diff --git a/.github/actions/restore-e2e-npm-cache/action.yml b/.github/actions/restore-e2e-npm-cache/action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..df1b7b70403
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/actions/restore-e2e-npm-cache/action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+name: "Restore E2E npm registry cache"
+description: "Restore ~/.npm for cypress/playwright/api jobs (keyed on all E2E lockfiles)"
+
+runs:
+  using: "composite"
+  steps:
+    - name: ci/restore-npm-cache
+      uses: actions/cache/restore@cdf6c1fa76f9f475f3d7449005a359c84ca0f306 # v5.0.3
+      with:
+        path: ~/.npm
+        key: node-cache-${{ runner.os }}-${{ runner.arch }}-npm-e2e-${{ hashFiles('e2e-tests/cypress/package-lock.json', 'e2e-tests/playwright/package-lock.json', 'api/package-lock.json') }}
+        restore-keys: |
+          node-cache-${{ runner.os }}-${{ runner.arch }}-npm-e2e-
diff --git a/.github/actions/webapp-setup/action.yml b/.github/actions/webapp-setup/action.yml
index 3d32e3172af..92d7d701931 100644
--- a/.github/actions/webapp-setup/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/webapp-setup/action.yml
@@ -27,6 +27,9 @@ runs:
           webapp/platform/shared/node_modules
           webapp/platform/types/node_modules
         key: node-modules-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('webapp/package-lock.json') }}
+        # fall back to most recent cache for this OS if package-lock.json changed
+        restore-keys: |
+          node-modules-${{ runner.os }}-
     - name: ci/restore-node-modules
       if: inputs.read-only == 'true'
       uses: actions/cache/restore@cdf6c1fa76f9f475f3d7449005a359c84ca0f306 # v5.0.3
@@ -40,6 +43,9 @@ runs:
           webapp/platform/shared/node_modules
           webapp/platform/types/node_modules
         key: node-modules-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('webapp/package-lock.json') }}
+        # fall back to most recent cache for this OS if package-lock.json changed
+        restore-keys: |
+          node-modules-${{ runner.os }}-
     - name: ci/resolve-cache-hit
       id: cache-hit
       shell: bash
diff --git a/.github/workflows/api.yml b/.github/workflows/api.yml
index ae2205bc73d..52d9d509394 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/api.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/api.yml
@@ -22,11 +22,12 @@ jobs:
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
 
+      - name: ci/restore-npm-cache
+        uses: ./.github/actions/restore-e2e-npm-cache
+
       - uses: actions/setup-node@53b83947a5a98c8d113130e565377fae1a50d02f # v6.3.0
         with:
           node-version-file: .nvmrc
-          cache: "npm"
-          cache-dependency-path: api/package-lock.json
 
       - name: Run build
         run: make build
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-ci-cache-warm.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e-ci-cache-warm.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..bd77695f867
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-ci-cache-warm.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+# Warms the ~/.npm registry cache used by the e2e suites (cypress, playwright,
+# api). Runs once per day on master; all e2e/api CI jobs restore this cache
+# read-only via .github/actions/restore-e2e-npm-cache and never write back, so
+# this job is its sole writer.
+#
+# The cache is keyed on the OS/arch and a hash of all e2e lockfiles. Keep the key
+# below in sync with .github/actions/restore-e2e-npm-cache, which is the canonical
+# definition of the bucket's lockfile set. PRs that change a lockfile miss the
+# exact key and fall back to the most recent warm entry via restore-keys.
+#
+# The webapp node_modules cache is warmed separately by webapp-ci-cache-warm.yml.
+name: E2E CI Cache Warm
+
+on:
+  schedule:
+    - cron: "0 1 * * *" # Daily 1am UTC — 1 h before e2e CI typically runs
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+# Prevent an overlapping manual dispatch and scheduled run from both missing the
+# lookup and then racing to reserve the same cache key.
+concurrency:
+  group: e2e-ci-cache-warm
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+  actions: write # required to save the Actions cache
+
+jobs:
+  warm:
+    name: Warm E2E npm Registry Cache
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    # Bound a hung run so it can't hold the concurrency group for the default
+    # 6-hour timeout and block subsequent warm runs.
