diff --git a/.github/actions/gmt-pytest/action.yml b/.github/actions/gmt-pytest/action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fb662516
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/actions/gmt-pytest/action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+name: 'GMT Pytest'
+description:  'Run Pytest with setup and teardown'
+inputs:
+  metrics-to-turn-off:
+    description: 'a list of metrics to turn off that is passed to the disable metrics script'
+    required: false
+    default: ''
+runs:
+  using: 'composite'
+  steps:
+    - name: Install python dependencies
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        python -m pip install --upgrade pip
+        pip install fastapi pytest psycopg2 numpy pandas xgboost statsmodels scipy scikit-learn
+    
+    - name: Run Prereqs and Install Script
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        sudo apt install lm-sensors libsensors-dev libglib2.0-0 libglib2.0-dev
+        ./install.sh -p testpw
+
+    - name: Turn off metric providers which do not work in github vm
+      shell: bash
+      run: |
+        ./disable-metric-providers.sh ${{ inputs.metrics-to-turn-off }}
+
+    - name: Setup Test environment
+      shell: bash
+      working-directory: ./test
+      run: |
+        python3 setup-test-env.py
+        
+    - name: Start Test container
+      shell: bash
+      working-directory: ./test
+      run: |
+        docker compose -f ../docker/test-compose.yml up -d
+   
+    - name: Sleep for 10 seconds
+      run: sleep 10s
+      shell: bash
+        
+    - name: Run Tests
+      shell: bash
+      working-directory: ./test
+      run: |
+        pytest
+        
+    - name: Stop Containers
+      shell: bash
+      if: always()
+      working-directory: ./test
+      run: |
+        docker compose -f ../docker/test-compose.yml down -v
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests-bare-metal.yml b/.github/workflows/tests-bare-metal.yml
index 5cef5f6d..510b68a6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests-bare-metal.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests-bare-metal.yml
@@ -1,81 +1,65 @@
 name: Daily Test Run - Bare Metal
-
+run-name: Scheduled - ${{ github.ref_name }}
 on:
   schedule:
     - cron: '0 0 * * *'
       branches: [ "main", "dev" ]
-  # Allows you to run this workflow manually from the Actions tab
-  #workflow_dispatch:
-
+  #push:
+  #  branch: test-pipeline-improvements
 jobs:
-  #TODO: is there a way to do this that's even more light-weight?
   check_date:
     runs-on: self-hosted
     name: Check latest commit
     outputs:
-      should_run: ${{ steps.check_gmt_commits.outputs.should_run }}
+      recent_dev_commit: ${{ steps.check_dev_commits.outputs.recent_dev_commit }}
+      recent_main_commit: ${{ steps.check_main_commits.outputs.recent_main_commit }}
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
-      - name: print latest_commit
-        run: echo ${{ github.sha }}
+      - id: check_dev_commits
+        continue-on-error: true
+        name: check latest dev commit is less than a day
+        if: ${{ github.event_name == 'schedule' }}
+        run: |
+         dateofcommit=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/green-coding-berlin/green-metrics-tool/commits/dev | jq -r '.commit.author.date')
+         commit_timestamp=$(date --date "$dateofcommit" +'%s')
+         one_day_ago=$(date --date '1 day ago' +'%s')
+         [ $commit_timestamp -gt $one_day_ago ] && echo "recent_dev_commit=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
-      #TODO: instead of 24 hours, last workflow run
-      - id: check_gmt_commits
+      - id: check_main_commits
         continue-on-error: true
-        name: check latest commit is less than a day
+        name: check latest main commit is less than a day
         if: ${{ github.event_name == 'schedule' }}
-        run: test -n $(git rev-list  --after="24 hours"  ${{ github.sha }}) && echo "should_run=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        run: |
+         dateofcommit=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/green-coding-berlin/green-metrics-tool/commits/main | jq -r '.commit.author.date')
+         commit_timestamp=$(date --date "$dateofcommit" +'%s')
+         one_day_ago=$(date --date '1 day ago' +'%s')
+         [ $commit_timestamp -gt $one_day_ago ] && echo "recent_main_commit=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
-  run-tests:
+  run-tests-dev:
     needs: check_date
-    if: ${{ needs.check_date.outputs.should_run == 'true' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' }}
+    if: ${{ needs.check_date.outputs.recent_dev_commit == 'true' }}
     runs-on: self-hosted
-    strategy:
-      fail-fast: false
-      matrix:
-        branch: ['dev', 'main']
     steps:
-      # Checks-out your repository under $GITHUB_WORKSPACE, so your job can access it
       - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         with:
-          ref: ${{ matrix.branch }}
+          ref: 'dev'
           submodules: 'true'
       
