diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index 6d500d3098..ea0b6e15cc 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ on:
     paths: [
       '.github/workflows/build.yml',
       '.github/workflows/build-cmake-pkg.yml',
+      'ci/run.sh',
       '**/CMakeLists.txt',
       '**/.cmake',
       '**/*.h',
@@ -80,6 +81,8 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           sysctl -a
           cmake -B build \
+            -G "Ninja" \
+            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
             -DCMAKE_BUILD_RPATH="@loader_path" \
             -DLLAMA_FATAL_WARNINGS=ON \
             -DLLAMA_BUILD_BORINGSSL=ON \
@@ -118,6 +121,8 @@ jobs:
           # Metal is disabled due to intermittent failures with Github runners not having a GPU:
           # https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp/actions/runs/8635935781/job/23674807267#step:5:2313
           cmake -B build \
+            -G "Ninja" \
+            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
             -DCMAKE_BUILD_RPATH="@loader_path" \
             -DLLAMA_FATAL_WARNINGS=ON \
             -DLLAMA_BUILD_BORINGSSL=ON \
@@ -165,7 +170,7 @@ jobs:
         id: cmake_build
         run: |
           export CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=dawn
-          cmake -B build -DGGML_WEBGPU=ON -DGGML_METAL=OFF -DGGML_BLAS=OFF
+          cmake -B build -G "Ninja" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DGGML_WEBGPU=ON -DGGML_METAL=OFF -DGGML_BLAS=OFF
           cmake --build build --config Release -j $(sysctl -n hw.logicalcpu)
 
       - name: Test
@@ -209,7 +214,7 @@ jobs:
           sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
             python3 python3-pip python3-dev \
             libjpeg-dev build-essential libssl-dev \
-            git-lfs
+            git-lfs ninja-build
 
       - name: Python Dependencies
         id: python_depends
@@ -229,6 +234,8 @@ jobs:
         id: cmake_build
         run: |
           cmake -B build \
+            -G "Ninja" \
+            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
             -DLLAMA_FATAL_WARNINGS=ON \
             -DGGML_RPC=ON
           cmake --build build --config Release -j $(nproc)
@@ -274,12 +281,14 @@ jobs:
         id: depends
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update
-          sudo apt-get install build-essential libssl-dev
+          sudo apt-get install build-essential libssl-dev ninja-build
 
       - name: Build
         id: cmake_build
         run: |
           cmake -B build \
+            -G "Ninja" \
+            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
             -DGGML_RPC=ON
           cmake --build build --config Release -j $(nproc)
 
@@ -300,12 +309,13 @@ jobs:
       - name: Dependencies
         id: depends
         run: |
-          sudo apt-get install -y glslc libvulkan-dev libssl-dev
+          sudo apt-get install -y glslc libvulkan-dev libssl-dev ninja-build
 
       - name: Configure
         id: cmake_configure
         run: |
           cmake -B build \
+            -G "Ninja" \
             -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo \
             -DGGML_BACKEND_DL=ON \
             -DGGML_CPU_ALL_VARIANTS=ON \
@@ -336,7 +346,8 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:kisak/kisak-mesa
           sudo apt-get update -y
-          sudo apt-get install -y build-essential mesa-vulkan-drivers libxcb-xinput0 libxcb-xinerama0 libxcb-cursor-dev libssl-dev
+          sudo apt-get install -y build-essential mesa-vulkan-drivers \
+            libxcb-xinput0 libxcb-xinerama0 libxcb-cursor-dev libssl-dev ninja-build
 
       - name: Get latest Vulkan SDK version
         id: vulkan_sdk_version
@@ -377,6 +388,8 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           export Dawn_DIR=dawn/lib64/cmake/Dawn
           cmake -B build \
+            -G "Ninja" \
+            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
             -DGGML_WEBGPU=ON
           cmake --build build --config Release -j $(nproc)
 
@@ -415,11 +428,13 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           source emsdk/emsdk_env.sh
           emcmake cmake -B build-wasm \
+            -G "Ninja" \
+            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
             -DGGML_WEBGPU=ON \
             -DLLAMA_OPENSSL=OFF \
             -DEMDAWNWEBGPU_DIR=emdawnwebgpu_pkg
 
