diff --git a/.github/workflows/validations.yaml b/.github/workflows/validations.yaml
index 9ddb8c965..861d7634f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/validations.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/validations.yaml
@@ -90,48 +90,68 @@ jobs:
         run: make integration
 
 
-  Build-Snapshot-Artifacts:
-    name: "Build snapshot artifacts"
+  Cli-Linux:
+    # Note: changing this job name requires making the same update in the .github/workflows/release.yaml pipeline
+    name: "CLI tests (Linux)"
     runs-on: ubuntu-20.04
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v3
 
       - name: Bootstrap environment
         uses: ./.github/actions/bootstrap
-        with:
-          # why have another build cache key? We don't want unit/integration/etc test build caches to replace
-          # the snapshot build cache, which includes builds for all OSs and architectures. As long as this key is
-          # unique from the build-cache-key-prefix in other CI jobs, we should be fine.
-          #
-          # note: ideally this value should match what is used in release (just to help with build times).
-          build-cache-key-prefix: "snapshot"
-          bootstrap-apt-packages: ""
 
-      - name: Build snapshot artifacts
-        run: make snapshot
-
-      # why not use actions/upload-artifact? It is very slow (3 minutes to upload ~600MB of data, vs 10 seconds with this approach).
-      # see https://github.com/actions/upload-artifact/issues/199 for more info
-      - name: Upload snapshot artifacts
-        uses: actions/cache/save@v3
+      - name: Restore CLI test-fixture cache
+        uses: actions/cache@v3
         with:
-          path: snapshot
-          key: snapshot-build-${{ github.run_id }}
+          path: ${{ github.workspace }}/test/cli/test-fixtures/cache
+          key: ${{ runner.os }}-cli-test-cache-${{ hashFiles('test/cli/test-fixtures/cache.fingerprint') }}
+
+      - name: Run CLI Tests (Linux)
+        run: make cli
+
+
+#  Build-Snapshot-Artifacts:
+#    name: "Build snapshot artifacts"
+#    runs-on: ubuntu-20.04
+#    steps:
+#      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+#
+#      - name: Bootstrap environment
+#        uses: ./.github/actions/bootstrap
+#        with:
+#          # why have another build cache key? We don't want unit/integration/etc test build caches to replace
+#          # the snapshot build cache, which includes builds for all OSs and architectures. As long as this key is
+#          # unique from the build-cache-key-prefix in other CI jobs, we should be fine.
+#          #
+#          # note: ideally this value should match what is used in release (just to help with build times).
+#          build-cache-key-prefix: "snapshot"
+#          bootstrap-apt-packages: ""
+#
+#      - name: Build snapshot artifacts
+#        run: make snapshot
+#
+#      # why not use actions/upload-artifact? It is very slow (3 minutes to upload ~600MB of data, vs 10 seconds with this approach).
+#      # see https://github.com/actions/upload-artifact/issues/199 for more info
+#      - name: Upload snapshot artifacts
+#        uses: actions/cache/save@v3
+#        with:
+#          path: snapshot
+#          key: snapshot-build-${{ github.run_id }}
 
 
   Acceptance-Linux:
     # Note: changing this job name requires making the same update in the .github/workflows/release.yaml pipeline
     name: "Acceptance tests (Linux)"
-    needs: [Build-Snapshot-Artifacts]
+#    needs: [Build-Snapshot-Artifacts]
     runs-on: ubuntu-20.04
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v3
 
-      - name: Download snapshot build
-        uses: actions/cache/restore@v3
-        with:
-          path: snapshot
-          key: snapshot-build-${{ github.run_id }}
+#      - name: Download snapshot build
+#        uses: actions/cache/restore@v3
+#        with:
+#          path: snapshot
+#          key: snapshot-build-${{ github.run_id }}
 
       - name: Run comparison tests (Linux)
         run: make compare-linux
@@ -158,16 +178,16 @@ jobs:
   Acceptance-Mac:
     # Note: changing this job name requires making the same update in the .github/workflows/release.yaml pipeline
     name: "Acceptance tests (Mac)"
-    needs: [Build-Snapshot-Artifacts]
+#    needs: [Build-Snapshot-Artifacts]
     runs-on: macos-latest
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v3
 