-      - name: Install python dependencies
-        run: |
-          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
-          pip install fastapi pytest psycopg2 numpy pandas xgboost statsmodels scipy scikit-learn
-      
-      - name: Run Prereqs and Install Script
-        run: |
-          sudo apt install lm-sensors libsensors-dev libglib2.0-dev
-          ./install.sh -p testpw
-
-      - name: Turn off metric providers which do not work in github vm
-        run: |
-          ./disable-metric-providers.sh System Sensors Debug
+      - name: 'Setup, Run, and Teardown Tests'
+        uses: ./.github/actions/gmt-pytest
+        with:
+           metrics-to-turn-off: 'System Sensors Debug'
 
-      - name: Setup Test environment
-        working-directory: ./test
-        run: |
-          ./setup-test-env.sh -p testpw
-          
-      - name: Start Test container
-        working-directory: ./test
-        run: |
-          docker compose -f ../docker/test-compose.yml up -d
-     
-      - name: Sleep for 10 seconds
-        run: sleep 10s
-        shell: bash
-          
-      - name: Run Tests
-        working-directory: ./test
-        run: |
-          pytest
-          
-      - name: Stop Containers
-        if: always()
-        working-directory: ./test
-        run: |
-          docker compose -f ../docker/test-compose.yml down -v
+  run-tests-main:
+    needs: check_date
+    if: ${{ needs.check_date.outputs.recent_main_commit == 'true' }}
+    runs-on: self-hosted
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+        with:
+          ref: 'main'
+          submodules: 'true'
+      
+      - name: 'Setup, Run, and Teardown Tests'
+        uses: ./.github/actions/gmt-pytest
+        with:
+           metrics-to-turn-off: 'System Sensors Debug'
diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests-manual.yml b/.github/workflows/tests-manual.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..eb6f619b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests-manual.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+name: Manual Test Run - Virtual Machine
+run-name: Manual - ${{ github.ref_name }}
+on:
+  # Allows you to run this workflow manually from the Actions tab
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+jobs:
+  run-tests-manual:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      # Checks-out your repository under $GITHUB_WORKSPACE, so your job can access it
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+        with:
+          submodules: 'true'
+      
+      - name: 'Setup, Run, and Teardown Tests'
+        uses: ./.github/actions/gmt-pytest
+        with:
+           metrics-to-turn-off: 'RAPL System Sensors Debug CGroupV2'
diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests-vm.yml b/.github/workflows/tests-vm.yml
index 17c3e7b6..76de725b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests-vm.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests-vm.yml
@@ -1,81 +1,68 @@
 name: Daily Test Run - Virtual Machine
-
+run-name: Scheduled - ${{ github.ref_name }}
 on:
   schedule:
     - cron: '0 0 * * *'
       branches: [ "main", "dev" ]
-  # Allows you to run this workflow manually from the Actions tab
-  #workflow_dispatch:
+  #push:
+  #  branch: test-pipeline-improvements
 
