diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-artifacts-and-run-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/build-artifacts-and-run-tests.yml
index 83d5984..cb3bf30 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build-artifacts-and-run-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-artifacts-and-run-tests.yml
@@ -126,17 +126,18 @@ jobs:
         # there's no way to run tests for ARM64 Windows for now
         if: matrix.target != 'aarch64-pc-windows-msvc'
         run: |
-          ${{ env.CARGO }} +stable test --release --target ${{ matrix.target }} $EXTRA_CARGO_FLAGS
+          ${{ env.CARGO }} +stable test --profile fast --target ${{ matrix.target }} $EXTRA_CARGO_FLAGS
 
-      - name: Build artifacts (binary and completions)
+      - name: Build release artifacts (binary and completions)
+        if: ${{ inputs.upload_artifacts }}
         run: |
           ${{ env.CARGO }} +stable build --release --target ${{ matrix.target }} $EXTRA_CARGO_FLAGS
         env:
           OUCH_ARTIFACTS_FOLDER: artifacts
 
-      - name: Upload artifacts
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      - name: Upload release artifacts
         if: ${{ inputs.upload_artifacts }}
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
         with:
           name: ouch-${{ matrix.target }}-${{ steps.concat-features.outputs.FEATURES }}
           path: |
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index e280682..c9459ea 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -73,8 +73,17 @@ default = ["use_zlib", "use_zstd_thin", "unrar"]
 use_zlib = ["flate2/zlib", "gzp/deflate_zlib", "zip/deflate-zlib"]
 use_zstd_thin = ["zstd/thin"]
 
+# For generating binaries for releases
 [profile.release]
 lto = true
 codegen-units = 1
 opt-level = 3
 strip = true
+
+# When we need a fast binary that compiles slightly faster `release` (useful for CI)
+[profile.fast]
+inherits = "release"
+lto = false
+opt-level = 2
+incremental = true
+codegen-units = 16