diff --git a/.github/actions/cache-test-data/action.yml b/.github/actions/cache-test-data/action.yml
index 35fa4ca1e..f63f821eb 100644
--- a/.github/actions/cache-test-data/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/cache-test-data/action.yml
@@ -5,6 +5,18 @@ inputs:
     description: "Cache number. Use != 1 to reset data cache"
     required: false
     default: "1"
+  mode:
+    description: "One of restore, save, or restore-save"
+    required: false
+    default: "restore"
+
+outputs:
+  cache-hit:
+    description: "True if an exact cache key was restored"
+    value: ${{ steps.restore-test-data.outputs.cache-hit }}
+  cache-key:
+    description: "The cache key derived from the registry hash"
+    value: ${{ env.DATA_CACHE_KEY }}
 
 runs:
   using: "composite"
@@ -17,29 +29,59 @@ runs:
           echo "This action requires Python to be installed first."
           exit 1
         fi
-        if ! python -c "import pooch" 2>/dev/null; then
-          echo "❌ Error: Pooch is not installed"
-          echo "This action requires Pooch to be installed (pip install pooch or include in dependencies)."
-          exit 1
-        fi
-        echo "✅ Prerequisites verified: Python and Pooch are available"
+        echo "✅ Prerequisites verified: Python is available"
 
     - name: get data registry hash
       shell: bash -el {0}
       run: |
-        echo "DATA_REGISTRY_HASH=$(python -c "import pooch; print(pooch.file_hash('dascore/data_registry.txt'))")" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+        python - <<'PY' >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+        from hashlib import sha256
+        from pathlib import Path
+
+        registry_path = Path("dascore/data_registry.txt")
+        print(f"DATA_REGISTRY_HASH={sha256(registry_path.read_bytes()).hexdigest()}")
+        PY
 
     - name: get data cache path
       shell: bash -el {0}
       run: |
-        echo "DATA_CACHE_PATH=$(python -c "import pooch; print(pooch.os_cache('dascore'))")" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+        python - <<'PY' >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+        import os
+        import sys
+        from pathlib import Path
 
-    - name: cache test data
-      uses: actions/cache@v4
-      id: cache-test-data
+        home = Path.home()
+        if sys.platform == "win32":
+            cache_root = Path(os.environ.get("LOCALAPPDATA", home / "AppData" / "Local"))
+        elif sys.platform == "darwin":
+            cache_root = home / "Library" / "Caches"
+        else:
+            cache_root = Path(os.environ.get("XDG_CACHE_HOME", home / ".cache"))
+
+        print(f"DATA_CACHE_PATH={cache_root / 'dascore'}")
+        PY
+
+    - name: get data cache key
+      shell: bash -el {0}
+      run: |
+        echo "DATA_CACHE_KEY=data-${{ env.DATA_REGISTRY_HASH }}-${{ inputs.cache-number }}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+
+    - name: restore test data cache
+      if: ${{ inputs.mode == 'restore' || inputs.mode == 'restore-save' }}
+      uses: actions/cache/restore@v4
+      id: restore-test-data
       with:
         enableCrossOsArchive: true
         path: ${{ env.DATA_CACHE_PATH }}
-        key: data-${{ env.DATA_REGISTRY_HASH }}-${{ inputs.cache-number }}
+        key: ${{ env.DATA_CACHE_KEY }}
         restore-keys: |
           data-${{ env.DATA_REGISTRY_HASH }}-
+
+    - name: save test data cache
+      if: ${{ inputs.mode == 'save' || inputs.mode == 'restore-save' }}
+      uses: actions/cache/save@v4
+      id: cache-test-data
+      with:
+        enableCrossOsArchive: true
+        path: ${{ env.DATA_CACHE_PATH }}
+        key: ${{ env.DATA_CACHE_KEY }}
diff --git a/.github/actions/mamba-install-dascore/action.yml b/.github/actions/mamba-install-dascore/action.yml
index dd3019e1a..3dcdfce72 100644
--- a/.github/actions/mamba-install-dascore/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/mamba-install-dascore/action.yml
@@ -17,14 +17,13 @@ inputs:
 
   install-package:
     description: "If true, install dascore"
-    default: true
+    default: "true"
     required: false
-    type: boolean
 
   cache-number:
     description: "Cache number. Use != 1 to reset data cache"
     required: false
-    default: 1
+    default: "1"
 
 runs:
   using: "composite"
diff --git a/.github/scripts/cache_test_data.py b/.github/scripts/cache_test_data.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3c2d7cf38
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/scripts/cache_test_data.py
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+"""Populate the pooch cache with every file in dascore's data registry."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from dascore.utils.downloader import fetch, get_registry_df
+
+
+def main() -> None:
+    """Fetch every registered test-data file into the local pooch cache."""
+    registry = get_registry_df()
+    total = len(registry)
+    print(f"Priming DASCore test-data cache with {total} files")  # noqa
+    for index, name in enumerate(registry["name"], start=1):
+        path = Path(fetch(name))
+        print(f"[{index}/{total}] {name} -> {path}")  # noqa
+    print("Finished priming DASCore test-data cache")  # noqa
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/.github/workflows/get_coverage.yml b/.github/workflows/get_coverage.yml
index 9db4eae76..df8f8ec85 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/get_coverage.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/get_coverage.yml
@@ -6,7 +6,44 @@ on:
       - master
 