 jobs:
-  #TODO: is there a way to do this that's even more light-weight?
   check_date:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     name: Check latest commit
     outputs:
-      should_run: ${{ steps.check_gmt_commits.outputs.should_run }}
+      recent_dev_commit: ${{ steps.check_dev_commits.outputs.recent_dev_commit }}
+      recent_main_commit: ${{ steps.check_main_commits.outputs.recent_main_commit }}
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
-      - name: print latest_commit
-        run: echo ${{ github.sha }}
+      - id: check_dev_commits
+        continue-on-error: true
+        name: check latest dev commit is less than a day
+        if: ${{ github.event_name == 'schedule' }}
+        run: |
+         dateofcommit=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/green-coding-berlin/green-metrics-tool/commits/dev | jq -r '.commit.author.date')
+         commit_timestamp=$(date --date "$dateofcommit" +'%s')
+         one_day_ago=$(date --date '1 day ago' +'%s')
+         [ $commit_timestamp -gt $one_day_ago ] && echo "recent_dev_commit=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
-      #TODO: instead of 24 hours, last workflow run
-      - id: check_gmt_commits
+      - id: check_main_commits
         continue-on-error: true
-        name: check latest commit is less than a day
+        name: check latest main commit is less than a day
         if: ${{ github.event_name == 'schedule' }}
-        run: test -n $(git rev-list  --after="24 hours"  ${{ github.sha }}) && echo "should_run=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        run: |
+         dateofcommit=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/green-coding-berlin/green-metrics-tool/commits/main | jq -r '.commit.author.date')
+         commit_timestamp=$(date --date "$dateofcommit" +'%s')
+         one_day_ago=$(date --date '1 day ago' +'%s')
+         [ $commit_timestamp -gt $one_day_ago ] && echo "recent_main_commit=true" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
-  run-tests:
+  run-tests-dev:
     needs: check_date
-    if: ${{ needs.check_date.outputs.should_run == 'true' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' }}
+    if: ${{ needs.check_date.outputs.recent_dev_commit == 'true' }}
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    strategy:
-      fail-fast: false
-      matrix:
-        branch: ['dev', 'main']
     steps:
       # Checks-out your repository under $GITHUB_WORKSPACE, so your job can access it
       - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         with:
-          ref: ${{ matrix.branch }}
+          ref: 'dev'
           submodules: 'true'
       
-      - name: Install python dependencies
-        run: |
-          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
-          pip install fastapi pytest psycopg2 numpy pandas xgboost statsmodels scipy scikit-learn
-      
-      - name: Run Prereqs and Install Script
-        run: |
-          sudo apt install lm-sensors libsensors-dev libglib2.0-dev
-          ./install.sh -p testpw
-
-      - name: Turn off metric providers which do not work in github vm
-        run: |
-          ./disable-metric-providers.sh RAPL System Sensors Debug CGroupV2
+      - name: 'Setup, Run, and Teardown Tests'
+        uses: ./.github/actions/gmt-pytest
+        with:
+           metrics-to-turn-off: 'RAPL System Sensors Debug CGroupV2'
 
-      - name: Setup Test environment
-        working-directory: ./test
-        run: |
-          ./setup-test-env.sh -p testpw
-          
-      - name: Start Test container
-        working-directory: ./test
-        run: |
-          docker compose -f ../docker/test-compose.yml up -d
-     
-      - name: Sleep for 10 seconds
-        run: sleep 10s
-        shell: bash
-          
-      - name: Run Tests
-        working-directory: ./test
-        run: |
-          pytest
-          
-      - name: Stop Containers
-        if: always()
-        working-directory: ./test
-        run: |
-          docker compose -f ../docker/test-compose.yml down -v
+  run-tests-main:
+    needs: check_date
+    if: ${{ needs.check_date.outputs.recent_main_commit == 'true' }}
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      # Checks-out your repository under $GITHUB_WORKSPACE, so your job can access it
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+        with:
+          ref: 'main'
+          submodules: 'true'
+      
+      - name: 'Setup, Run, and Teardown Tests'
+        uses: ./.github/actions/gmt-pytest
+        with:
+           metrics-to-turn-off: 'RAPL System Sensors Debug CGroupV2'
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 1d896246..00000000
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,54 +0,0 @@
-name: Daily Test Run - VM - Manual
-
-on:
-  # Allows you to run this workflow manually from the Actions tab
-  workflow_dispatch:
-
-jobs:
-  run-tests:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    steps:
-      # Checks-out your repository under $GITHUB_WORKSPACE, so your job can access it
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
-        with:
-          ref: ${{ matrix.branch }}
-          submodules: 'true'
-      
-      - name: Install python dependencies
-        run: |
-          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
-          pip install fastapi pytest psycopg2 numpy pandas xgboost statsmodels scipy scikit-learn
-      
-      - name: Run Prereqs and Install Script
-        run: |
-          sudo apt install lm-sensors libsensors-dev libglib2.0-dev
-          ./install.sh -p testpw
-
-      - name: Turn off metric providers which do not work in github vm
-        run: |
-          ./disable-metric-providers.sh RAPL System Sensors Debug CGroupV2
-
-      - name: Setup Test environment
-        working-directory: ./test
-        run: |
-          ./setup-test-env.sh -p testpw
-          
-      - name: Start Test container
-        working-directory: ./test
-        run: |
-          docker compose -f ../docker/test-compose.yml up -d
-     
-      - name: Sleep for 10 seconds
-        run: sleep 10s
-        shell: bash
-          
-      - name: Run Tests
-        working-directory: ./test
-        run: |
-          pytest
-          
-      - name: Stop Containers
-        if: always()
-        working-directory: ./test
-        run: |
-          docker compose -f ../docker/test-compose.yml down -v
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ee8f51bb..0a8ec9b2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ Currently no special setup is done to isolate the containers from the host OS an
 
 Ensure that you run this only in an isolated VM / dedicated server.
 
