diff --git a/.github/workflows/README.md b/.github/workflows/README.md
index d5b857a8..e3a9e7ae 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/README.md
+++ b/.github/workflows/README.md
@@ -20,19 +20,26 @@ This directory contains the GitHub Actions workflows for the MangoWC project.
 
 **What it does**:
 1. Installs system dependencies (libinput, libdrm, etc.)
-2. Builds wayland 1.23.1 from source (Ubuntu has older 1.22)
-3. Builds wlroots 0.19 from source
-4. Builds scenefx 0.4.1 from source
+2. Installs wayland (tries apt first, builds 1.23.1 from source if needed)
+3. Installs wlroots (tries apt first, builds 0.19 from source if needed)
+4. Builds scenefx 0.4.1 from source (not available in apt)
 5. Configures the project with meson
 6. Builds the project with ninja
 7. Verifies the executables were created
 
+**Install Strategy**:
+- Prefers apt packages when available and version requirements are met
+- Falls back to building from source only when necessary
+- wayland: requires >= 1.23.1 (Ubuntu apt has 1.22, builds from source)
+- wlroots: requires >= 0.19.0 (checks apt version, builds from source if too old)
+- scenefx: not in apt repositories (always builds from source)
+
 **Dependencies**:
 - Ubuntu latest runner
 - Meson build system
 - Ninja build tool
-- Wayland 1.23.1 (built from source)
-- wlroots 0.19
+- Wayland >= 1.23.1
+- wlroots >= 0.19.0
 - scenefx 0.4.1
 
 ### docs.yml
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index 31d1dd5f..26ca7ad5 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
-      - name: Install dependencies
+      - name: Install system dependencies
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update
           sudo apt-get install -y \
@@ -61,9 +61,25 @@ jobs:
             libxml2-dev \
             pkg-config
 
-      - name: Build and install wayland 1.23.1
+      - name: Install wayland (try apt first, build from source if needed)
         run: |
-          # Build wayland 1.23.1 from source since Ubuntu has older version
+          # Try to install wayland from apt
+          if sudo apt-get install -y libwayland-dev 2>/dev/null; then
+            WAYLAND_VERSION=$(pkg-config --modversion wayland-server 2>/dev/null || echo "0.0.0")
+            echo "Installed wayland version: $WAYLAND_VERSION"
+            
+            # Check if version meets requirement (>= 1.23.1)
+            if dpkg --compare-versions "$WAYLAND_VERSION" ge "1.23.1"; then
+              echo "✅ wayland $WAYLAND_VERSION from apt meets requirements"
+              exit 0
+            else
+              echo "⚠️  wayland $WAYLAND_VERSION from apt is too old, building from source..."
+            fi
+          else
+            echo "⚠️  wayland not available in apt, building from source..."
+          fi
+          
+          # Build from source if apt package is unavailable or too old
           git clone https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/wayland/wayland.git
           cd wayland
           git checkout 1.23.1
@@ -71,10 +87,27 @@ jobs:
           sudo ninja -C build/ install
           sudo ldconfig
           cd ..
+          echo "✅ Built wayland 1.23.1 from source"
 
-      - name: Install wlroots 0.19
+      - name: Install wlroots (try apt first, build from source if needed)
         run: |
-          # Install wlroots 0.19 from source since it may not be in apt
+          # Try to install wlroots from apt
+          if sudo apt-get install -y libwlroots-dev 2>/dev/null; then
+            WLROOTS_VERSION=$(pkg-config --modversion wlroots 2>/dev/null || echo "0.0.0")
+            echo "Installed wlroots version: $WLROOTS_VERSION"
+            
+            # Check if version meets requirement (>= 0.19.0)
+            if dpkg --compare-versions "$WLROOTS_VERSION" ge "0.19.0"; then
+              echo "✅ wlroots $WLROOTS_VERSION from apt meets requirements"
+              exit 0
+            else
+              echo "⚠️  wlroots $WLROOTS_VERSION from apt is too old, building from source..."
+            fi
+          else
+            echo "⚠️  wlroots not available in apt, building from source..."
+          fi
+          
+          # Build from source if apt package is unavailable or too old
           git clone https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/wlroots/wlroots.git
           cd wlroots
           git checkout 0.19.0
@@ -82,16 +115,19 @@ jobs:
           sudo ninja -C build/ install
           sudo ldconfig
           cd ..
+          echo "✅ Built wlroots 0.19.0 from source"
 
-      - name: Install scenefx 0.4.1
+      - name: Install scenefx (build from source - not in apt)
         run: |
-          # Install scenefx from source
+          # scenefx is not available in Ubuntu apt repositories
+          # Build from source
           git clone -b 0.4.1 https://github.com/wlrfx/scenefx.git
           cd scenefx
           meson setup build/ --prefix=/usr
           sudo ninja -C build/ install
           sudo ldconfig
           cd ..
+          echo "✅ Built scenefx 0.4.1 from source"
 
       - name: Configure meson
         run: |