 jobs:
+  prime_test_data_cache:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/load-shared-vars
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+        with:
+          python-version: ${{ env.PYTHON_DEFAULT }}
+
+      - name: Install dascore for cache priming
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
+          pip install -e .
+
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/cache-test-data
+        id: cache-test-data
+        with:
+          mode: restore
+          cache-number: 1
+
+      - name: Download all registered test data
+        if: steps.cache-test-data.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        shell: bash
+        run: python .github/scripts/cache_test_data.py
+
+      - name: Save primed test data cache
+        if: steps.cache-test-data.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        uses: ./.github/actions/cache-test-data
+        with:
+          mode: save
+          cache-number: 1
+
   calc_coverage:
+    needs: prime_test_data_cache
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
     steps:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/prime_test_data_cache.yml b/.github/workflows/prime_test_data_cache.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6f34032d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/prime_test_data_cache.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+name: PrimeTestDataCache
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+  schedule:
+    - cron: "0 4 * * 1"
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - master
+    paths:
+      - "dascore/data_registry.txt"
+      - ".github/actions/cache-test-data/action.yml"
+      - ".github/scripts/cache_test_data.py"
+      - ".github/workflows/prime_test_data_cache.yml"
+  pull_request:
+    branches:
+      - master
+    paths:
+      - "dascore/data_registry.txt"
+      - ".github/actions/cache-test-data/action.yml"
+      - ".github/scripts/cache_test_data.py"
+      - ".github/workflows/prime_test_data_cache.yml"
+
+jobs:
+  prime_test_data_cache:
+    name: Prime shared test data cache
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/load-shared-vars
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+        with:
+          python-version: ${{ env.PYTHON_DEFAULT }}
+
+      - name: Install dascore
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
+          pip install -e .
+
+      # The cache key is shared across OSes. Each consuming job restores this
+      # archive into the platform-specific cache path that pooch uses locally.
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/cache-test-data
+        id: cache-test-data
+        with:
+          mode: restore
+
+      - name: Download all registered test data
+        if: steps.cache-test-data.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        shell: bash
+        run: python .github/scripts/cache_test_data.py
+
+      - name: Save primed test data cache
+        if: steps.cache-test-data.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        uses: ./.github/actions/cache-test-data
+        with:
+          mode: save
diff --git a/.github/workflows/profile.yml b/.github/workflows/profile.yml
index f91b870c7..4d3bb479a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/profile.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/profile.yml
@@ -6,6 +6,12 @@ on:
     branches:
       - master
   pull_request:
+    types:
+      - opened
+      - synchronize
+      - reopened
+      - labeled
+      - unlabeled
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 permissions:
@@ -13,8 +19,11 @@ permissions:
   id-token: write # required for OIDC authentication with CodSpeed
 
 jobs:
-  benchmarks:
-    name: Run benchmarks
+  prime_test_data_cache:
+    name: Prime test data cache
+    if: >
+      github.event_name != 'pull_request' ||
+      contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'benchmark')
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -26,18 +35,57 @@ jobs:
 
       - uses: actions/setup-python@v6
         with:
-          # Defined in .github/actions/load-shared-vars/action.yml
           python-version: ${{ env.PYTHON_DEFAULT }}
 
-      - name: Install dependencies
-        run: pip install ".[profile]"
+      - name: Install dascore for cache priming
+        run: |
+          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
+          pip install -e .
 
       - uses: ./.github/actions/cache-test-data
+        id: cache-test-data
+        with:
+          mode: restore
+          cache-number: 1
+
+      - name: Download all registered test data
+        if: steps.cache-test-data.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        run: python .github/scripts/cache_test_data.py
+
+      - name: Save primed test data cache
+        if: steps.cache-test-data.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        uses: ./.github/actions/cache-test-data
         with:
+          mode: save
+          cache-number: 1
+
+  benchmarks:
+    name: Run benchmarks
+    if: >
+      github.event_name != 'pull_request' ||
+      contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'benchmark')
+    needs: prime_test_data_cache
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-tags: "true"
+          fetch-depth: '0'
+
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/load-shared-vars
+
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/mamba-install-dascore
+        with:
+          # Defined in .github/actions/load-shared-vars/action.yml
+          python-version: ${{ env.PYTHON_DEFAULT }}
+          install-group-str: "[profile]"
           cache-number: 1
 
