diff --git a/.github/actions/setup-cypress/action.yml b/.github/actions/setup-cypress/action.yml
index 3f8b2a03fa5..d0b59b8b5b6 100644
--- a/.github/actions/setup-cypress/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/setup-cypress/action.yml
@@ -1,18 +1,21 @@
-name: 'Setup Cypress'
-description: 'Setup Cypress with caching and verification'
+name: Setup Cypress
+description: Fix Cypress permissions and verify binary
+
 runs:
-  using: 'composite'
+  using: composite
   steps:
-    - name: Cache Cypress
-      uses: actions/cache@v4
-      with:
-        path: ~/.cache/Cypress
-        key: cypress-cache-v1
-    - name: Setup Cypress
+    - name: Fix Cypress binary permissions
       shell: bash
-      env:
-        CYPRESS_VERIFY_TIMEOUT: 100000
       run: |
-        mv cypress.config.dist.js cypress.config.js
-        npx cypress install
-        npx cypress verify
\ No newline at end of file
+        if [ -f /usr/local/bin/cypress ]; then
+          chmod +x /usr/local/bin/cypress
+        fi
+
+        if [ -d "$HOME/.cache/Cypress" ]; then
+          chmod -R +x "$HOME/.cache/Cypress"
+        fi
+
+    - name: Verify Cypress
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        /usr/local/bin/cypress verify
diff --git a/.github/actions/setup-db/action.yml b/.github/actions/setup-db/action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8962d206c30
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/actions/setup-db/action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+name: Setup Database
+description: Wait for database readiness
+inputs:
+  db:
+    required: true
+  host:
+    required: true
+  name:
+    required: true
+  user:
+    required: true
+  password:
+    required: true
+
+runs:
+  using: composite
+  steps:
+    - shell: bash
+      run: |
+        for i in {1..30}; do
+          case "${{ inputs.db }}" in
+            mysql|mariadb)
+              mysql -h ${{ inputs.host }} -u${{ inputs.user }} -p${{ inputs.password }} -e "SELECT 1" && exit 0
+              ;;
+            pgsql)
+              PGPASSWORD=${{ inputs.password }} psql -h ${{ inputs.host }} -U ${{ inputs.user }} -d ${{ inputs.name }} -c "SELECT 1" && exit 0
+              ;;
+          esac
+          sleep 2
+        done
+        exit 1
diff --git a/.github/actions/setup-dependencies/action.yml b/.github/actions/setup-dependencies/action.yml
index 57de6b7ec10..abeda46ea18 100644
--- a/.github/actions/setup-dependencies/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/setup-dependencies/action.yml
@@ -1,32 +1,49 @@
-name: 'Setup Dependencies'
-description: 'Install Composer and NPM dependencies with caching'
+name: Setup Dependencies
+description: Install Composer and (optionally) npm dependencies
 inputs:
-  composer-cache-key:
-    description: 'Composer cache key'
-    required: false
-    default: 'composer'
   npm-cache:
-    description: 'Enable NPM caching'
     required: false
     default: 'false'
+
 runs:
-  using: 'composite'
+  using: composite
   steps:
-    - name: Cache Composer dependencies
+    # -------------------------------
+    # Composer (always available)
+    # -------------------------------
+    - name: Cache Composer vendor
       uses: actions/cache@v4
       with:
-        path: /tmp/composer-cache
-        key: ${{ inputs.composer-cache-key }}-cache-v1
+        path: vendor
+        key: composer-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('**/composer.lock') }}
+
     - name: Install Composer dependencies
       shell: bash
-      run: composer install --no-progress --ignore-platform-reqs
-    - name: Setup Node.js
-      if: inputs.npm-cache == 'true'
-      uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+      run: composer install --no-interaction --prefer-dist
+
+    # -------------------------------
+    # npm (ONLY if available)
+    # -------------------------------
+    - name: Detect npm
+      id: has-npm
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        if command -v npm >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+          echo "available=true" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+        else
+          echo "available=false" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+        fi
+