-![Tests Status](https://github.com/green-coding-berlin/green-metrics-tool/actions/workflows/tests.yml/badge.svg)
+![Tests Status](https://github.com/green-coding-berlin/green-metrics-tool/actions/workflows/tests-vm.yml/badge.svg)
 
 
 # Introduction
diff --git a/test/README.MD b/test/README.MD
index f2d6dfd9..f3b6025c 100644
--- a/test/README.MD
+++ b/test/README.MD
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@ We assume that your green-metrics-tool is already set up to work on your machine
 ## First time setup
 run:
 
-`./setup-test-env.sh`
+`python3 setup-test-env.py`
 
-from the test directory. This will create a copy of the `config.yml` and docker compose.yml` files that will be used in the test containers.
+from the test directory. This will create a copy of the `config.yml` and docker `compose.yml` files that will be used in the test containers.
 
 You will need to re-run this setup script if new metric providers are added or the config.yml is otherwise changed in a significant way.
 
diff --git a/test/edit-etc-hosts.sh b/test/edit-etc-hosts.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..4cd73520
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/edit-etc-hosts.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+set -euo pipefail
+
+etc_hosts_line_1="127.0.0.1 test-green-coding-postgres-container"
+
+echo "Writing to /etc/hosts file..."
+if ! sudo grep -Fxq "$etc_hosts_line_1" /etc/hosts; then
+    echo $etc_hosts_line_1 | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts
+else
+    echo "Entry was already present..."
+fi
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/setup-test-env.py b/test/setup-test-env.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e0d57725
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/setup-test-env.py
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+import yaml
+import os
+import re
+from copy import deepcopy
+import subprocess
+
+base_config_name = 'config.yml'
+base_compose_name = 'compose.yml.example'
+test_config_name = 'test-config.yml'
+test_compose_name = 'test-compose.yml'
+
+db_pw = 'testpw'
+
+current_dir = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
+base_config_path = os.path.join(current_dir, "../{base_config_name}".format(base_config_name=base_config_name))
+base_compose_path = os.path.join(current_dir, "../docker/{base_compose_name}".format(base_compose_name=base_compose_name))
+test_config_path = os.path.join(current_dir, "../{test_config_name}".format(test_config_name=test_config_name))
+test_compose_path = os.path.join(current_dir, "../docker/{test_compose_name}".format(test_compose_name=test_compose_name))
+
+def edit_config_file():
+    print("Creating test-config.yml...")
+    config = None
+    with open(base_config_path) as base_config_file:
+        config = yaml.load(base_config_file, Loader=yaml.FullLoader)
+
+    # Reset SMTP
+    for e in config.get('smtp'):
+        config['smtp'][e] = None
+
+    config['postgresql']['host'] = 'test-green-coding-postgres-container'
+    config['postgresql']['password'] = db_pw
+    config['admin']['no_emails'] = True
+
+    with open(test_config_path, 'w') as test_config_file:
+        yaml.dump(config, test_config_file)
+
+def edit_compose_file():
+    print("Creating test-compose.yml...")
+    compose = None
+    with open(base_compose_path) as base_compose_file:
+        compose = yaml.load(base_compose_file, Loader=yaml.FullLoader)
+
+    # Save old volume names, as we will have to look for them under services/volumes soon
+    vol_keys = compose['volumes'].copy().keys()
+
+    # Edit volume names with pre-pended 'test' 
+    for e in compose.get('volumes').copy():
+        compose['volumes']["test-{e}".format(e=e)] = deepcopy(compose['volumes'][e])
+        del compose['volumes'][e]
+
+    # Edit Services 
+    for service in compose.get('services').copy():
+        # Edit Services with new volumes
+        service_volumes = compose['services'][service]['volumes'] 
+        new_vol_list=[]
+        for v in service_volumes:
+            for k in vol_keys:
+                v = v.replace(k,'test-{k}'.format(k=k))
+            v = v.replace('PATH_TO_GREEN_METRICS_TOOL_REPO', '{cwd}/../'.format(cwd=current_dir))
+            new_vol_list.append(v)
+
+        ## Change the depends on: in services as well
+        if 'depends_on' in compose['services'][service]:
+            depends_on_list = compose['services'][service]['depends_on']
+            new_depends_on_list=[]
+            for d in depends_on_list:
+                new_depends_on_list.append('test-{d}'.format(d=d))
+            compose['services'][service]['depends_on'] = new_depends_on_list
+
+        ## for nginx and gunicorn services, add test config mapping
+        if 'nginx' in service or 'gunicorn' in service:
+            new_vol_list.append('{cwd}/../test-config.yml:/var/www/green-metrics-tool/config.yml'.format(cwd=current_dir))
+        compose['services'][service]['volumes'] = new_vol_list
+
+        # For postgresql, change password
+        if 'postgres' in service:
+            new_env=[]
+            for e in compose['services'][service]['environment']:
+                e = e.replace('PLEASE_CHANGE_THIS', db_pw)
+            new_env.append(e)
+            compose['services'][service]['environment'] = new_env
+
+        # Edit service container name
+        old_container_name = compose['services'][service]['container_name']
+        compose['services'][service]['container_name'] = 'test-{name}'.format(name=old_container_name)
+
+        # Edit service names with pre-pended 'test'
+        # Do this last so the changes done before are copied into new name
+        new_key = "test-{e}".format(e=service)
+        compose['services'][new_key] = deepcopy(compose['services'][service])
+        del compose['services'][service]
+
+    with open(test_compose_path, 'w') as test_compose_file:
+        yaml.dump(compose, test_compose_file)
+
+def edit_etc_hosts():
+    subprocess.run(['./edit-etc-hosts.sh'])
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    edit_config_file()
+    edit_compose_file()
+    edit_etc_hosts()
+    print('fin.')
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/setup-test-env.sh b/test/setup-test-env.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 0c38892d..00000000
--- a/test/setup-test-env.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,39 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-set -euo pipefail
-
-db_pw=''
-while getopts "p:" o; do
-    case "$o" in
-        p)
-            db_pw=${OPTARG}
-            ;;
-    esac
-done
-
-if [[ -z "$db_pw" ]] ; then
-    read -sp "Please enter the new password to be set for the testing PostgreSQL DB: " db_pw
-fi
-
-echo "Updating config.yml with new password ..."
-cp ../config.yml ../test-config.yml
-sed -i -e "s|host: green-|host: test-|" ../test-config.yml
-sed -i -e "s|PLEASE_CHANGE_THIS|$db_pw|" ../test-config.yml
-
-echo "Creating test-compose.yml ..."
-cp ../docker/compose.yml.example ../docker/test-compose.yml
-sed -i -e "s|PATH_TO_GREEN_METRICS_TOOL_REPO|$PWD/../|" ../docker/test-compose.yml
-sed -i -e "s|PLEASE_CHANGE_THIS|$db_pw|" ../docker/test-compose.yml
-sed -i -e "s|# - TEST_CONFIG_SETUP|- $PWD/../test-config.yml|" ../docker/test-compose.yml
-
-sed -i -e "s|container_name: green-|container_name: test-|" ../docker/test-compose.yml
-sed -i -e "s|green-coding-postgres-data|green-coding-postgres-test-data|" ../docker/test-compose.yml
-
-etc_hosts_line_1="127.0.0.1 test-coding-postgres-container"
-
-
-echo "Writing to /etc/hosts file..."
-if ! sudo grep -Fxq "$etc_hosts_line_1" /etc/hosts; then
-    echo $etc_hosts_line_1 | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts
-else
-    echo "Entry was already present..."
-fi
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/start-test-containers.sh b/test/start-test-containers.sh
index dad11da9..de664619 100755
--- a/test/start-test-containers.sh
+++ b/test/start-test-containers.sh
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 echo "Running docker containers..."
-docker compose -f ../docker/test-compose.yml up
\ No newline at end of file
+docker compose -f ../docker/test-compose.yml up --remove-orphans 
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/stop-test-containers.sh b/test/stop-test-containers.sh
index bf862139..7098a49d 100755
--- a/test/stop-test-containers.sh
+++ b/test/stop-test-containers.sh
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 echo "Stopping docker containers..."
-docker compose -f ../docker/test-compose.yml down -v
\ No newline at end of file
+docker compose -f ../docker/test-compose.yml down -v --remove-orphans
\ No newline at end of file