       - name: Run benchmarks
         uses: CodSpeedHQ/action@v4
         with:
-          mode: instrumentation
-          run: ./.github/test_code.sh profile
+          mode: simulation
+          # CodSpeed does not inherit the shell activation done by the
+          # micromamba setup step, so run benchmarks explicitly inside the
+          # dascore environment to ensure pytest and pytest-codspeed resolve.
+          run: micromamba run -n dascore ./.github/test_code.sh profile
diff --git a/.github/workflows/run_min_dep_tests.yml b/.github/workflows/run_min_dep_tests.yml
index 8cee0f5f0..229110c2a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/run_min_dep_tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/run_min_dep_tests.yml
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ on:
       - 'pyproject.toml'
       - '**.py'
       - '.github/workflows/run_min_dep_tests.yml'
+      - '.github/actions/**/*.yml'
 
 env:
   # Ensure matplotlib doesn't try to show figures in CI
@@ -35,8 +36,47 @@ jobs:
         id: load-vars
 
   # Runs the tests on combinations of the supported python/os matrix.
-  test_code_min_deps:
+  prime_test_data_cache:
     needs: setup
+    timeout-minutes: 20
+    if: github.event_name == 'push' || !contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'no_ci')
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/load-shared-vars
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+        with:
+          python-version: ${{ env.PYTHON_DEFAULT }}
+
+      - name: Install dascore for cache priming
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
+          pip install -e .
+
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/cache-test-data
+        id: cache-test-data
+        with:
+          mode: restore
+          cache-number: 1
+
+      - name: Download all registered test data
+        if: steps.cache-test-data.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        shell: bash
+        run: python .github/scripts/cache_test_data.py
+
+      - name: Save primed test data cache
+        if: steps.cache-test-data.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        uses: ./.github/actions/cache-test-data
+        with:
+          mode: save
+          cache-number: 1
+
+  test_code_min_deps:
+    needs: [setup, prime_test_data_cache]
     timeout-minutes: 25
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
     strategy:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/runtests.yml b/.github/workflows/runtests.yml
index 68e105ad7..8e561d711 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/runtests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/runtests.yml
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ on:
       - 'pyproject.toml'
       - '**.py'
       - '.github/workflows/*.yml'
+      - '.github/actions/**/*.yml'
 
 env:
   # used to manually trigger cache reset. Just increment if needed.
@@ -37,8 +38,49 @@ jobs:
         id: load-vars
 
   # Runs the tests on combinations of the supported python/os matrix.
-  test_code:
+  prime_test_data_cache:
     needs: setup
+    timeout-minutes: 20
+    if: github.event_name == 'push' || !contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'no_ci')
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/load-shared-vars
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+        with:
+          python-version: ${{ env.PYTHON_DEFAULT }}
+
+      - name: Install dascore for cache priming
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
+          pip install -e .
+
+      # Prime the shared test-data cache once. Each downstream OS restores this
+      # archive into the platform-specific cache path that pooch uses locally.
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/cache-test-data
+        id: cache-test-data
+        with:
+          mode: restore
+          cache-number: ${{ env.CACHE_NUMBER }}
+
+      - name: Download all registered test data
+        if: steps.cache-test-data.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        shell: bash
+        run: python .github/scripts/cache_test_data.py
+
+      - name: Save primed test data cache
+        if: steps.cache-test-data.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        uses: ./.github/actions/cache-test-data
+        with:
+          mode: save
+          cache-number: ${{ env.CACHE_NUMBER }}
+
+  test_code:
+    needs: [setup, prime_test_data_cache]
     timeout-minutes: 25
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
     strategy:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test_doc_build.yml b/.github/workflows/test_doc_build.yml
index 480e7c741..7abd52e28 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test_doc_build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test_doc_build.yml
@@ -5,10 +5,52 @@ on:
     types: [labeled, synchronize]
 
 jobs:
+  prime_test_data_cache:
+    if: |
+      (github.event.action == 'labeled' && github.event.label.name == 'documentation')
+      || (github.event.action == 'synchronize' && contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'documentation'))
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-tags: "true"
+          fetch-depth: '0'
+
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/load-shared-vars
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+        with:
+          python-version: ${{ env.PYTHON_DEFAULT }}
+
+      - name: Install dascore for cache priming
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
+          pip install -e .
+
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/cache-test-data
+        id: cache-test-data
+        with:
+          mode: restore
+          cache-number: 1
+
+      - name: Download all registered test data
+        if: steps.cache-test-data.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        shell: bash
+        run: python .github/scripts/cache_test_data.py
+
+      - name: Save primed test data cache
+        if: steps.cache-test-data.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+        uses: ./.github/actions/cache-test-data
+        with:
+          mode: save
+          cache-number: 1
+
   test_build_docs:
     if: |
       (github.event.action == 'labeled' && github.event.label.name == 'documentation')
       || (github.event.action == 'synchronize' && contains(github.event.pull_request.labels.*.name, 'documentation'))
+    needs: prime_test_data_cache
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4