+    - name: Cache npm
+      if: inputs.npm-cache == 'true' && steps.has-npm.outputs.available == 'true'
+      uses: actions/cache@v4
       with:
-        node-version: '20'
-        cache: 'npm'
-    - name: Install NPM dependencies
-      if: inputs.npm-cache == 'true'
+        path: ~/.npm
+        key: npm-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}
+
+    - name: Install npm dependencies
+      if: inputs.npm-cache == 'true' && steps.has-npm.outputs.available == 'true'
       shell: bash
-      run: npm ci --unsafe-perm
\ No newline at end of file
+      run: |
+        npm ci
+        chmod -R +x node_modules/.bin || true
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cy-nigthly.yml b/.github/workflows/cy-nigthly.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3cf2f1ef3cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/cy-nigthly.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+name: CI Weblinks (Nightly Joomla)
+
+on:
+  schedule:
+    - cron: "0 3 * * *"
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+env:
+  EXTENSION_ZIP: pkg-weblinks-current.zip
+  CYPRESS_RECORD_KEY: ${{ secrets.CYPRESS_RECORD_KEY }}
+
+jobs:
+  nightly:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    continue-on-error: true
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        shard: [1, 2]
+
+    container:
+      image: joomlaprojects/docker-images:cypress8.4
+
+    services:
+      db:
+        image: mariadb:11.4
+        env:
+          MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: root
+          MYSQL_DATABASE: test_joomla
+          MYSQL_USER: joomla_ut
+          MYSQL_PASSWORD: joomla_ut
+
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-dependencies
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-cypress
+
+      - run: |
+          curl -fL https://downloads.joomla.org/cms/joomla6.2/nightly/Joomla_6.2-Nightly-Full_Package.zip -o joomla.zip
+          unzip -q joomla.zip -d /tests/www/site
+
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-db
+        with:
+          db: mariadb
+          host: db
+          name: test_joomla
+          user: joomla_ut
+          password: joomla_ut
+
+      - run: |
+          apache2ctl start
+          php /tests/www/site/installation/joomla.php install \
+            --site-name="CI Nightly" \
+            --admin-user=admin \
+            --admin-username=admin \
+            --admin-password=admin123 \
+            --admin-email=admin@example.org \
+            --db-type=mysqli \
+            --db-host=db \
+            --db-user=joomla_ut \
+            --db-pass=joomla_ut \
+            --db-name=test_joomla \
+            --db-prefix=night_
+
+          php /tests/www/site/cli/joomla.php extension:install \
+            --path=dist/${{ env.EXTENSION_ZIP }}
+
+      - name: Cypress (parallel)
+        run: |
+          npx cypress run \
+            --browser chrome \
+            --parallel \
+            --record \
+            --ci-build-id nightly-${{ github.run_id }} \
+            --group shard-${{ matrix.shard }}
+
+      - if: failure()
+        uses: ./.github/actions/report-nightly-failure
+        with:
+          title: "Nightly CI failure (Joomla 6.2)"
+          label: nightly
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cy-rc.yml b/.github/workflows/cy-rc.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2ab15620ae0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/cy-rc.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+name: CI Weblinks (Joomla RC)
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+jobs:
+  rc:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    continue-on-error: true
+    container:
+      image: joomlaprojects/docker-images:cypress8.4
+
+    services:
+      db:
+        image: mariadb:11.4
+        env:
+          MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: root
+          MYSQL_DATABASE: test_joomla
+          MYSQL_USER: joomla_ut
+          MYSQL_PASSWORD: joomla_ut
+
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-dependencies
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-cypress
+
+      - run: |
+          curl -fL https://downloads.joomla.org/cms/joomla6.2/rc/Joomla_6.2-RC-Full_Package.zip -o joomla.zip