+    timeout-minutes: 60
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout mattermost project
+        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+
+      - name: Check if npm registry cache already warm
+        id: e2e-npm-check
+        uses: actions/cache/restore@cdf6c1fa76f9f475f3d7449005a359c84ca0f306 # v5.0.3
+        with:
+          path: ~/.npm
+          key: node-cache-${{ runner.os }}-${{ runner.arch }}-npm-e2e-${{ hashFiles('e2e-tests/cypress/package-lock.json', 'e2e-tests/playwright/package-lock.json', 'api/package-lock.json') }}
+          lookup-only: true
+
+      - name: ci/setup-node
+        if: steps.e2e-npm-check.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        uses: actions/setup-node@53b83947a5a98c8d113130e565377fae1a50d02f # v6.3.0
+        with:
+          node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
+
+      # ~/.npm is content-addressable and grows additively across installs, so we
+      # populate it by running each suite's install, then save the single bucket.
+      - name: Install playwright npm packages
+        if: steps.e2e-npm-check.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        working-directory: e2e-tests/playwright
+        run: npm ci
+
+      - name: Install cypress npm packages
+        if: steps.e2e-npm-check.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        working-directory: e2e-tests/cypress
+        run: npm ci
+
+      - name: Install api npm packages
+        if: steps.e2e-npm-check.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        working-directory: api
+        run: npm ci
+
+      - name: Save npm registry cache
+        if: steps.e2e-npm-check.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        uses: actions/cache/save@cdf6c1fa76f9f475f3d7449005a359c84ca0f306 # v5.0.3
+        with:
+          path: ~/.npm
+          key: node-cache-${{ runner.os }}-${{ runner.arch }}-npm-e2e-${{ hashFiles('e2e-tests/cypress/package-lock.json', 'e2e-tests/playwright/package-lock.json', 'api/package-lock.json') }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-check.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-check.yml
index a10f0b0f4f6..51f6eae1821 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-check.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-check.yml
@@ -24,25 +24,25 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
           fetch-depth: 0
 
+      - name: ci/restore-npm-cache
+        uses: ./.github/actions/restore-e2e-npm-cache
       - name: ci/setup-node
         uses: actions/setup-node@53b83947a5a98c8d113130e565377fae1a50d02f # v6.3.0
         with:
           node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
-          cache: npm
-          cache-dependency-path: |
-            e2e-tests/cypress/package-lock.json
-            e2e-tests/playwright/package-lock.json
-            webapp/package-lock.json
       - name: ci/npm-cache-verify
         # Heal any partial/dangling entries left in the restored ~/.npm cache
         # before running `npm ci`. Avoids the intermittent EEXIST/ENOENT
         # failures in npm's cacache writer.
         run: npm cache verify
 
-      # Set up web app subpackages and eslint plugin
-      - name: ci/get-webapp-node-modules
-        working-directory: webapp
-        run: make node_modules
+      # Set up web app subpackages and eslint plugin, restoring the warmed
+      # node_modules cache read-only and falling back to `make node_modules` on a
+      # miss.