-      - name: Download snapshot build
-        uses: actions/cache/restore@v3
-        with:
-          path: snapshot
-          key: snapshot-build-${{ github.run_id }}
+#      - name: Download snapshot build
+#        uses: actions/cache/restore@v3
+#        with:
+#          path: snapshot
+#          key: snapshot-build-${{ github.run_id }}
 
       - name: Restore docker image cache for compare testing
         id: mac-compare-testing-cache
@@ -181,30 +201,3 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Run install.sh tests (Mac)
         run: make install-test-ci-mac
-
-
-  Cli-Linux:
-    # Note: changing this job name requires making the same update in the .github/workflows/release.yaml pipeline
-    name: "CLI tests (Linux)"
-    needs: [Build-Snapshot-Artifacts]
-    runs-on: ubuntu-20.04
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
-
-      - name: Bootstrap environment
-        uses: ./.github/actions/bootstrap
-
-      - name: Restore CLI test-fixture cache
-        uses: actions/cache@v3
-        with:
-          path: ${{ github.workspace }}/test/cli/test-fixtures/cache
-          key: ${{ runner.os }}-cli-test-cache-${{ hashFiles('test/cli/test-fixtures/cache.fingerprint') }}
-
-      - name: Download snapshot build
-        uses: actions/cache/restore@v3
-        with:
-          path: snapshot
-          key: snapshot-build-${{ github.run_id }}
-
-      - name: Run CLI Tests (Linux)
-        run: make cli
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index fd7debaa0..46b2c9b1d 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -41,7 +41,6 @@ DIST_DIR := ./dist
 SNAPSHOT_DIR := ./snapshot
 CHANGELOG := CHANGELOG.md
 OS := $(shell uname | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
-SNAPSHOT_BIN := $(realpath $(shell pwd)/$(SNAPSHOT_DIR)/$(OS)-build_$(OS)_amd64_v1/$(BIN))
 
 ifndef VERSION
 	$(error VERSION is not set)
@@ -160,11 +159,8 @@ validate-cyclonedx-schema:
 	cd schema/cyclonedx && make
 
 .PHONY: cli
-cli: $(SNAPSHOT_DIR)  ## Run CLI tests
-	chmod 755 "$(SNAPSHOT_BIN)"
-	$(SNAPSHOT_BIN) version
-	SYFT_BINARY_LOCATION='$(SNAPSHOT_BIN)' \
-		go test -count=1 -timeout=15m -v ./test/cli
+cli:  ## Run CLI tests
+	go test -count=1 -timeout=15m -v ./test/cli
 
 
 ## Benchmark test targets #################################
@@ -321,15 +317,17 @@ generate-cpe-dictionary-index:  ## Build the CPE index based off of the latest a
 build:
 	CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -trimpath -ldflags "$(LDFLAGS)" -o $@ ./cmd/syft
 
-$(SNAPSHOT_DIR):  ## Build snapshot release binaries and packages
-	$(call title,Building snapshot artifacts)
+.PHONY: $(SNAPSHOT_DIR)
+$(SNAPSHOT_DIR): ## Build snapshot release for the current platform
+	$(call title,Building current platform snapshot artifact)
 
 	# create a config with the dist dir overridden
 	echo "dist: $(SNAPSHOT_DIR)" > $(TEMP_DIR)/goreleaser.yaml
 	cat .goreleaser.yaml >> $(TEMP_DIR)/goreleaser.yaml
 
-	# build release snapshots
-	$(SNAPSHOT_CMD) --config $(TEMP_DIR)/goreleaser.yaml
+	# build release snapshot
+	$(SNAPSHOT_CMD) --single-target --config $(TEMP_DIR)/goreleaser.yaml
+
 