-          cmake --build build-wasm --target test-backend-ops -j $(nproc)
+          cmake --build build-wasm --config Release --target test-backend-ops -j $(nproc)
 
   ubuntu-22-hip:
     runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
@@ -434,7 +449,7 @@ jobs:
         id: depends
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update
-          sudo apt-get install -y build-essential git cmake rocblas-dev hipblas-dev libssl-dev rocwmma-dev
+          sudo apt-get install -y build-essential git cmake rocblas-dev hipblas-dev libssl-dev rocwmma-dev ninja-build
 
       - name: ccache
         uses: ggml-org/ccache-action@v1.2.21
@@ -447,6 +462,8 @@ jobs:
         id: cmake_build
         run: |
           cmake -B build -S . \
+            -G "Ninja" \
+            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
             -DCMAKE_HIP_COMPILER="$(hipconfig -l)/clang" \
             -DGGML_HIP_ROCWMMA_FATTN=ON \
             -DGGML_HIP=ON
@@ -465,7 +482,7 @@ jobs:
         id: depends
         run: |
           apt-get update
-          apt-get install -y build-essential git cmake libssl-dev
+          apt-get install -y build-essential git cmake libssl-dev ninja-build
 
       - name: ccache
         uses: ggml-org/ccache-action@v1.2.21
@@ -478,6 +495,8 @@ jobs:
         id: cmake_build
         run: |
           cmake -B build -S . \
+            -G "Ninja" \
+            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
             -DGGML_MUSA=ON
           cmake --build build --config Release -j $(nproc)
 
@@ -502,7 +521,7 @@ jobs:
         shell: bash
         run: |
           sudo apt update
-          sudo apt install intel-oneapi-compiler-dpcpp-cpp libssl-dev
+          sudo apt install intel-oneapi-compiler-dpcpp-cpp libssl-dev ninja-build
 
       - name: install oneAPI MKL library
         shell: bash
@@ -525,6 +544,8 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           source /opt/intel/oneapi/setvars.sh
           cmake -B build \
+            -G "Ninja" \
+            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
             -DGGML_SYCL=ON \
             -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=icx \
             -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=icpx
@@ -551,7 +572,7 @@ jobs:
         shell: bash
         run: |
           sudo apt update
-          sudo apt install intel-oneapi-compiler-dpcpp-cpp libssl-dev
+          sudo apt install intel-oneapi-compiler-dpcpp-cpp libssl-dev ninja-build
 
       - name: install oneAPI MKL library
         shell: bash
@@ -574,6 +595,8 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           source /opt/intel/oneapi/setvars.sh
           cmake -B build \
+            -G "Ninja" \
+            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
             -DGGML_SYCL=ON \
             -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=icx \
             -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=icpx \
@@ -679,7 +702,7 @@ jobs:
             defines: '-G "Ninja Multi-Config" -D CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=cmake/x64-windows-llvm.cmake -DGGML_NATIVE=OFF -DLLAMA_BUILD_SERVER=ON -DGGML_RPC=ON -DGGML_BACKEND_DL=ON -DGGML_CPU_ALL_VARIANTS=ON -DGGML_OPENMP=OFF -DGGML_BLAS=ON -DGGML_BLAS_VENDOR=OpenBLAS -DBLAS_INCLUDE_DIRS="$env:RUNNER_TEMP/openblas/include" -DBLAS_LIBRARIES="$env:RUNNER_TEMP/openblas/lib/openblas.lib"'
           - build: 'vulkan-x64'
             arch: 'x64'
-            defines: '-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DGGML_NATIVE=OFF -DLLAMA_BUILD_SERVER=ON -DGGML_RPC=ON -DGGML_BACKEND_DL=ON -DGGML_CPU_ALL_VARIANTS=ON -DGGML_VULKAN=ON'
+            defines: '-G "Ninja Multi-Config" -D CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=cmake/x64-windows-llvm.cmake -DGGML_NATIVE=OFF -DLLAMA_BUILD_SERVER=ON -DGGML_RPC=ON -DGGML_BACKEND_DL=ON -DGGML_CPU_ALL_VARIANTS=ON -DGGML_VULKAN=ON'
           - build: 'llvm-arm64'
             arch: 'arm64'
             defines: '-G "Ninja Multi-Config" -D CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=cmake/arm64-windows-llvm.cmake -DGGML_NATIVE=OFF -DLLAMA_BUILD_SERVER=ON'
@@ -977,7 +1000,7 @@ jobs:
           sudo apt-get update
 
