diff --git a/.github/workflows/container.yml b/.github/workflows/container.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..af2186af43
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/container.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+name: Push Testground Image
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - main
+    tags:
+      - "v*.*.*"
+
+env:
+  IMAGE_NAME: cronos-testground
+
+jobs:
+
+  push:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      packages: write
+      contents: read
+
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: cachix/install-nix-action@v23
+        with:
+          nix_path: nixpkgs=channel:nixos-24.05
+          extra_nix_config: |
+            access-tokens = github.com=${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+      - uses: cachix/cachix-action@v12
+        with:
+          name: cronos
+          signingKey: "${{ secrets.CACHIX_SIGNING_KEY }}"
+      - name: build and push image
+        run: |
+          # login to ghcr.io
+          echo "${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}" | docker login ghcr.io -u ${{ github.actor }} --password-stdin
+
+          VERSION=$(echo "${{ github.ref }}" | sed -e 's,.*/\(.*\),\1,')
+          [[ "${{ github.ref }}" == "refs/tags/"* ]] && VERSION=$(echo $VERSION | sed -e 's/^v//')
+          [ "$VERSION" == "main" ] && VERSION=latest
+          echo "VERSION: $VERSION"
+
+          IMAGE_ID=ghcr.io/${{ github.repository_owner }}/$IMAGE_NAME
+          IMAGE_ID=$(echo $IMAGE_ID | tr '[A-Z]' '[a-z]')
+          echo "IMAGE_ID: $IMAGE_ID"
+
+          BUILD_TAG="$(nix eval --raw .#testground-image.imageTag)"
+          echo "BUILD_TAG: $BUILD_TAG"
+
+          docker load -i "$(nix build --no-link --print-out-paths .#testground-image)"
+          docker run --rm -e TEST_CASE=info $IMAGE_NAME:$BUILD_TAG
+          docker tag $IMAGE_NAME:$BUILD_TAG $IMAGE_ID:$VERSION
+          docker push $IMAGE_ID:$VERSION
diff --git a/flake.lock b/flake.lock
index dc81b1613a..26a3262253 100644
--- a/flake.lock
+++ b/flake.lock
@@ -77,11 +77,11 @@
     },
     "nixpkgs": {
       "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1708341091,
-        "narHash": "sha256-3R7doGV1AoB5VKFifEd5elj8t4cld6VpJRpn9NaYr1Y=",
+        "lastModified": 1716715802,
+        "narHash": "sha256-usk0vE7VlxPX8jOavrtpOqphdfqEQpf9lgedlY/r66c=",
         "owner": "NixOS",
         "repo": "nixpkgs",
-        "rev": "86ef6bd96b6279e1a4a53236d341f5df1ede3803",
+        "rev": "e2dd4e18cc1c7314e24154331bae07df76eb582f",
         "type": "github"
       },
       "original": {
@@ -104,11 +104,11 @@
         "treefmt-nix": "treefmt-nix"
       },
       "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1708589824,
-        "narHash": "sha256-2GOiFTkvs5MtVF65sC78KNVxQSmsxtk0WmV1wJ9V2ck=",
+        "lastModified": 1718745582,
+        "narHash": "sha256-TFlVP4YXg6n+MbP/Iv/RIwqvRKuV9KA1JAPihoFmPfo=",
         "owner": "nix-community",
         "repo": "poetry2nix",
-        "rev": "3c92540611f42d3fb2d0d084a6c694cd6544b609",
+        "rev": "48e7ed4ef7832efa5a5558e573986c4128fc478f",
         "type": "github"
       },
       "original": {
@@ -148,11 +148,11 @@
         ]
       },
       "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1708335038,
-        "narHash": "sha256-ETLZNFBVCabo7lJrpjD6cAbnE11eDOjaQnznmg/6hAE=",
+        "lastModified": 1718522839,
+        "narHash": "sha256-ULzoKzEaBOiLRtjeY3YoGFJMwWSKRYOic6VNw2UyTls=",
         "owner": "numtide",
         "repo": "treefmt-nix",
-        "rev": "e504621290a1fd896631ddbc5e9c16f4366c9f65",
+        "rev": "68eb1dc333ce82d0ab0c0357363ea17c31ea1f81",
         "type": "github"
       },
       "original": {
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index 5fea04c927..b1fdcda4a3 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
         in
         rec {
           packages = pkgs.cronos-matrix // {
-            inherit (pkgs) rocksdb;
+            inherit (pkgs) rocksdb testground-image;
           };
           apps = {
             cronosd = mkApp packages.cronosd;
@@ -72,12 +72,14 @@
         (import ./nix/build_overlay.nix)
         poetry2nix.overlays.default
         gomod2nix.overlays.default
+        (import ./testground/benchmark/overlay.nix)
         (final: super: {
           go = super.go_1_22;
           test-env = final.callPackage ./nix/testenv.nix { };
           cronos-matrix = final.callPackage ./nix/cronos-matrix.nix {
             bundle-exe = final.pkgsBuildBuild.callPackage nix-bundle-exe { };
           };
+          testground-image = final.callPackage ./nix/testground-image.nix { };
         })
       ];
     };
diff --git a/nix/testground-image.nix b/nix/testground-image.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e1c3d3a943
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nix/testground-image.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{ dockerTools, cronos-matrix, testground-testcase }:
+dockerTools.buildLayeredImage {
+  name = "cronos-testground";
+  contents = [
+    testground-testcase
+    cronos-matrix.cronosd
+  ];
+  config = {
+    Expose = [ 9090 26657 26656 1317 26658 26660 26659 30000 ];
+    Cmd = [ "/bin/testground-testcase" ];
+    Env = [
+      "PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1"
+    ];
+  };
+}
diff --git a/testground/benchmark/benchmark/context.py b/testground/benchmark/benchmark/context.py
index 014527c8b8..f44cfb062a 100644
--- a/testground/benchmark/benchmark/context.py
+++ b/testground/benchmark/benchmark/context.py
@@ -12,7 +12,13 @@ def __init__(self, params: RunParams = None):
         if params is None:
             params = run_params()
         self.params = params
-        self.sync = SyncService(params)
+        self._sync = None
+
+    @property
+    def sync(self) -> SyncService:
+        if self._sync is None:
+            self._sync = SyncService(self.params)
+        return self._sync
 