+      - name: ci/webapp-setup
+        uses: ./.github/actions/webapp-setup
+        with:
+          read-only: "true"
 
       # Cypress check
       - name: ci/cypress/npm-install
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-ci-template.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-ci-template.yml
index 10de9cf0af1..7de6ca41097 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-ci-template.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-ci-template.yml
@@ -126,7 +126,6 @@ jobs:
         shell: bash
     outputs:
       workers: "${{ steps.generate.outputs.workers }}"
-      node-cache-dependency-path: "${{ steps.generate.outputs.node-cache-dependency-path }}"
     steps:
       - name: ci/checkout-repo
         uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
@@ -138,11 +137,9 @@ jobs:
         id: generate
         env:
           WORKERS: ${{ inputs.workers_number }}
-          TEST: ${{ inputs.TEST }}
         run: |
           [ "$WORKERS" -gt "0" ] # Assert that the workers number is an integer greater than 0
           echo "workers="$(jq --slurp --compact-output '[range('"$WORKERS"')] | map(tostring)' /dev/null) >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-          echo "node-cache-dependency-path=e2e-tests/${TEST}/package-lock.json" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
   generate-test-cycle:
     permissions:
@@ -163,13 +160,13 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
           ref: ${{ inputs.commit_sha }}
           fetch-depth: 0
+      - name: ci/restore-npm-cache
+        uses: ./.github/actions/restore-e2e-npm-cache
       - name: ci/setup-node
         uses: actions/setup-node@53b83947a5a98c8d113130e565377fae1a50d02f # v6.3.0
         id: setup_node
         with:
           node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
-          cache: npm
-          cache-dependency-path: "e2e-tests/cypress/package-lock.json" # NB: the generate-cycle script is cypress-specific operation for now
       - name: ci/e2e-test-gencycle
         id: e2e-test-gencycle
         env:
@@ -265,13 +262,13 @@ jobs:
           mkdir -p ~/.docker/cli-plugins
           ln -sfn /usr/local/opt/docker-compose/bin/docker-compose ~/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose
           sudo ln -sf $HOME/.colima/default/docker.sock /var/run/docker.sock
+      - name: ci/restore-npm-cache
+        uses: ./.github/actions/restore-e2e-npm-cache
       - name: ci/setup-node
         uses: actions/setup-node@53b83947a5a98c8d113130e565377fae1a50d02f # v6.3.0
         id: setup_node
         with:
           node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
-          cache: npm
-          cache-dependency-path: ${{ needs.generate-build-variables.outputs.node-cache-dependency-path }}
       - name: ci/e2e-test
         run: |
           make cloud-init
@@ -379,14 +376,15 @@ jobs:
           path: |
             e2e-tests/${{ inputs.TEST }}/logs/
             e2e-tests/${{ inputs.TEST }}/results/
+      - name: ci/restore-npm-cache
+        if: "${{ inputs.enable_reporting }}"
+        uses: ./.github/actions/restore-e2e-npm-cache
       - name: ci/setup-node
         if: "${{ inputs.enable_reporting }}"
         uses: actions/setup-node@53b83947a5a98c8d113130e565377fae1a50d02f # v6.3.0
         id: setup_node
         with:
           node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
-          cache: npm
-          cache-dependency-path: ${{ needs.generate-build-variables.outputs.node-cache-dependency-path }}
       - name: ci/publish-report
         if: "${{ inputs.enable_reporting }}"
         env:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-cypress-template.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-cypress-template.yml
index 77d29c0f02e..3dfd88d5f45 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-cypress-template.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-cypress-template.yml
@@ -151,12 +151,12 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
           ref: ${{ inputs.commit_sha }}
           fetch-depth: 0
+      - name: ci/restore-npm-cache
+        uses: ./.github/actions/restore-e2e-npm-cache
       - name: ci/setup-node
         uses: actions/setup-node@53b83947a5a98c8d113130e565377fae1a50d02f # v6.3.0
         with:
           node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
-          cache: npm
-          cache-dependency-path: "e2e-tests/cypress/package-lock.json"
 
       - name: ci/generate-test-cycle
         id: generate-cycle
@@ -216,12 +216,12 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
           ref: ${{ inputs.commit_sha }}
           fetch-depth: 0
+      - name: ci/restore-npm-cache
+        uses: ./.github/actions/restore-e2e-npm-cache
       - name: ci/setup-node
         uses: actions/setup-node@53b83947a5a98c8d113130e565377fae1a50d02f # v6.3.0
         with:
           node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
-          cache: npm