           # Install necessary packages
-          sudo apt-get install -y libatomic1 libtsan2 gcc-14 g++-14 rustup cmake build-essential libssl-dev wget ccache git-lfs
+          sudo apt-get install -y libatomic1 libtsan2 gcc-14 g++-14 rustup cmake build-essential libssl-dev wget ccache git-lfs ninja-build
 
           # Set gcc-14 and g++-14 as the default compilers
           sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/gcc gcc /usr/bin/gcc-14 100
@@ -1028,6 +1051,7 @@ jobs:
         id: cmake_build
         run: |
           cmake -B build \
+            -G "Ninja" \
             -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
             -DGGML_OPENMP=OFF \
             -DLLAMA_BUILD_EXAMPLES=ON \
@@ -1079,12 +1103,12 @@ jobs:
         id: depends
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update
-          sudo apt-get install build-essential
+          sudo apt-get install build-essential ninja-build
 
       - name: Test
         id: ggml-ci
         run: |
-          LLAMA_ARG_THREADS=$(nproc) GG_BUILD_LOW_PERF=1 bash ./ci/run.sh ./tmp/results ./tmp/mnt
+          LLAMA_ARG_THREADS=$(nproc) GG_BUILD_LOW_PERF=1 GG_BUILD_NINJA=1 bash ./ci/run.sh ./tmp/results ./tmp/mnt
 
   ggml-ci-arm64-cpu-low-perf:
     runs-on: ubuntu-22.04-arm
@@ -1105,12 +1129,12 @@ jobs:
         id: depends
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update
-          sudo apt-get install build-essential
+          sudo apt-get install build-essential ninja-build
 
       - name: Test
         id: ggml-ci
         run: |
-          LLAMA_ARG_THREADS=$(nproc) GG_BUILD_LOW_PERF=1 bash ./ci/run.sh ./tmp/results ./tmp/mnt
+          LLAMA_ARG_THREADS=$(nproc) GG_BUILD_LOW_PERF=1 GG_BUILD_NINJA=1 bash ./ci/run.sh ./tmp/results ./tmp/mnt
 
   ggml-ci-x64-cpu-high-perf:
     runs-on: ubuntu-22.04
@@ -1131,12 +1155,12 @@ jobs:
         id: depends
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update
-          sudo apt-get install build-essential
+          sudo apt-get install build-essential ninja-build
 
       - name: Test
         id: ggml-ci
         run: |
-          LLAMA_ARG_THREADS=$(nproc) GG_BUILD_HIGH_PERF=1 bash ./ci/run.sh ./tmp/results ./tmp/mnt
+          LLAMA_ARG_THREADS=$(nproc) GG_BUILD_HIGH_PERF=1 GG_BUILD_NINJA=1 bash ./ci/run.sh ./tmp/results ./tmp/mnt
 
   ggml-ci-arm64-cpu-high-perf:
     runs-on: ubuntu-22.04-arm
@@ -1157,12 +1181,12 @@ jobs:
         id: depends
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update
-          sudo apt-get install build-essential
+          sudo apt-get install build-essential ninja-build
 
       - name: Test
         id: ggml-ci
         run: |
-          LLAMA_ARG_THREADS=$(nproc) GG_BUILD_HIGH_PERF=1 GG_BUILD_NO_SVE=1 GG_BUILD_NO_BF16=1 GG_BUILD_EXTRA_TESTS_0=1 bash ./ci/run.sh ./tmp/results ./tmp/mnt
+          LLAMA_ARG_THREADS=$(nproc) GG_BUILD_HIGH_PERF=1 GG_BUILD_NO_SVE=1 GG_BUILD_NO_BF16=1 GG_BUILD_EXTRA_TESTS_0=1 GG_BUILD_NINJA=1 bash ./ci/run.sh ./tmp/results ./tmp/mnt
 
   ggml-ci-arm64-cpu-high-perf-sve:
     runs-on: ubuntu-22.04-arm
@@ -1183,12 +1207,12 @@ jobs:
         id: depends
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update
-          sudo apt-get install build-essential
+          sudo apt-get install build-essential ninja-build
 