     def init_common(self):
         self.wait_network_ready()
@@ -107,4 +113,5 @@ def __enter__(self):
         return self
 
     def __exit__(self, exc_type, exc_val, exc_tb):
-        self.sync.close()
+        if self._sync is not None:
+            self._sync.close()
diff --git a/testground/benchmark/benchmark/main.py b/testground/benchmark/benchmark/main.py
index d968753338..d321845028 100644
--- a/testground/benchmark/benchmark/main.py
+++ b/testground/benchmark/benchmark/main.py
@@ -46,8 +46,16 @@ def entrypoint(ctx: Context):
     ctx.record_success()
 
 
+def info(ctx: Context):
+    """
+    Print the runtime configuration, mainly to check if the image is built successfully.
+    """
+    print(ctx.params)
+
+
 TEST_CASES = {
     "entrypoint": entrypoint,
+    "info": info,
 }
 
 
diff --git a/testground/benchmark/flake.lock b/testground/benchmark/flake.lock
index 22feaa71c5..baa53c2408 100644
--- a/testground/benchmark/flake.lock
+++ b/testground/benchmark/flake.lock
@@ -1,32 +1,5 @@
 {
   "nodes": {
-    "cronos": {
-      "inputs": {
-        "flake-utils": [
-          "flake-utils"
-        ],
-        "gomod2nix": "gomod2nix",
-        "nix-bundle-exe": "nix-bundle-exe",
-        "nixpkgs": [
-          "nixpkgs"
-        ],
-        "poetry2nix": "poetry2nix"
-      },
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1716448317,
-        "narHash": "sha256-MY2S2YyKWvyj2z086VaFcrWpjjMzb7R10Rprq3zeE+o=",
-        "owner": "crypto-org-chain",
-        "repo": "cronos",
-        "rev": "b2a47a2bdf95dfe8b5d81428f7024ef36b81f32e",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "crypto-org-chain",
-        "ref": "main",
-        "repo": "cronos",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
     "flake-utils": {
       "inputs": {
         "systems": "systems"
@@ -45,69 +18,9 @@
         "type": "github"
       }
     },
-    "flake-utils_2": {
-      "inputs": {
-        "systems": "systems_3"
-      },
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1710146030,
-        "narHash": "sha256-SZ5L6eA7HJ/nmkzGG7/ISclqe6oZdOZTNoesiInkXPQ=",
-        "owner": "numtide",
-        "repo": "flake-utils",
-        "rev": "b1d9ab70662946ef0850d488da1c9019f3a9752a",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "numtide",
-        "repo": "flake-utils",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
-    "gomod2nix": {
-      "inputs": {
-        "flake-utils": [
-          "cronos",
-          "flake-utils"
-        ],
-        "nixpkgs": [
-          "cronos",
-          "nixpkgs"
-        ]
-      },
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1705314449,
-        "narHash": "sha256-yfQQ67dLejP0FLK76LKHbkzcQqNIrux6MFe32MMFGNQ=",
-        "owner": "nix-community",
-        "repo": "gomod2nix",
-        "rev": "30e3c3a9ec4ac8453282ca7f67fca9e1da12c3e6",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "nix-community",
-        "repo": "gomod2nix",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
-    "nix-bundle-exe": {
-      "flake": false,
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1660176694,
-        "narHash": "sha256-cJGZ/3CjVkoyk1W9mFVs6P/5LbJ8C+42chGYiB/wB/A=",
-        "owner": "3noch",
-        "repo": "nix-bundle-exe",
-        "rev": "91416cec283a33ae3448aacdc5cabdece9c08793",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "3noch",
-        "repo": "nix-bundle-exe",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
     "nix-github-actions": {
       "inputs": {
         "nixpkgs": [
-          "cronos",
           "poetry2nix",
           "nixpkgs"
         ]
@@ -127,22 +40,6 @@
       }
     },
