sh
diff --git a/scripts/build-alsa-tools.sh b/scripts/build-alsa-tools.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000000..5e1e7f75d39d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/build-alsa-tools.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+# Copyright(c) 2025 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.
+
+# fail immediately on any errors
+set -e
+
+# Array of ALSA Git repository URLs.  Add or remove repositories as needed.
+declare -a REPOS=(
+    "https://github.com/thesofproject/alsa-lib.git"
+    "https://github.com/thesofproject/alsa-utils.git"
+    # Add more repositories here...
+)
+
+# Commit ID to check for (optional). If specified, the script will update
+# the repository if this commit ID is not found.  Leave empty to skip.
+# This array order must align with REPO array above.
+declare -a COMMIT_ID=(
+    "df8f1cc1ec9d9ee15be5e2c23ad25b9389fd8766"
+    "09550cd393b1a7d307ee6f26637b1ed7bd275e38"
+    # Add more IDs here...
+)
+
+# Directory where repositories will be cloned/updated.
+if [[ -z "$SOF_WORKSPACE" ]]; then
+  # Environment variable is empty or unset so use default
+  BASE_DIR="$HOME/work/sof"
+else
+  # Environment variable exists and has a value
+  BASE_DIR="$SOF_WORKSPACE"
+fi
+
+# Arguments to pass to ./configure for each repository.  Add or remove
+declare -a CONFIGURE_ARGS=(
+    "--prefix=${BASE_DIR}/tools"
+    "--prefix=${BASE_DIR}/tools \
+        --with-alsa-prefix=${BASE_DIR}/tools \
+        --with-alsa-inc-prefix=${BASE_DIR}/tools/include \
+        --with-sysroot=${BASE_DIR}/tools \
+        --with-udev-rules-dir=${BASE_DIR}/tools \
+        PKG_CONFIG_PATH=${BASE_DIR}/tools \
+        LDFLAGS=-L${BASE_DIR}/tools/lib \
+        --with-asound-state-dir=${BASE_DIR}/tools/var/lib/alsa \
+        --with-systemdsystemunitdir=${BASE_DIR}/tools/lib/systemd/system"
+)
+
+# Arguments to pass to make for each repository.  Add or remove arguments as needed.
+declare -a TARGET_ARGS=(
+    "--disable-old-symbols"
+    "--enable-alsatopology"
+)
+
+# Function to check if a commit ID exists in a repository
+check_commit() {
+    local repo_dir="$1"
+    local commit_id="$2"
+
+    if [ -z "$commit_id" ]; then
+        return 0  # Skip check if no commit ID is provided
+    fi
+
+    if ! git -C "$repo_dir" rev-parse --quiet --verify "$commit_id" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        return 1  # Commit ID not found
+    else
+        return 0  # Commit ID found
+    fi
+}
+
+
+# Function to update the repository
+update_repo() {
+    local repo_dir="$1"
+    echo "Updating repository: $repo_dir"
+    git -C "$repo_dir" fetch --all
+    git -C "$repo_dir" pull
+}
+
+# Function to build and install the repository
+build_and_install() {
+    local repo_dir="$1"
+    local configure_args="$2"
+    local target_args="$3"
+
+    echo "Building and installing: $repo_dir $configure_args $target_args"
+
+    if [ ! -f "$repo_dir/gitcompile" ]; then
+          echo "Error: gitcompile not found in $repo_dir" >&2
+          exit 1
+    fi
+
+    # if Makefile exists then we can just run make
+    if [ ! -f "$repo_dir/Makefile" ]; then
+        (cd "$repo_dir" && ./gitcompile $configure_args $target_args) || \
+            { echo "configure failed in $repo_dir"; exit 1; }
+    else
+        (cd "$repo_dir" && make -j) || { echo "make failed in $repo_dir"; exit 1; }
+    fi
+
+    (cd "$repo_dir" && make install) || { echo "make install failed in $repo_dir"; exit 1; }
+
+    echo "Build and installation complete for $repo_dir"
+}
+
+# Main script logic
+mkdir -p "$BASE_DIR"
+
+for ((i = 0; i < ${#REPOS[@]}; i++)); do
+    echo "Counter: $i, Value: ${REPOS[i]}"
+    repo_url=${REPOS[i]}
+
+    repo_name=$(basename "$repo_url" .git)  # Extract repo name
+    repo_dir="$BASE_DIR/$repo_name"
+
+    if [ ! -d "$repo_dir" ]; then
+        echo "Cloning repository: $repo_url"
+        git clone "$repo_url" "$repo_dir" || { echo "git clone failed for $repo_url"; exit 1; }
+    elif ! check_commit "$repo_dir" "${COMMIT_ID[i]}"; then
+        update_repo "$repo_dir"
+    else
+        echo "Repository $repo_name is up to date."
+    fi
+
+    build_and_install "$repo_dir" "${CONFIGURE_ARGS[i]}"
+
+done
+
+echo "All repositories processed."
diff --git a/scripts/build-tools.sh b/scripts/build-tools.sh
index de41f652debf..6304265820cd 100755
--- a/scripts/build-tools.sh
+++ b/scripts/build-tools.sh
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ Attention: the list of selected shortcuts below is _not_ exhaustive. To
 build _everything_ don't select any particular target; this will build
 CMake's default target "ALL".
 
-usage: $0 [-c|-f|-h|-l|-p|-t|-T|-X|-Y]
+usage: $0 [-c|-f|-h|-l|-p|-t|-T|-X|-Y|-A]
        -h Display help
 
        -c Rebuild ctl/
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ usage: $0 [-c|-f|-h|-l|-p|-t|-T|-X|-Y]
        -X Rebuild topology1 only
        -Y Rebuild topology2 only
        -t Rebuild test/topology/ (or tools/test/topology/tplg-build.sh directly)
+       -A Clone and rebuild local ALSA lib and utils.
 