 .PHONY: changelog
 changelog: clean-changelog  ## Generate and show the changelog for the current unreleased version
diff --git a/test/cli/dir_root_scan_regression_test.go b/test/cli/dir_root_scan_regression_test.go
index 6fbea309a..212e19a92 100644
--- a/test/cli/dir_root_scan_regression_test.go
+++ b/test/cli/dir_root_scan_regression_test.go
@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@ func TestDirectoryScanCompletesWithinTimeout(t *testing.T) {
 	// we want to pull the image ahead of the test as to not affect the timeout value
 	pullDockerImage(t, image)
 
+	// run once in case we need to rebuild syft binary, so it doesn't affect the timeout value
+	runSyftInDocker(t, nil, image, "--help")
+
 	var cmd *exec.Cmd
 	var stdout, stderr string
 	done := make(chan struct{})
diff --git a/test/cli/utils_test.go b/test/cli/utils_test.go
index ed560bd88..961a503f4 100644
--- a/test/cli/utils_test.go
+++ b/test/cli/utils_test.go
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ func runSyftInDocker(t testing.TB, env map[string]string, image string, args ...
 			"-e",
 			"SYFT_CHECK_FOR_APP_UPDATE=false",
 			"-v",
-			fmt.Sprintf("%s:/syft", getSyftBinaryLocationByOS(t, "linux")),
+			fmt.Sprintf("%s:/syft", getSyftBinaryLocationByOS(t, "linux", runtime.GOARCH)),
 			image,
 			"/syft",
 		},
@@ -270,37 +270,43 @@ func getSyftCommand(t testing.TB, args ...string) *exec.Cmd {
 }
 
 func getSyftBinaryLocation(t testing.TB) string {
-	if os.Getenv("SYFT_BINARY_LOCATION") != "" {
-		// SYFT_BINARY_LOCATION is the absolute path to the snapshot binary
-		return os.Getenv("SYFT_BINARY_LOCATION")
-	}
-	bin := getSyftBinaryLocationByOS(t, runtime.GOOS)
+	return getSyftBinaryLocationByOS(t, runtime.GOOS, runtime.GOARCH)
+}
 
-	// only run on valid bin target, when not running in CI
-	if bin != "" && os.Getenv("CI") == "" {
-		buildSyft(t, bin)
+func getSyftBinaryLocationByOS(t testing.TB, goOS, goArch string) string {
+	// note: for amd64 we need to update the snapshot location with the v1 suffix
+	// see : https://goreleaser.com/customization/build/#why-is-there-a-_v1-suffix-on-amd64-builds
+	archPath := goArch
+	if goArch == "amd64" {
+		archPath = fmt.Sprintf("%s_v1", archPath)
+	}
+
+	bin := ""
+	// note: there is a subtle - vs _ difference between these versions
+	switch goOS {
+	case "windows", "darwin", "linux":
+		bin = path.Join(repoRoot(t), fmt.Sprintf("snapshot/%s-build_%s_%s/syft", goOS, goOS, archPath))
+	default:
+		t.Fatalf("unsupported OS: %s", goOS)
+		return ""
+	}
+
+	envName := strings.ToUpper(fmt.Sprintf("SYFT_BINARY_LOCATION_%s_%s", goOS, goArch))
+	if os.Getenv(envName) != bin {
+		buildSyft(t, bin, goOS, goArch)
 		// regardless if we have a successful build, don't attempt to keep building
-		_ = os.Setenv("SYFT_BINARY_LOCATION", bin)
+		_ = os.Setenv(envName, bin)
 	}
 
 	return bin
 }
 
-func buildSyft(t testing.TB, outfile string) {
+func buildSyft(t testing.TB, outfile, goOS, goArch string) {
 	dir := repoRoot(t)
 
 	start := time.Now()
 