-          cache-dependency-path: "e2e-tests/cypress/package-lock.json"
       - name: ci/npm-cache-verify
         # Heal any partial/dangling entries left in the restored ~/.npm cache
         # before running `npm ci`. Avoids the intermittent EEXIST/ENOENT
@@ -321,12 +321,12 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
           ref: ${{ inputs.commit_sha }}
           fetch-depth: 0
+      - name: ci/restore-npm-cache
+        uses: ./.github/actions/restore-e2e-npm-cache
       - name: ci/setup-node
         uses: actions/setup-node@53b83947a5a98c8d113130e565377fae1a50d02f # v6.3.0
         with:
           node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
-          cache: npm
-          cache-dependency-path: "e2e-tests/cypress/package-lock.json"
       - name: ci/run-failed-specs
         env:
           SPEC_FILES: ${{ needs.calculate-results.outputs.failed_specs }}
@@ -370,12 +370,12 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
+      - name: ci/restore-npm-cache
+        uses: ./.github/actions/restore-e2e-npm-cache
       - name: ci/setup-node
         uses: actions/setup-node@53b83947a5a98c8d113130e565377fae1a50d02f # v6.3.0
         with:
           node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
-          cache: npm
-          cache-dependency-path: "e2e-tests/cypress/package-lock.json"
 
       # PATH A: run-failed-tests was skipped (no failures to retest)
       - name: ci/download-results-path-a
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-playwright-template.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-playwright-template.yml
index 3eb8dd16540..b8c1ae7c17d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-playwright-template.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-tests-playwright-template.yml
@@ -178,14 +178,12 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
           ref: ${{ inputs.commit_sha }}
           fetch-depth: 0
+      - name: ci/restore-npm-cache
+        uses: ./.github/actions/restore-e2e-npm-cache
       - name: ci/setup-node
         uses: actions/setup-node@53b83947a5a98c8d113130e565377fae1a50d02f # v6.3.0
         with:
           node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
-          cache: npm
-          cache-dependency-path: |
-            e2e-tests/playwright/package-lock.json
-            webapp/package-lock.json
       - name: ci/npm-cache-verify
         # Heal any partial/dangling entries left in the restored ~/.npm cache
         # before running `npm ci`. Avoids the intermittent EEXIST/ENOENT
@@ -295,12 +293,12 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
+      - name: ci/restore-npm-cache
+        uses: ./.github/actions/restore-e2e-npm-cache
       - name: ci/setup-node
         uses: actions/setup-node@53b83947a5a98c8d113130e565377fae1a50d02f # v6.3.0
         with:
           node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
-          cache: npm
-          cache-dependency-path: "e2e-tests/playwright/package-lock.json"
       - name: ci/download-shard-results
         uses: actions/download-artifact@70fc10c6e5e1ce46ad2ea6f2b72d43f7d47b13c3 # v8.0.0
         with:
@@ -362,12 +360,12 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
+      - name: ci/restore-npm-cache
+        uses: ./.github/actions/restore-e2e-npm-cache
       - name: ci/setup-node
         uses: actions/setup-node@53b83947a5a98c8d113130e565377fae1a50d02f # v6.3.0
         with:
           node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
-          cache: npm
-          cache-dependency-path: "e2e-tests/playwright/package-lock.json"
 
       # Download merged results (uploaded by calculate-results). These blob
       # reports already include the inline per-shard retry results, so no
diff --git a/.github/workflows/webapp-ci-cache-warm.yml b/.github/workflows/webapp-ci-cache-warm.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d1525e959c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/webapp-ci-cache-warm.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+# Warms the webapp node_modules cache used by webapp CI and the E2E v2 templates
+# (via .github/actions/webapp-setup). Runs once per day on master so the cache is
+# fresh before CI runs; webapp CI restores it read-only, though the E2E v2
+# templates also populate it within their own runs.
+#
+# The cache is keyed on the OS and a hash of webapp/package-lock.json. PRs that
+# change the lockfile miss the exact key and fall back to the most recent warm
+# entry via restore-keys, then reconcile the delta with `make node_modules`.
+#
+# The E2E ~/.npm registry cache is warmed separately by e2e-ci-cache-warm.yml.
+name: Webapp CI Cache Warm
+
+on:
+  schedule:
+    - cron: "0 1 * * *" # Daily 1am UTC — 1 h before webapp CI typically runs
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+# Prevent an overlapping manual dispatch and scheduled run from both missing the
+# lookup and then racing to reserve the same cache key.