+          unzip -q joomla.zip -d /tests/www/site
+
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-db
+        with:
+          db: mariadb
+          host: db
+          name: test_joomla
+          user: joomla_ut
+          password: joomla_ut
+
+      - run: |
+          apache2ctl start
+          php /tests/www/site/installation/joomla.php install \
+            --site-name="CI RC" \
+            --admin-user=admin \
+            --admin-username=admin \
+            --admin-password=admin123 \
+            --admin-email=admin@example.org \
+            --db-type=mysqli \
+            --db-host=db \
+            --db-user=joomla_ut \
+            --db-pass=joomla_ut \
+            --db-name=test_joomla \
+            --db-prefix=rc_
+
+          php /tests/www/site/cli/joomla.php extension:install \
+            --path=dist/pkg-weblinks-current.zip
+
+      - run: npx cypress run --browser chrome
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cy.yml b/.github/workflows/cy.yml
index 197bb86ef6d..aa1c03d83cb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/cy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/cy.yml
@@ -5,201 +5,127 @@ on:
     branches: [ main, 5.x-dev ]
   pull_request:
     branches: [ main, 5.x-dev ]
+  schedule: # nightly run
+    - cron: "0 2 * * *" # every day at 02:00 UTC
 
 jobs:
   composer:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        php-version: [8.2, 8.3, 8.4]
     container:
-      image: joomlaprojects/docker-images:php8.2
+      image: joomlaprojects/docker-images:php${{ matrix.php-version }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-dependencies
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: |
+          composer install --prefer-dist --no-progress --no-interaction
 
   phpcs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     needs: composer
     container:
-      image: joomlaprojects/docker-images:php8.2
+      image: joomlaprojects/docker-images:php8.3
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-dependencies
-      - name: Run PHP CS Fixer and PHPCS
+      - name: Run PHP CS Fixer & PHPCS
         run: |
-          echo $(date)
+          composer install
           ./vendor/bin/php-cs-fixer fix -vvv --dry-run --diff
           ./vendor/bin/phpcs --extensions=php -p --standard=ruleset.xml src/
-          echo $(date)
 
-  npm:
+  phpstan:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: phpcs
-    container:
-      image: joomlaprojects/docker-images:php8.2
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-dependencies
-        with:
-          npm-cache: 'true'
-
-  prepare_tests:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: npm
+    needs: composer
     container:
-      image: joomlaprojects/docker-images:cypress8.2
+      image: joomlaprojects/docker-images:php8.3
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-dependencies
-        with:
-          npm-cache: 'true'
-      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-cypress
-      - name: Build and prepare Joomla
+      - name: Run PHPStan
         run: |
-          vendor/bin/robo build
-          curl https://joomla.org/latest -L --output joomla.zip
-          mkdir joomla
-          cp joomla.zip joomla/joomla.zip
-          cd joomla
-          unzip joomla.zip
-      - name: Upload artifacts
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
-        with:
-          name: build-artifacts
-          path: |
-            dist/
-            joomla.zip
+          composer install
+          ./vendor/bin/phpstan analyse src --level=5 --no-progress --no-interaction
 
-  php-tests:
+  prepare-tests:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: prepare_tests
+    needs: [composer, phpcs]
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        php-version: ['8.1', '8.2', '8.3', '8.4']
-    container:
-      image: joomlaprojects/docker-images:php${{ matrix.php-version }}
+        joomla-version: ['5.4', '6.0', '6.1']
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - name: Download artifacts
-        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+      - name: Download Joomla ${{ matrix.joomla-version }}
+        run: |
+          URL=$(curl -s "https://api.github.com/repos/joomla/joomla-cms/releases" | \