       - name: Test
         id: ggml-ci
         run: |
-          LLAMA_ARG_THREADS=$(nproc) GG_BUILD_NO_BF16=1 GG_BUILD_EXTRA_TESTS_0=1 bash ./ci/run.sh ./tmp/results ./tmp/mnt
+          LLAMA_ARG_THREADS=$(nproc) GG_BUILD_NO_BF16=1 GG_BUILD_EXTRA_TESTS_0=1 GG_BUILD_NINJA=1 bash ./ci/run.sh ./tmp/results ./tmp/mnt
 
   ggml-ci-arm64-cpu-kleidiai:
      runs-on: ubuntu-22.04-arm
@@ -1209,12 +1233,12 @@ jobs:
          id: depends
          run: |
            sudo apt-get update
-           sudo apt-get install -y build-essential
+           sudo apt-get install -y build-essential ninja-build
 
        - name: Test
          id: ggml-ci
          run: |
-           GG_BUILD_KLEIDIAI=1 GG_BUILD_EXTRA_TESTS_0=1 bash ./ci/run.sh ./tmp/results ./tmp/mnt
+           GG_BUILD_KLEIDIAI=1 GG_BUILD_EXTRA_TESTS_0=1 GG_BUILD_NINJA=1 bash ./ci/run.sh ./tmp/results ./tmp/mnt
 
   ggml-ci-arm64-cpu-kleidiai-graviton4:
      runs-on: ah-ubuntu_22_04-c8g_8x
@@ -1232,6 +1256,7 @@ jobs:
            sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive NEEDRESTART_MODE=a \
            apt-get install -y \
             build-essential \
+            ninja-build \
             python3-venv \
             gpg \
             wget \
@@ -1262,4 +1287,5 @@ jobs:
          run: |
            GG_BUILD_KLEIDIAI=1 \
            GG_BUILD_EXTRA_TESTS_0=1 \
+           GG_BUILD_NINJA=1 \
            bash ./ci/run.sh ./tmp/results ./tmp/mnt
diff --git a/ci/run.sh b/ci/run.sh
index eaf6358c0d..a17d01e0c0 100755
--- a/ci/run.sh
+++ b/ci/run.sh
@@ -57,6 +57,13 @@ SRC=`pwd`
 CMAKE_EXTRA="-DLLAMA_FATAL_WARNINGS=${LLAMA_FATAL_WARNINGS:-ON} -DLLAMA_OPENSSL=OFF -DGGML_SCHED_NO_REALLOC=ON"
 CTEST_EXTRA=""
 
+# Default to use make unless specified for compatibility
+CMAKE_GENERATOR="Unix Makefiles"
+
+if [ -n "${GG_BUILD_NINJA}" ]; then
+    CMAKE_GENERATOR="Ninja"
+fi
+
 if [ ! -z ${GG_BUILD_METAL} ]; then
     CMAKE_EXTRA="${CMAKE_EXTRA} -DGGML_METAL=ON"
 fi
@@ -242,13 +249,13 @@ function gg_run_ctest_debug {
 
     set -e
 
-    # Check cmake, make and ctest are installed
+    # Check cmake and ctest are installed
     gg_check_build_requirements
 
-    (time cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug ${CMAKE_EXTRA} .. ) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-cmake.log
-    (time make -j$(nproc)                                  ) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-make.log
+    (time cmake -G "${CMAKE_GENERATOR}" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug ${CMAKE_EXTRA} .. ) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-cmake.log
+    (time cmake --build . --config Debug -j$(nproc)) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-make.log
 
-    (time ctest --output-on-failure -L main -E "test-opt|test-backend-ops" ${CTEST_EXTRA}) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-ctest.log
+    (time ctest -C Debug --output-on-failure -L main -E "test-opt|test-backend-ops" ${CTEST_EXTRA}) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-ctest.log
 
     set +e
 }
@@ -273,16 +280,16 @@ function gg_run_ctest_release {
 
     set -e
 
-    # Check cmake, make and ctest are installed
+    # Check cmake and ctest are installed
     gg_check_build_requirements
 
