diff --git a/.github/workflows/base.yml b/.github/workflows/base.yml
index 9e19114d7..6b750fc5a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/base.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/base.yml
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ jobs:
   build-base:
     if: github.repository_owner == 'axolotl-ai-cloud'
     # this job needs to be run on self-hosted GPU runners...
-    runs-on: axolotl-gpu-runner
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest-m
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
@@ -28,42 +28,50 @@ jobs:
             python_version: "3.11"
             pytorch: 2.5.1
             torch_cuda_arch_list: "7.0 7.5 8.0 8.6 8.7 8.9 9.0+PTX"
+            dockerfile: "Dockerfile-base"
           - cuda: "124"
             cuda_version: 12.4.1
             cudnn_version: ""
             python_version: "3.11"
             pytorch: 2.6.0
             torch_cuda_arch_list: "7.0 7.5 8.0 8.6 8.7 8.9 9.0+PTX"
+            dockerfile: "Dockerfile-base"
           - cuda: "126"
             cuda_version: 12.6.3
             cudnn_version: ""
             python_version: "3.11"
             pytorch: 2.6.0
             torch_cuda_arch_list: "7.0 7.5 8.0 8.6 8.7 8.9 9.0+PTX"
+            dockerfile: "Dockerfile-base"
           - cuda: "126"
             cuda_version: 12.6.3
             cudnn_version: ""
             python_version: "3.11"
             pytorch: 2.7.0
             torch_cuda_arch_list: "7.0 7.5 8.0 8.6 8.7 8.9 9.0+PTX"
+            dockerfile: "Dockerfile-base"
           - cuda: "128"
             cuda_version: 12.6.3
             cudnn_version: ""
             python_version: "3.11"
             pytorch: 2.7.0
             torch_cuda_arch_list: "7.0 7.5 8.0 8.6 8.7 8.9 9.0+PTX"
+            dockerfile: "Dockerfile-base"
           - cuda: "128"
             cuda_version: 12.8.1
             cudnn_version: ""
             python_version: "3.11"
             pytorch: nightly
             torch_cuda_arch_list: "7.0 7.5 8.0 8.6 8.7 8.9 9.0+PTX"
-          - cuda: "128"
-            cuda_version: 12.8.1
-            cudnn_version: ""
-            python_version: "3.11"
-            pytorch: next
-            torch_cuda_arch_list: "7.0 7.5 8.0 8.6 8.7 8.9 9.0+PTX"
+            dockerfile: "Dockerfile-base-nightly"
+#          # "next" is for release candidates of pytorch
+#          - cuda: "128"
+#            cuda_version: 12.8.1
+#            cudnn_version: ""
+#            python_version: "3.11"
+#            pytorch: next
+#            torch_cuda_arch_list: "7.0 7.5 8.0 8.6 8.7 8.9 9.0+PTX"
+#            dockerfile: "Dockerfile-base-next"
     steps:
       - name: Checkout
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -85,7 +93,59 @@ jobs:
         uses: docker/build-push-action@v4
         with:
           context: .
-          file: ${{ matrix.pytorch == 'nightly' && './docker/Dockerfile-base-nightly' || matrix.pytorch == 'next' && './docker/Dockerfile-base-next' || './docker/Dockerfile-base' }}
+          file: ./docker/${{ matrix.dockerfile }}
+          push: ${{ github.event_name != 'pull_request' }}
+          tags: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.tags }}-base-py${{ matrix.python_version }}-cu${{ matrix.cuda }}-${{ matrix.pytorch }}${{ matrix.axolotl_extras != '' && '-' || '' }}${{ matrix.axolotl_extras }}
+          labels: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.labels }}
+          build-args: |
+            CUDA_VERSION=${{ matrix.cuda_version }}
+            CUDNN_VERSION=${{ matrix.cudnn_version }}
+            CUDA=${{ matrix.cuda }}
+            PYTHON_VERSION=${{ matrix.python_version }}
+            PYTORCH_VERSION=${{ matrix.pytorch }}
+            TORCH_CUDA_ARCH_LIST=${{ matrix.torch_cuda_arch_list }}
+  build-base-uv:
+    if: github.repository_owner == 'axolotl-ai-cloud'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest-m
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        include:
+          - cuda: "126"
+            cuda_version: 12.6.3
+            cudnn_version: ""
+            python_version: "3.11"
+            pytorch: 2.6.0
+            torch_cuda_arch_list: "7.0 7.5 8.0 8.6 8.7 8.9 9.0+PTX"
+            dockerfile: "Dockerfile-uv-base"
+          - cuda: "128"
+            cuda_version: 12.8.1
+            cudnn_version: ""
+            python_version: "3.11"
+            pytorch: 2.7.0
+            torch_cuda_arch_list: "7.0 7.5 8.0 8.6 8.7 8.9 9.0+PTX"
+            dockerfile: "Dockerfile-uv-base"
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Docker metadata
+        id: metadata
+        uses: docker/metadata-action@v5
+        with:
+          images: |
+            axolotlai/axolotl-base-uv
+      - name: Login to Docker Hub
+        uses: docker/login-action@v2
+        with:
+          username: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_USERNAME }}
+          password: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_TOKEN }}
+      - name: Set up Docker Buildx
+        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
+      - name: Build
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@v4
+        with:
+          context: .
+          file: ./docker/${{ matrix.dockerfile }}
           push: ${{ github.event_name != 'pull_request' }}
           tags: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.tags }}-base-py${{ matrix.python_version }}-cu${{ matrix.cuda }}-${{ matrix.pytorch }}${{ matrix.axolotl_extras != '' && '-' || '' }}${{ matrix.axolotl_extras }}
           labels: ${{ steps.metadata.outputs.labels }}
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 56e45e3fe..d5e8f08a1 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ Features:
 