+                grep -oP '"browser_download_url":\s*"[^"]*'"${{ matrix.joomla-version }}"'[^"]*Full_Package\.zip"' | \
+                sed 's/"browser_download_url":\s*"//;s/"$//' | head -1)
+          if [ -z "$URL" ]; then
+            echo "::error::Could not find URL for version ${{ matrix.joomla-version }}"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          curl -LfsS "$URL" -o joomla.zip
+          unzip -q joomla.zip -d joomla
+
+      - name: Upload Joomla artifacts
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
         with:
-          name: build-artifacts
-      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-dependencies
-      - name: Setup Joomla for tests
-        run: unzip joomla.zip -d joomla/
-      - name: Run PHPStan
-        continue-on-error: true
-        run: vendor/bin/phpstan analyse src --level=0 --no-progress
-      - name: Run PHPUnit
-        run: vendor/bin/phpunit
+          name: joomla-${{ matrix.joomla-version }}
+          path: joomla/
 
   system-tests:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: prepare_tests
+    needs: prepare-tests
     strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
       matrix:
-        php-version: ['8.1', '8.2', '8.3', '8.4']
+        joomla-version: ['5.4', '6.0', '6.1']
+        php-version: ['8.2', '8.3', '8.4']
         db: [mysql, mariadb, pgsql]
         include:
           - db: mysql
-            service: mysql
             image: mysql:8.0
-            env:
-              MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: root
-              MYSQL_USER: joomla_ut
-              MYSQL_PASSWORD: joomla_ut
-              MYSQL_DATABASE: test_joomla
-            db-type: mysqli
-            db-user: joomla_ut
-            db-pass: joomla_ut
-            db-prefix: mysql_
-            db-host: mysql
-            alter-user-cmd: |
-              apt-get update && apt-get install -y default-mysql-client
-              mysql -h mysql -u root -proot -e "ALTER USER 'joomla_ut'@'%' IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password BY 'joomla_ut'; FLUSH PRIVILEGES;"
           - db: mariadb
-            service: mariadb
-            image: mariadb:10.11
-            env:
-              MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: root
-              MARIADB_USER: joomla_ut
-              MARIADB_PASSWORD: joomla_ut
-              MARIADB_DATABASE: test_joomla
-            db-type: mysqli
-            db-user: joomla_ut
-            db-pass: joomla_ut
-            db-prefix: mariadb_
-            db-host: mariadb
-            alter-user-cmd: |
-              apt-get update && apt-get install -y mariadb-client
-              # MariaDB default setup, no ALTER USER needed
+            image: mariadb:10.6
           - db: pgsql
-            service: postgres
-            image: postgres:12-alpine
-            env:
-              POSTGRES_USER: root
-              POSTGRES_PASSWORD: joomla_ut
-              POSTGRES_DB: test_joomla
-            db-type: pgsql
-            db-user: root
-            db-pass: joomla_ut
-            db-prefix: pgsql_
-            db-host: postgres
-            alter-user-cmd: ""
-    container:
-      image: joomlaprojects/docker-images:cypress${{ matrix.php-version }}
+            image: postgres:14-alpine
+
     services:
       mysql:
-        image: mysql:8.0
+        image: ${{ matrix.db == 'mysql' && matrix.image || 'mysql:8.0' }}
         env:
           MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: root
           MYSQL_USER: joomla_ut
           MYSQL_PASSWORD: joomla_ut
           MYSQL_DATABASE: test_joomla
-        options: --health-cmd="mysqladmin ping -h localhost -u root -proot" --health-interval=10s --health-timeout=5s --health-retries=3
       mariadb:
-        image: mariadb:10.11
+        image: ${{ matrix.db == 'mariadb' && matrix.image || 'mariadb:10.6' }}
         env:
           MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: root
           MARIADB_USER: joomla_ut
           MARIADB_PASSWORD: joomla_ut
           MARIADB_DATABASE: test_joomla
-        options: --health-cmd="mariadb-admin ping -h localhost -uroot -proot" --health-interval=10s --health-timeout=5s --health-retries=3
       postgres:
-        image: postgres:12-alpine
+        image: ${{ matrix.db == 'pgsql' && matrix.image || 'postgres:14-alpine' }}
         env:
           POSTGRES_USER: root
-          POSTGRES_PASSWORD: joomla_ut
+          POSTGRES_PASSWORD: root
           POSTGRES_DB: test_joomla
-        options: --health-cmd pg_isready --health-interval 10s --health-timeout 5s --health-retries 5
+
+    container:
+      image: cypress/base:18.16.0 # Node + Cypress preinstalled
+
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - name: Download artifacts
+      - name: Download Joomla artifacts
         uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
         with:
-          name: build-artifacts
-      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-dependencies
-        with:
-          npm-cache: 'true'
-      - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-cypress
-      - name: Setup and run ${{ matrix.db }} (PHP ${{ matrix.php-version }}) tests
+          name: joomla-${{ matrix.joomla-version }}
+      - name: Install PHP dependencies
+        run: composer install
+      - name: Install Node dependencies
+        run: npm ci
+      - name: Run Cypress E2E
         run: |
-          ${{ matrix.alter-user-cmd }}
-          mkdir -p /tests/www/${{ matrix.db }}/
-          cp joomla.zip /tests/www/${{ matrix.db }}/joomla.zip
-          cp dist/pkg-weblinks-current.zip /tests/www/${{ matrix.db }}/pkg-weblinks-current.zip
-          cd /tests/www/${{ matrix.db }}/
-          unzip joomla.zip
-          apache2ctl -D FOREGROUND &
-          chmod +rwx /root
-          php installation/joomla.php install --verbose --site-name="Joomla CMS test" --admin-email=admin@example.org --admin-username=ci-admin --admin-user="jane doe" --admin-password=joomla-17082005 --db-type=${{ matrix.db-type }} --db-host=${{ matrix.db-host }} --db-name=test_joomla --db-pass=${{ matrix.db-pass }} --db-user=${{ matrix.db-user }} --db-encryption=0 --db-prefix=${{ matrix.db-prefix }}
-          php cli/joomla.php config:set debug=true error_reporting=maximum
-          php cli/joomla.php extension:install --path=/tests/www/${{ matrix.db }}/pkg-weblinks-current.zip
-          chmod -R 777 /tests/www/${{ matrix.db }}/
-          chown -R www-data /tests/www/${{ matrix.db }}/
-          cd $GITHUB_WORKSPACE
-          npx cypress run --browser=chrome --e2e --env cmsPath=/tests/www/${{ matrix.db }},db_type=${{ matrix.db-type }},db_host=${{ matrix.db-host }},db_name=test_joomla,db_user=${{ matrix.db-user }},db_password=${{ matrix.db-pass }},db_prefix=${{ matrix.db-prefix }},logFile=/var/log/apache2/error.log --config baseUrl=http://localhost/${{ matrix.db }},screenshotsFolder=$GITHUB_WORKSPACE/tests/cypress/output/screenshot
-      - name: Upload test results
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
-        if: failure()
-        with:
-          name: cypress-screenshots-${{ matrix.db }}-php${{ matrix.php-version }}
-          path: tests/cypress/output/
+          npx cypress verify
+          npx cypress run --browser=chrome --e2e --config video=false
diff --git a/.github/workflows/report-nigthly-failure/action.yml b/.github/workflows/report-nigthly-failure/action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c42c88fdd01
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/report-nigthly-failure/action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+name: Report Nightly Failure
+description: Create GitHub issue on nightly CI failure
+
+inputs:
+  title:
+    required: true
+  label:
+    required: true
+
+runs:
+  using: composite
+  steps:
+    - uses: actions/github-script@v7
+      with:
+        script: |
+          const title = '${{ inputs.title }}'
+          const { data: issues } = await github.rest.issues.listForRepo({
+            owner: context.repo.owner,
+            repo: context.repo.repo,
+            labels: '${{ inputs.label }}',
+            state: 'open'
+          })
+
+          if (issues.find(i => i.title === title)) return
+
+          await github.rest.issues.create({
+            owner: context.repo.owner,
+            repo: context.repo.repo,
+            title,
+            labels: ['${{ inputs.label }}'],
+            body: `Nightly CI failed.\n\nRun: ${context.runId}`
+          })