        -C No build, only CMake re-configuration. Shows CMake targets.
 EOFUSAGE
@@ -106,6 +107,7 @@ main()
         fi
 
         DO_BUILD_ctl=false
+        DO_BUILD_alsa=false
         DO_BUILD_logger=false
         DO_BUILD_probes=false
         DO_BUILD_tests=false
@@ -118,7 +120,7 @@ main()
 
         # eval is a sometimes necessary evil
         # shellcheck disable=SC2034
-        while getopts "cfhlptTCXY" OPTION; do
+        while getopts "cfhlptTCXYA" OPTION; do
                 case "$OPTION" in
                 c) DO_BUILD_ctl=true ;;
                 l) DO_BUILD_logger=true ;;
@@ -128,12 +130,17 @@ main()
                 X) DO_BUILD_topologies1=true ;;
                 Y) DO_BUILD_topologies2=true ;;
                 C) CMAKE_ONLY=true ;;
+                A) DO_BUILD_alsa=true ;;
                 h) print_usage; exit 1;;
                 *) print_usage; exit 1;;
                 esac
         done
         shift "$((OPTIND - 1))"
 
+        if "$DO_BUILD_alsa"; then
+                $SOF_TOP/scripts/build-alsa-tools.sh
+        fi
+
         if "$CMAKE_ONLY"; then
                 reconfigure_build
                 print_build_info
diff --git a/tools/ctl/CMakeLists.txt b/tools/ctl/CMakeLists.txt
index 70735f88da65..5c4c2dd315b5 100644
--- a/tools/ctl/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tools/ctl/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@ add_executable(sof-ctl
 	ctl.c
 )
 
+target_link_directories(sof-ctl BEFORE
+	PRIVATE "${SOF_ROOT_SOURCE_DIRECTORY}/../tools/lib")
+
 target_link_libraries(sof-ctl PRIVATE
 	"-lasound"
 )
@@ -13,6 +16,7 @@ target_compile_options(sof-ctl PRIVATE
 )
 
 target_include_directories(sof-ctl PRIVATE
+	"${SOF_ROOT_SOURCE_DIRECTORY}/../tools/include"
 	"${SOF_ROOT_SOURCE_DIRECTORY}/src/include"
 	"${SOF_ROOT_SOURCE_DIRECTORY}"
 )
diff --git a/tools/topology/CMakeLists.txt b/tools/topology/CMakeLists.txt
index 33722120e41b..92a7acf6e5a6 100644
--- a/tools/topology/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tools/topology/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,18 +1,19 @@
 set(SOF_TOPOLOGY_BINARY_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}")
-
+set(SOF_ALSA_TOOLS_DIR "${SOF_ROOT_SOURCE_DIRECTORY}/../tools/bin")
+set(ALSATPLG_CMD "${SOF_ALSA_TOOLS_DIR}/alsatplg")
 
 function(alsatplg_version  OUT_STATUS  OUT_VERSION)
-	execute_process(COMMAND alsatplg --version
+	execute_process(COMMAND ${ALSATPLG_CMD} --version
 	  RESULT_VARIABLE status
 	  OUTPUT_VARIABLE stdout
 	  OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE)
-	message(DEBUG "alsatplg --version: status=${status}, output=${stdout}")
+	message(DEBUG "${ALSATPLG_CMD} --version: status=${status}, output=${stdout}")
 
 	set(${OUT_STATUS} "${status}" PARENT_SCOPE)
 
         # Some error messages have already been printed on stderr
 	if(NOT status EQUAL 0)
-	  message(WARNING "alsatplg --version returned status: ${status},
+	  message(WARNING "${ALSATPLG_CMD} --version returned status: ${status},
 ${stdout}")
 	  return()
 	endif()
@@ -32,7 +33,7 @@ endfunction()
 # Longer story in #5192.
 alsatplg_version(STATUS ALSATPLG_VERSION_NUMBER)
 if(NOT STATUS EQUAL 0)
-	message(WARNING "alsatplg failed: ${STATUS}; all topologies skipped")
+	message(WARNING "${ALSATPLG_CMD} failed: ${STATUS}; all topologies skipped")
 	return()
 else()
 	if(${ALSATPLG_VERSION_NUMBER} VERSION_LESS "1.2.5")
@@ -67,7 +68,7 @@ macro(add_alsatplg_command)
 		# permissions are hardcoded and only the user can read
 		# the -o(utput) file.
 		# See bug https://github.com/alsa-project/alsa-utils/issues/126
-		COMMAND alsatplg \$\${VERBOSE:+-v 1} -c ${ARGV0} -o ${ARGV1}
+		COMMAND ${ALSATPLG_CMD} \$\${VERBOSE:+-v 1} -c ${ARGV0} -o ${ARGV1}
 		USES_TERMINAL
 	)
 endmacro()
@@ -94,7 +95,7 @@ macro(add_alsatplg2_command conf_header conf_target input_name output_name inclu
 		COMMAND cat ${conf_header} ${input_name}.conf > ${output_name}.conf
 
 		# -p to pre-process Topology2.0 conf file
-		COMMAND ALSA_CONFIG_DIR=${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/topology/topology2 alsatplg \$\${VERBOSE:+-v 1}
+		COMMAND ALSA_CONFIG_DIR=${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/topology/topology2 ${ALSATPLG_CMD} \$\${VERBOSE:+-v 1}
 		        -I ${include_path} -D "'${defines}'" -p -c ${output_name}.conf -o ${output_name}.tplg
 		USES_TERMINAL
 		)