 - NVIDIA GPU (Ampere or newer for `bf16` and Flash Attention) or AMD GPU
 - Python 3.11
-- PyTorch ≥2.4.1
+- PyTorch ≥2.5.1
 
 ### Installation
 
diff --git a/cicd/multigpu.py b/cicd/multigpu.py
index 7de4ae0a7..9819d3760 100644
--- a/cicd/multigpu.py
+++ b/cicd/multigpu.py
@@ -24,9 +24,9 @@ df_template = template_env.get_template("Dockerfile.jinja")
 df_args = {
     "AXOLOTL_EXTRAS": os.environ.get("AXOLOTL_EXTRAS", ""),
     "AXOLOTL_ARGS": os.environ.get("AXOLOTL_ARGS", ""),
-    "PYTORCH_VERSION": os.environ.get("PYTORCH_VERSION", "2.4.1"),
-    "BASE_TAG": os.environ.get("BASE_TAG", "main-base-py3.11-cu121-2.4.1"),
-    "CUDA": os.environ.get("CUDA", "121"),
+    "PYTORCH_VERSION": os.environ.get("PYTORCH_VERSION", "2.5.1"),
+    "BASE_TAG": os.environ.get("BASE_TAG", "main-base-py3.11-cu124-2.5.1"),
+    "CUDA": os.environ.get("CUDA", "124"),
     "GITHUB_REF": os.environ.get("GITHUB_REF", "refs/heads/main"),
     "GITHUB_SHA": os.environ.get("GITHUB_SHA", ""),
     "CODECOV_TOKEN": os.environ.get("CODECOV_TOKEN", ""),
diff --git a/cicd/single_gpu.py b/cicd/single_gpu.py
index d46d970cf..35dd0de59 100644
--- a/cicd/single_gpu.py
+++ b/cicd/single_gpu.py
@@ -22,9 +22,9 @@ df_template = template_env.get_template("Dockerfile.jinja")
 df_args = {
     "AXOLOTL_EXTRAS": os.environ.get("AXOLOTL_EXTRAS", ""),
     "AXOLOTL_ARGS": os.environ.get("AXOLOTL_ARGS", ""),
-    "PYTORCH_VERSION": os.environ.get("PYTORCH_VERSION", "2.4.1"),
-    "BASE_TAG": os.environ.get("BASE_TAG", "main-base-py3.11-cu121-2.4.1"),
-    "CUDA": os.environ.get("CUDA", "121"),
+    "PYTORCH_VERSION": os.environ.get("PYTORCH_VERSION", "2.5.1"),
+    "BASE_TAG": os.environ.get("BASE_TAG", "main-base-py3.11-cu124-2.5.1"),
+    "CUDA": os.environ.get("CUDA", "124"),
     "GITHUB_REF": os.environ.get("GITHUB_REF", "refs/heads/main"),
     "GITHUB_SHA": os.environ.get("GITHUB_SHA", ""),
     "NIGHTLY_BUILD": os.environ.get("NIGHTLY_BUILD", ""),
diff --git a/docker/Dockerfile-uv-base b/docker/Dockerfile-uv-base
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5ac8d86c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker/Dockerfile-uv-base
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+ARG CUDA_VERSION="12.6.3"
+ARG CUDNN_VERSION=""
+ARG UBUNTU_VERSION="22.04"
+ARG MAX_JOBS=4
+
+FROM nvidia/cuda:$CUDA_VERSION-cudnn$CUDNN_VERSION-devel-ubuntu$UBUNTU_VERSION AS base-builder
+
+ARG PYTHON_VERSION="3.11"
+ARG PYTORCH_VERSION="2.6.0"
+ARG CUDA="126"
+ARG TORCH_CUDA_ARCH_LIST="7.0 7.5 8.0 8.6 9.0+PTX"
+
+ENV PYTHON_VERSION=$PYTHON_VERSION
+ENV TORCH_CUDA_ARCH_LIST=$TORCH_CUDA_ARCH_LIST
+ENV UV_TORCH_BACKEND="cu${CUDA}"
+
+RUN apt-get update \
+    && apt-get install -y wget git build-essential ninja-build git-lfs libaio-dev pkg-config curl && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* \
+    && git lfs install --skip-repo \
+    && curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
+
+ENV PATH="/root/.local/bin:${PATH}"
+
+RUN uv python install ${PYTHON_VERSION}
+
+WORKDIR /workspace
+
+RUN uv venv --no-project --relocatable axolotl-venv
+
+ENV PATH="/workspace/axolotl-venv/bin:${PATH}"
+
+RUN uv pip install packaging setuptools wheel \
+    && uv pip install torch==${PYTORCH_VERSION} \
+    && uv pip install --no-build-isolation "causal_conv1d @ git+https://github.com/Dao-AILab/causal-conv1d.git@main" \
+    && uv pip install "mamba_ssm @ git+https://github.com/state-spaces/mamba.git@main" \
+    && uv pip install awscli pydantic
diff --git a/docs/docker.qmd b/docs/docker.qmd
index d665eaf5b..7b236b960 100644
--- a/docs/docker.qmd
+++ b/docs/docker.qmd
@@ -36,7 +36,6 @@ Tags examples:
 - `main-base-py3.11-cu126-2.7.0`
 - `main-base-py3.11-cu124-2.6.0`
 - `main-base-py3.11-cu124-2.5.1`
-- `main-base-py3.11-cu124-2.4.1`
 