-	var stdout, stderr string
-	var err error
-	switch "go" {
-	case "go":
-		stdout, stderr, err = buildSyftWithGo(dir, outfile)
-	case "goreleaser":
-		stdout, stderr, err = buildSyftWithGoreleaser(dir)
-	case "make":
-		stdout, stderr, err = buildSyftWithMake(dir)
-	}
+	stdout, stderr, err := buildSyftWithGo(dir, outfile, goOS, goArch)
 
 	took := time.Now().Sub(start).Round(time.Millisecond)
 	if err == nil {
@@ -310,16 +316,11 @@ func buildSyft(t testing.TB, outfile string) {
 			t.Logf("built binary: %s in %v\naffected paths:\n%s", outfile, took, stderr)
 		}
 	} else {
-		t.Logf("unable to build binary: %s %v\nSTDOUT:\n%s\nSTDERR:\n%s", outfile, err, stdout, stderr)
+		t.Fatalf("unable to build binary: %s -- %v\nSTDOUT:\n%s\nSTDERR:\n%s", outfile, err, stdout, stderr)
 	}
 }
 
-func goreleaserYamlContents(dir string) string {
-	b, _ := os.ReadFile(path.Join(dir, ".goreleaser.yaml"))
-	return string(b)
-}
-
-func buildSyftWithGo(dir string, outfile string) (string, string, error) {
+func buildSyftWithGo(dir, outfile, goOS, goArch string) (string, string, error) {
 	d := yaml.NewDecoder(strings.NewReader(goreleaserYamlContents(dir)))
 	type releaser struct {
 		Builds []struct {
@@ -359,39 +360,15 @@ func buildSyftWithGo(dir string, outfile string) (string, string, error) {
 	cmd.Dir = dir
 	stdout, stderr, err := runCommand(cmd, map[string]string{
 		"CGO_ENABLED": "0",
+		"GOOS":        goOS,
+		"GOARCH":      goArch,
 	})
 	return stdout, stderr, err
 }
 
-func buildSyftWithMake(dir string) (string, string, error) {
-	cmd := exec.Command("make", "snapshot")
-	cmd.Dir = dir
-	stdout, stderr, err := runCommand(cmd, map[string]string{})
-	if strings.Contains(stderr, "error=docker build failed") {
-		err = nil
-	}
-	return stdout, stderr, err
-}
-
-func buildSyftWithGoreleaser(dir string) (string, string, error) {
-	tmpDir := path.Join(dir, ".tmp")
-
-	goreleaserYaml := goreleaserYamlContents(dir)
-
-	// # create a config with the dist dir overridden
-	tmpGoreleaserYamlFile := path.Join(tmpDir, "goreleaser.yaml")
-	_ = os.WriteFile(tmpGoreleaserYamlFile, []byte("dist: snapshot\n"+goreleaserYaml), os.ModePerm)
-
-	cmd := exec.Command(path.Join(tmpDir, "goreleaser"),
-		"build",
-		"--snapshot",
-		"--single-target",
-		"--clean",
-		"--config", tmpGoreleaserYamlFile,
-	)
-	cmd.Dir = dir
-	stdout, stderr, err := runCommand(cmd, map[string]string{})
-	return stdout, stderr, err
+func goreleaserYamlContents(dir string) string {
+	b, _ := os.ReadFile(path.Join(dir, ".goreleaser.yaml"))
+	return string(b)
 }
 
 func executeTemplate(tpl string, data any) string {
@@ -407,23 +384,6 @@ func executeTemplate(tpl string, data any) string {
 	return out.String()
 }
 
-func getSyftBinaryLocationByOS(t testing.TB, goOS string) string {
-	// note: for amd64 we need to update the snapshot location with the v1 suffix
-	// see : https://goreleaser.com/customization/build/#why-is-there-a-_v1-suffix-on-amd64-builds
-	archPath := runtime.GOARCH
-	if runtime.GOARCH == "amd64" {
-		archPath = fmt.Sprintf("%s_v1", archPath)
-	}
-	// note: there is a subtle - vs _ difference between these versions
-	switch goOS {
-	case "darwin", "linux":
-		return path.Join(repoRoot(t), fmt.Sprintf("snapshot/%s-build_%s_%s/syft", goOS, goOS, archPath))
-	default:
-		t.Fatalf("unsupported OS: %s", runtime.GOOS)
-	}
-	return ""
-}
-
 func repoRoot(t testing.TB) string {
 	t.Helper()
 	root, err := exec.Command("git", "rev-parse", "--show-toplevel").Output()