diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index f2fbf8a..6f45449 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-name: test
+name: ./test.sh
 
 on:
   push:
@@ -7,21 +7,67 @@ on:
 
 jobs:
   test:
-    name: ./test.sh
+    name: ${{ matrix.image || matrix.os }}
+    runs-on: ${{ matrix.runs-on }}
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
         include:
-          - os: ubuntu-latest
-            arch: x86_64
-          - os: ubuntu-latest
-            arch: aarch64
+          # native (no docker)
           - os: macos-latest
-            arch: arm64
-    runs-on: ${{ matrix.arch == 'aarch64' && 'ubuntu-24.04-arm' || matrix.os }}
+            runs-on: macos-latest
+
+          # the provided github actions runner images
+          # have tons of pre-installed packages. the
+          # goal here is to test across many vanilla setups
+          - image: debian:bookworm-slim
+            runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+          - image: ubuntu:24.04
+            runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+          - image: fedora:41
+            runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+          - image: archlinux:latest
+            runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+          - image: alpine:3.21  # musl libc
+            runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+          - image: opensuse/tumbleweed:latest
+            runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+          - image: ghcr.io/void-linux/void-glibc:latest
+            runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+          - image: debian:bookworm-slim
+            runs-on: ubuntu-24.04-arm
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
-      - uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+
+      # native (macOS)
+      - if: ${{ !matrix.image }}
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v6
         with:
           python-version: "3.14"
-      - run: ./test.sh
+      - if: ${{ !matrix.image }}
+        name: ./test.sh
+        run: ./test.sh
+
+      # docker (vanilla Linux)
+      - if: ${{ matrix.image }}
+        name: install python3
+        run: |
+          docker build -t test -f - . <<'DOCKERFILE'
+          FROM ${{ matrix.image }}
+          RUN if command -v apk >/dev/null; then \
+                apk add --no-cache python3 py3-pip bash curl; \
+              elif command -v apt-get >/dev/null; then \
+                apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends python3 python3-pip python3-venv curl ca-certificates; \
+              elif command -v dnf >/dev/null; then \
+                dnf install -y python3 python3-pip curl; \
+              elif command -v pacman >/dev/null; then \
+                pacman -Sy --noconfirm python python-pip curl; \
+              elif command -v zypper >/dev/null; then \
+                zypper install -y python3 python3-pip curl; \
+              elif command -v xbps-install >/dev/null; then \
+                xbps-install -Sy python3 python3-pip bash curl; \
+              fi
+          DOCKERFILE
+      - if: ${{ matrix.image }}
+        name: ./test.sh
+        run: docker run --rm -v "$PWD:/work" -w /work test bash ./test.sh
diff --git a/gcc-arm-none-eabi/build.sh b/gcc-arm-none-eabi/build.sh
index 8c984a8..411c3d6 100755
--- a/gcc-arm-none-eabi/build.sh
+++ b/gcc-arm-none-eabi/build.sh
@@ -37,9 +37,9 @@ URL="https://developer.arm.com/-/media/Files/downloads/gnu/${TOOLCHAIN_VERSION}/
 echo "Downloading $TARBALL ..."
 curl -fSL -o "$TARBALL" "$URL"
 
-# Extract
+# Extract (use Python's lzma to avoid requiring xz-utils on the host)
 echo "Extracting ..."
-tar xf "$TARBALL"
+python3 -c "import lzma, tarfile; tarfile.open(fileobj=lzma.open('$TARBALL')).extractall()"
 EXTRACT_DIR=$(ls -d arm-gnu-toolchain-*-${PLATFORM_SUFFIX}-arm-none-eabi)
 
 SRC="$DIR/$EXTRACT_DIR"