 ## Main
 
@@ -77,12 +76,10 @@ Tags examples:
 - `main-py3.11-cu126-2.7.0`
 - `main-py3.11-cu124-2.6.0`
 - `main-py3.11-cu124-2.5.1`
-- `main-py3.11-cu124-2.4.1`
 - `main-latest`
 - `main-20250303-py3.11-cu124-2.6.0`
 - `main-20250303-py3.11-cu124-2.5.1`
-- `main-20250303-py3.11-cu124-2.4.1`
-- `0.7.1`
+- `0.9.2`
 
 ## Cloud
 
diff --git a/docs/installation.qmd b/docs/installation.qmd
index b429992b6..15f2db57b 100644
--- a/docs/installation.qmd
+++ b/docs/installation.qmd
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ This guide covers all the ways you can install and set up Axolotl for your envir
 
 - NVIDIA GPU (Ampere architecture or newer for `bf16` and Flash Attention) or AMD GPU
 - Python ≥3.10
-- PyTorch ≥2.4.1
+- PyTorch ≥2.5.1
 
 ## Installation Methods {#sec-installation-methods}
 
@@ -41,6 +41,40 @@ installed) in order not to clobber it, and so that we set the correct version of
 dependencies that are specific to the PyTorch version or other installed
 co-dependencies.
 
+### uv Installation {#sec-uv}
+
+uv is a fast, reliable Python package installer and resolver built in Rust. It offers significant performance improvements over pip and provides better dependency resolution, making it an excellent choice for complex environments.
+
+Install uv if not already installed
+```{.bash}
+curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
+source $HOME/.local/bin/env
+```
+
+Choose your CUDA version to use with PyTorch; e.g. `cu124`, `cu126`, `cu128`,
+then create the venv and activate
+```{.bash}
+export UV_TORCH_BACKEND=cu126
+uv venv --no-project --relocatable
+source .venv/bin/activate
+```
+
+Install PyTorch
+- PyTorch 2.6.0 recommended
+```{.bash}
+uv pip install packaging setuptools wheel
+uv pip install torch==2.6.0
+uv pip install awscli pydantic
+```
+
+Install axolotl from PyPi
+```{.bash}
+uv pip install --no-build-isolation axolotl[deepspeed,flash-attn]
+
+# optionally install with vLLM if you're using torch==2.6.0 and want to train w/ GRPO
+uv pip install --no-build-isolation axolotl[deepspeed,flash-attn,vllm]
+```
+
 ### Edge/Development Build {#sec-edge-build}
 
 For the latest features between releases:
diff --git a/scripts/motd b/scripts/motd
index bc123c312..f842bd076 100644
--- a/scripts/motd
+++ b/scripts/motd
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
                                  =@#       @#  #@=     #@   =#@@@@#=    +#@@=  +#@@@@#=    .##@@+   @@
     @@@@  @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
 
-Welcome to the axolotl cloud image! If the you've mounted a disk to /workspace and the axolotl directory ie empty, run the following commands:
+Welcome to the axolotl cloud image! If the you've mounted a disk to /workspace and the axolotl directory is empty, run the following commands:
 
 ```
 cd /workspace