+concurrency:
+  group: webapp-ci-cache-warm
+  cancel-in-progress: false
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+  actions: write # required to save the Actions cache
+
+jobs:
+  warm:
+    name: Warm Webapp node_modules Cache
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    # Bound a hung run so it can't hold the concurrency group for the default
+    # 6-hour timeout and block subsequent warm runs.
+    timeout-minutes: 60
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout mattermost project
+        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+        with:
+          persist-credentials: false
+
+      - name: Check if node_modules cache already warm
+        id: node-modules-check
+        uses: actions/cache/restore@cdf6c1fa76f9f475f3d7449005a359c84ca0f306 # v5.0.3
+        with:
+          path: |
+            webapp/node_modules
+            webapp/channels/node_modules
+            webapp/platform/client/node_modules
+            webapp/platform/components/node_modules
+            webapp/platform/shared/node_modules
+            webapp/platform/types/node_modules
+          key: node-modules-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('webapp/package-lock.json') }}
+          lookup-only: true
+
+      - name: ci/setup-node
+        if: steps.node-modules-check.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        uses: actions/setup-node@53b83947a5a98c8d113130e565377fae1a50d02f # v6.3.0
+        with:
+          node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
+
+      - name: Install node modules
+        if: steps.node-modules-check.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        working-directory: webapp
+        run: make node_modules
+
+      - name: Save node_modules cache
+        if: steps.node-modules-check.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        uses: actions/cache/save@cdf6c1fa76f9f475f3d7449005a359c84ca0f306 # v5.0.3
+        with:
+          path: |
+            webapp/node_modules
+            webapp/channels/node_modules
+            webapp/platform/client/node_modules
+            webapp/platform/components/node_modules
+            webapp/platform/shared/node_modules
+            webapp/platform/types/node_modules
+          key: node-modules-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('webapp/package-lock.json') }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/webapp-ci.yml b/.github/workflows/webapp-ci.yml
index 5f17495cbf5..dd456e1ac1e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/webapp-ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/webapp-ci.yml
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
       - name: ci/setup
         uses: ./.github/actions/webapp-setup
+        with:
+          read-only: "true"
       - name: ci/lint
         run: |
           npm run check
@@ -50,6 +52,8 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
       - name: ci/setup
         uses: ./.github/actions/webapp-setup
+        with:
+          read-only: "true"
       - name: ci/i18n-extract
         working-directory: webapp/channels
         run: |
@@ -71,6 +75,8 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
       - name: ci/setup
         uses: ./.github/actions/webapp-setup
+        with:
+          read-only: "true"
       - name: ci/check-external-links
         run: |
           set -o pipefail
@@ -91,6 +97,8 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
       - name: ci/setup
         uses: ./.github/actions/webapp-setup
+        with:
+          read-only: "true"
       - name: ci/lint
         run: |
           npm run check-types
@@ -115,6 +123,8 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
       - name: ci/setup
         uses: ./.github/actions/webapp-setup
+        with:
+          read-only: "true"
       - name: ci/test
         env:
           NODE_OPTIONS: --max_old_space_size=5120
@@ -150,6 +160,8 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
       - name: ci/setup
         uses: ./.github/actions/webapp-setup
+        with:
+          read-only: "true"
       - name: ci/test
         env:
           NODE_OPTIONS: --max_old_space_size=5120
@@ -186,6 +198,8 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
       - name: ci/setup
         uses: ./.github/actions/webapp-setup
+        with:
+          read-only: "true"
       - name: ci/test
         env:
           MATRIX_SHARD: ${{ matrix.shard }}
@@ -216,6 +230,8 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
       - name: ci/setup
         uses: ./.github/actions/webapp-setup
+        with:
+          read-only: "true"
       - name: ci/download-coverage-artifacts
         uses: actions/download-artifact@70fc10c6e5e1ce46ad2ea6f2b72d43f7d47b13c3 # v8.0.0
         with:
@@ -276,6 +292,8 @@ jobs:
           persist-credentials: false
       - name: ci/setup
         uses: ./.github/actions/webapp-setup
+        with:
+          read-only: "true"
       - name: ci/build
         run: |
           npm run build