     "nixpkgs": {
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1716924492,
-        "narHash": "sha256-9/Ro5/MfI+PNMF8jzh7+gXDPUHeOzL1e/iw3p4z6Ttc=",
-        "owner": "NixOS",
-        "repo": "nixpkgs",
-        "rev": "4ae13643e7f2cd4bc6555fce074865d9d14e7c24",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "NixOS",
-        "ref": "nixos-unstable-small",
-        "repo": "nixpkgs",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
-    "nixpkgs_2": {
       "locked": {
         "lastModified": 1716715802,
         "narHash": "sha256-usk0vE7VlxPX8jOavrtpOqphdfqEQpf9lgedlY/r66c=",
@@ -160,18 +57,22 @@
     },
     "poetry2nix": {
       "inputs": {
-        "flake-utils": "flake-utils",
+        "flake-utils": [
+          "flake-utils"
+        ],
         "nix-github-actions": "nix-github-actions",
-        "nixpkgs": "nixpkgs",
+        "nixpkgs": [
+          "nixpkgs"
+        ],
         "systems": "systems_2",
         "treefmt-nix": "treefmt-nix"
       },
       "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1716986791,
-        "narHash": "sha256-T9Lra3MFVrto23zj2dDZ6bgxz/9gp/wh2x7QhFkpWEs=",
+        "lastModified": 1718745582,
+        "narHash": "sha256-TFlVP4YXg6n+MbP/Iv/RIwqvRKuV9KA1JAPihoFmPfo=",
         "owner": "nix-community",
         "repo": "poetry2nix",
-        "rev": "1f32bb76c8e2502d896d38dc08433ac8d1e27468",
+        "rev": "48e7ed4ef7832efa5a5558e573986c4128fc478f",
         "type": "github"
       },
       "original": {
@@ -182,9 +83,9 @@
     },
     "root": {
       "inputs": {
-        "cronos": "cronos",
-        "flake-utils": "flake-utils_2",
-        "nixpkgs": "nixpkgs_2"
+        "flake-utils": "flake-utils",
+        "nixpkgs": "nixpkgs",
+        "poetry2nix": "poetry2nix"
       }
     },
     "systems": {
@@ -216,35 +117,19 @@
         "type": "indirect"
       }
     },
-    "systems_3": {
-      "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1681028828,
-        "narHash": "sha256-Vy1rq5AaRuLzOxct8nz4T6wlgyUR7zLU309k9mBC768=",
-        "owner": "nix-systems",
-        "repo": "default",
-        "rev": "da67096a3b9bf56a91d16901293e51ba5b49a27e",
-        "type": "github"
-      },
-      "original": {
-        "owner": "nix-systems",
-        "repo": "default",
-        "type": "github"
-      }
-    },
     "treefmt-nix": {
       "inputs": {
         "nixpkgs": [
-          "cronos",
           "poetry2nix",
           "nixpkgs"
         ]
       },
       "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1708335038,
-        "narHash": "sha256-ETLZNFBVCabo7lJrpjD6cAbnE11eDOjaQnznmg/6hAE=",
+        "lastModified": 1718522839,
+        "narHash": "sha256-ULzoKzEaBOiLRtjeY3YoGFJMwWSKRYOic6VNw2UyTls=",
         "owner": "numtide",
         "repo": "treefmt-nix",
-        "rev": "e504621290a1fd896631ddbc5e9c16f4366c9f65",
+        "rev": "68eb1dc333ce82d0ab0c0357363ea17c31ea1f81",
         "type": "github"
       },
       "original": {
diff --git a/testground/benchmark/flake.nix b/testground/benchmark/flake.nix
index c75f5a1496..e4b9fabafb 100644
--- a/testground/benchmark/flake.nix
+++ b/testground/benchmark/flake.nix
@@ -2,15 +2,14 @@
   inputs = {
     nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixpkgs-unstable";
     flake-utils.url = "github:numtide/flake-utils";
-    cronos = {
-      url = "github:crypto-org-chain/cronos/main";
+    poetry2nix = {
+      url = "github:nix-community/poetry2nix";
       inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
       inputs.flake-utils.follows = "flake-utils";
-      inputs.poetry2nix.url = "github:nix-community/poetry2nix";
     };
   };
 