-    (time cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ${CMAKE_EXTRA} .. ) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-cmake.log
-    (time make -j$(nproc)                                    ) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-make.log
+    (time cmake -G "${CMAKE_GENERATOR}" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ${CMAKE_EXTRA} .. ) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-cmake.log
+    (time cmake --build . --config Release -j$(nproc)) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-make.log
 
     if [ -z ${GG_BUILD_LOW_PERF} ]; then
-        (time ctest --output-on-failure -L 'main|python' ${CTEST_EXTRA}) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-ctest.log
+        (time ctest -C Release --output-on-failure -L 'main|python' ${CTEST_EXTRA}) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-ctest.log
     else
-        (time ctest --output-on-failure -L main -E test-opt ${CTEST_EXTRA}) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-ctest.log
+        (time ctest -C Release --output-on-failure -L main -E test-opt ${CTEST_EXTRA}) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-ctest.log
     fi
 
     set +e
@@ -340,7 +347,7 @@ function gg_run_ctest_with_model_debug {
     cd build-ci-debug
     set -e
 
-    (LLAMACPP_TEST_MODELFILE="$model" time ctest --output-on-failure -L model) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-ctest.log
+    (LLAMACPP_TEST_MODELFILE="$model" time ctest -C Debug --output-on-failure -L model) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-ctest.log
 
     set +e
     cd ..
@@ -353,7 +360,7 @@ function gg_run_ctest_with_model_release {
     cd build-ci-release
     set -e
 
-    (LLAMACPP_TEST_MODELFILE="$model" time ctest --output-on-failure -L model) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-ctest.log
+    (LLAMACPP_TEST_MODELFILE="$model" time ctest -C Release --output-on-failure -L model) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-ctest.log
 
     # test memory leaks
     #if [[ ! -z ${GG_BUILD_METAL} ]]; then
@@ -407,8 +414,8 @@ function gg_run_qwen3_0_6b {
 
     set -e
 
-    (time cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ${CMAKE_EXTRA} .. ) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-cmake.log
-    (time make -j$(nproc)                                    ) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-make.log
+    (time cmake -G "${CMAKE_GENERATOR}" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ${CMAKE_EXTRA} .. ) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-cmake.log
+    (time cmake --build . --config Release -j$(nproc)) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-make.log
 
     python3 ../convert_hf_to_gguf.py ${path_models} --outfile ${path_models}/ggml-model-f16.gguf  --outtype f16
     python3 ../convert_hf_to_gguf.py ${path_models} --outfile ${path_models}/ggml-model-bf16.gguf --outtype bf16
@@ -556,8 +563,8 @@ function gg_run_embd_bge_small {
 
     set -e
 
-    (time cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ${CMAKE_EXTRA} .. ) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-cmake.log
-    (time make -j$(nproc)                                    ) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-make.log
+    (time cmake -G "${CMAKE_GENERATOR}" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ${CMAKE_EXTRA} .. ) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-cmake.log
+    (time cmake --build . --config Release -j$(nproc)) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-make.log
 
     python3 ../convert_hf_to_gguf.py ${path_models} --outfile ${path_models}/ggml-model-f16.gguf
 
@@ -601,8 +608,8 @@ function gg_run_rerank_tiny {
 
     set -e
 
-    (time cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ${CMAKE_EXTRA} .. ) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-cmake.log
-    (time make -j$(nproc)                                    ) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-make.log
+    (time cmake -G "${CMAKE_GENERATOR}" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release ${CMAKE_EXTRA} .. ) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-cmake.log
+    (time cmake --build . --config Release -j$(nproc)) 2>&1 | tee -a $OUT/${ci}-make.log
 
     python3 ../convert_hf_to_gguf.py ${path_models} --outfile ${path_models}/ggml-model-f16.gguf
 
@@ -652,10 +659,6 @@ function gg_check_build_requirements {
         gg_printf 'cmake not found, please install'
     fi
 
-    if ! command -v make &> /dev/null; then
-        gg_printf 'make not found, please install'
-    fi
-
     if ! command -v ctest &> /dev/null; then
         gg_printf 'ctest not found, please install'
     fi