diff --git a/.asf.yaml b/.asf.yaml
index f2d710ec8e..277c618701 100644
--- a/.asf.yaml
+++ b/.asf.yaml
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ github:
           parameters:
             check_response_timeout_minutes: 90
             grouping_strategy: ALLGREEN
-            max_entries_to_build: 1
+            max_entries_to_build: 2
             max_entries_to_merge: 1
             merge_method: SQUASH
             min_entries_to_merge: 1
diff --git a/.github/workflows/asf-allowlist-check.yml b/.github/workflows/asf-allowlist-check.yml
index 7fb2aaad71..e2e408d358 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/asf-allowlist-check.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/asf-allowlist-check.yml
@@ -30,9 +30,13 @@ on:
 permissions:
   contents: read
 
+concurrency:
+  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request' }}
+
 jobs:
   asf-allowlist-check:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
       with:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/check-md-link.yml b/.github/workflows/check-md-link.yml
index 1379444e7f..72f41507bb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/check-md-link.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/check-md-link.yml
@@ -27,6 +27,10 @@ on:
 permissions:
   contents: read
 
+concurrency:
+  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request' }}
+
 jobs:
   markdown-link-check:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
diff --git a/.github/workflows/codeql.yml b/.github/workflows/codeql.yml
index 4d45826067..3d2e465364 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/codeql.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/codeql.yml
@@ -31,6 +31,10 @@ on:
 permissions:
   contents: read
 
+concurrency:
+  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request' }}
+
 jobs:
   analyze:
     name: Analyze Actions
diff --git a/.github/workflows/license_check.yml b/.github/workflows/license_check.yml
index b5bf11b8ad..7028b5dac1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/license_check.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/license_check.yml
@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@ on:
 permissions:
   contents: read
 
+concurrency:
+  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request' }}
+
 jobs:
   rat:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
diff --git a/.github/workflows/nightly-pypi-build.yml b/.github/workflows/nightly-pypi-build.yml
index a302daa436..322f2a3639 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/nightly-pypi-build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/nightly-pypi-build.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ permissions:
 jobs:
   set-version:
     if: github.repository == 'apache/iceberg-python' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' # Run on schedule for apache repo, or on manual dispatch from any repo
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
     outputs:
       VERSION: ${{ steps.set-version.outputs.VERSION }}
     steps:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/pypi-build-artifacts.yml b/.github/workflows/pypi-build-artifacts.yml
index 5e742fbd8c..53939c7a52 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pypi-build-artifacts.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pypi-build-artifacts.yml
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ jobs:
           path: ./wheelhouse/*
 
   pypi-merge-artifacts:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
     needs:
       - pypi-build-artifacts
     steps:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/python-ci.yml b/.github/workflows/python-ci.yml
index c0cb1f6f68..f5f1c24203 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/python-ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/python-ci.yml
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ jobs:
   python-ci-required:
     if: ${{ always() }}
     needs: [lint-and-unit-test, windows-unit-test, cibw-dev-env-smoke-test]
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
     steps:
     - name: Verify Python CI jobs succeeded
       env:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/python-integration.yml b/.github/workflows/python-integration.yml
index 124aca96d5..d2c6be323c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/python-integration.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/python-integration.yml
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ jobs:
         include-hidden-files: true
 
   integration-coverage-report:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
     needs: [integration-test, integration-test-s3, integration-test-adls, integration-test-gcs]
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ jobs:
   python-integration-required:
     if: ${{ always() }}
     needs: [integration-test, integration-test-s3, integration-test-adls, integration-test-gcs, integration-coverage-report]
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
     steps:
     - name: Verify Python integration jobs succeeded
       env:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/python-release-docs.yml b/.github/workflows/python-release-docs.yml
index a7c1601307..3f46e79fa8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/python-release-docs.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/python-release-docs.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ concurrency:
 
 jobs:
   docs:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
     permissions:
       contents: write
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/python-release.yml b/.github/workflows/python-release.yml
index 28f784c31e..04295ae0d1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/python-release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/python-release.yml
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ permissions:
 
 jobs:
   validate-inputs:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
     outputs:
       VERSION: ${{ steps.validate-inputs.outputs.VERSION }} # e.g. 0.8.0
       RC: ${{ steps.validate-inputs.outputs.RC }} # e.g. 1
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ jobs:
           STEPS_VALIDATE_INPUTS_OUTPUTS_RC: ${{ steps.validate-inputs.outputs.RC }}
 
   validate-library-version:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
     needs:
       - validate-inputs
     steps:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/stale.yml b/.github/workflows/stale.yml
index 6e5560b535..54e88b0928 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/stale.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/stale.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ permissions:
 jobs:
   stale:
     if: github.repository_owner == 'apache'
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
     steps:
       - uses: actions/stale@4391f3da665fdf50b6810c1a66712fb9ba21aa93 # v11.0.0
         with:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/svn-build-artifacts.yml b/.github/workflows/svn-build-artifacts.yml
index 250901b9f9..2a9bd75632 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/svn-build-artifacts.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/svn-build-artifacts.yml
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ jobs:
           path: ./wheelhouse/*
 
   svn-merge-artifacts:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    runs-on: ubuntu-slim
     needs:
       - svn-build-artifacts
     steps:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/zizmor.yml b/.github/workflows/zizmor.yml
index 9b0147d598..bcd88ae1e2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/zizmor.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/zizmor.yml
@@ -26,6 +26,10 @@ on:
 
 permissions: {}
 
+concurrency:
+  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.ref }}
+  cancel-in-progress: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request' }}
+
 jobs:
   zizmor:
     name: Run zizmor 🌈
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index c1fa3ca8e3..9f0282c65b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -165,10 +165,10 @@ test-notebook: ## Run notebook tests (pyiceberg_example and spark_integration_ex
 ##@ Documentation
 
 docs-serve: ## Serve local docs preview (hot reload)
-	uv run $(PYTHON_ARG) --group docs mkdocs serve -f mkdocs/mkdocs.yml --livereload
+	uv run $(PYTHON_ARG) --no-default-groups --group docs mkdocs serve -f mkdocs/mkdocs.yml --livereload
 
 docs-build: ## Build the static documentation site
-	uv run $(PYTHON_ARG) --group docs mkdocs build -f mkdocs/mkdocs.yml --strict
+	uv run $(PYTHON_ARG) --no-default-groups --group docs mkdocs build -f mkdocs/mkdocs.yml --strict
 
 # ========================
 # Experimentation