-  outputs = { self, nixpkgs, flake-utils, cronos }:
+  outputs = { self, nixpkgs, flake-utils, poetry2nix }:
     let
       overrides = { lib, poetry2nix }: poetry2nix.overrides.withDefaults
         (self: super:
@@ -50,42 +49,27 @@
         overrides = overrides { inherit lib poetry2nix; };
       };
 
-      image = { dockerTools, cronos-matrix, test-env, benchmark }:
-        dockerTools.buildLayeredImage {
-          name = "cronos-testground";
-          contents = [
-            benchmark
-            test-env
-            cronos-matrix.cronosd
-          ];
-          config = {
-            Expose = [ 9090 26657 26656 1317 26658 26660 26659 30000 ];
-            Cmd = [ "/bin/benchmark" ];
-            Env = [
-              "PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1"
-            ];
-          };
-        };
     in
     (flake-utils.lib.eachDefaultSystem
       (system:
         let
           pkgs = import nixpkgs {
             inherit system;
-            overlays = cronos.overlays.default ++ [
-              (final: _: {
-                benchmark = final.callPackage benchmark { };
-                benchmark-env = final.callPackage benchmark-env { };
-                benchmark-image = final.callPackage image { };
-              })
+            overlays = [
+              poetry2nix.overlays.default
+              (import ./overlay.nix)
             ];
             config = { };
           };
         in
         rec {
-          packages.default = pkgs.benchmark-image;
+          packages.default = pkgs.testground-testcase;
+          apps.default = {
+            type = "app";
+            program = "${pkgs.testground-testcase}/bin/testground-testcase";
+          };
           devShells.default = pkgs.mkShell {
-            buildInputs = [ pkgs.benchmark-env ];
+            buildInputs = [ pkgs.testground-testcase-env ];
           };
           legacyPackages = pkgs;
         })
diff --git a/testground/benchmark/overlay.nix b/testground/benchmark/overlay.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bb37c0a1ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/testground/benchmark/overlay.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+final: _:
+let
+  overrides = { lib, poetry2nix }: poetry2nix.overrides.withDefaults
+    (self: super:
+      let
+        buildSystems = {
+          pystarport = [ "poetry-core" ];
+          durations = [ "setuptools" ];
+          multitail2 = [ "setuptools" ];
+          docker = [ "hatchling" "hatch-vcs" ];
+          pyunormalize = [ "setuptools" ];
+        };
+      in
+      lib.mapAttrs
+        (attr: systems: super.${attr}.overridePythonAttrs
+          (old: {
+            nativeBuildInputs = (old.nativeBuildInputs or [ ]) ++ map (a: self.${a}) systems;
+          }))
+        buildSystems
+    );
+
+  src = nix-gitignore: nix-gitignore.gitignoreSourcePure [
+    "/*" # ignore all, then add whitelists
+    "!/benchmark/"
+    "!poetry.lock"
+    "!pyproject.toml"
+  ] ./.;
+
+  benchmark = { lib, poetry2nix, python311, nix-gitignore }: poetry2nix.mkPoetryApplication {
+    projectDir = src nix-gitignore;
+    python = python311;
+    overrides = overrides { inherit lib poetry2nix; };
+  };
+
+  benchmark-env = { lib, poetry2nix, python311, nix-gitignore }: poetry2nix.mkPoetryEnv {
+    projectDir = src nix-gitignore;
+    python = python311;
+    overrides = overrides { inherit lib poetry2nix; };
+  };
+
+in
+{
+  testground-testcase = final.callPackage benchmark { };
+  testground-testcase-env = final.callPackage benchmark-env { };
+}
diff --git a/testground/benchmark/pyproject.toml b/testground/benchmark/pyproject.toml
index 4133beec7a..7bde6a3907 100644
--- a/testground/benchmark/pyproject.toml
+++ b/testground/benchmark/pyproject.toml
@@ -23,4 +23,4 @@ requires = ["poetry-core"]
 build-backend = "poetry.core.masonry.api"
 
 [tool.poetry.scripts]
-benchmark = "benchmark.main:main"
+testground-testcase = "benchmark.main:main"