diff --git a/nixos/modules/services/misc/gitlab.md b/nixos/modules/services/misc/gitlab.md
index 5636396f03ad..0e29071d222d 100644
--- a/nixos/modules/services/misc/gitlab.md
+++ b/nixos/modules/services/misc/gitlab.md
@@ -155,11 +155,11 @@ The [VM tested `podman-runner`](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/nix
 
   **Container Images for Gitlab Jobs**:
   - `local/alpine`: An image based on Alpine with a Nix installation
-    (variable `alpineImage`).
+    (attribute `jobImages.alpine`).
   - `local/ubuntu`: An image based on Ubuntu with a Nix installation
-    (variable `ubuntuImage`).
+    (attribute `jobImages.ubuntu`).
   - `local/nix`: An image based on Nix which only comes with `nix`
-    installed (variable `nixImage`).
+    installed (attribute `jobImages.nix`).
 
   **Images for VM Setup**:
   - `local/nix-daemon-image`: An image with a Nix daemon which is
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ The [VM tested `podman-runner`](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/nix
     (variable `podmanDaemonImage`).
 
 - Every job container runs in a `podman` container instance based by default on
-  `ubuntuImage`. A pipeline job can override this with `image: local/alpine`.
+  `jobImage.ubuntu`. A pipeline job can override this with `image: local/alpine`.
   - Each job container will have the `/nix/store` mounted from the container
     `nix-daemon-container` (see registration flags
     `--docker-volumes-from "nix-daemon-container:ro"`).
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ The [VM tested `podman-runner`](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/nix
 
     ::: {.note}
     Building container images with `buildah` (stripped
-    `podman` for building images) inside a job which runs `alpineImage`
+    `podman` for building images) inside a job which runs `jobImage.alpine`
     is still possible.
     :::
 
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/default.nix b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/default.nix
index 71099394b3f9..7398f26f0eed 100644
--- a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/default.nix
+++ b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/default.nix
@@ -18,6 +18,10 @@
 #   - The `bootstrapPkgs` derivation is copied into the job containers
 #     but without the Nix store paths cause they get provided by the
 #     `nix-daemon-store` volume.
+# I cannot denote these volumes because they overmount the
+# shit which is in the image.
+# TODO: make a systemd service which starts before
+# that and creates some volumes and inits these from the image.
 #
 # - The `podman-daemon-socket` volume gets mounted to the job container
 #   enabling it to use `podman`.
@@ -77,16 +81,24 @@ let
   };
 
   # This derivation will contain a folder `/etc`
-  auxRootFiles = pkgs.callPackage ./root { };
+  files = pkgs.callPackage ./files { };
   preBuildScript = pkgs.callPackage ./scripts/prebuild.nix { };
 
+  # These derivations are Linked into the job images root dir.
   bootstrapPkgs = [
     pkgs.nix
+    # Runtime dependencies of nix.
+    pkgs.gnutar
+    pkgs.gzip
+    pkgs.openssh
+    pkgs.xz
     pkgs.cacert
+
+    # Other stuff.
     (lib.hiPrio pkgs.coreutils)
     (lib.hiPrio pkgs.findutils)
     pkgs.openssh
-    pkgs.bash
+    pkgs.bashInteractive
     (lib.hiPrio pkgs.git)
     pkgs.cachix
 
@@ -94,7 +106,16 @@ let
     pkgs.podman # For nested containers.
 
     preBuildScript
-    auxRootFiles
+
+    files.containers
+    files.nixConfig
+  ];
+
+  # All these packages are added to the Nix daemon.
+  nixStorePkgs = bootstrapPkgs ++ [
+    # These files
+    files.basicRoot
+    files.fakeNixpkgs
   ];
 
   toEnvList = envs: lib.mapAttrsToList (k: v: "${k}=${v}") envs;
@@ -110,6 +131,8 @@ let
     # You can add here a user with uid,gid,uname,gname etc.
     # We are using root.
 
+    extraPkgs = nixStorePkgs;
+
     nixConf = {
       cores = "0";
       experimental-features = [
@@ -126,8 +149,6 @@ let
     name = "local/nix-daemon";
     tag = "latest";
 
-    contents = bootstrapPkgs;
-
     config = {
       Volumes = {
         "/nix/store" = { };
@@ -166,95 +187,119 @@ let
       };
     };
 
-  jobImages = {
-    # The base image
-    nix = pkgs.dockerTools.buildLayeredImage {
-      fromImage = nixImageBase;
-      name = imageNames.nix;
-      tag = "latest";
+  jobImages =
+    let
+      extraCommands = ''
+        set -eu
+        # Set missing Nix directories.
+        mkdir -p -m 0755 nix/var/log/nix/drvs
+        mkdir -p -m 0755 nix/var/nix/{gcroots,profiles,temproots,userpool}
+        mkdir -p -m 1777 nix/var/nix/{gcroots,profiles}/per-user
+        mkdir -p -m 0755 nix/var/nix/profiles/per-user/root
 
-      contents = bootstrapPkgs;
-      # No store paths are copied into. We provide them by mounting the
-      # /nix/store.
-      includeStorePaths = false;
+        # Need a HOME.
+        mkdir -vp root
+        mkdir -p -m 0700 root/.nix-defexpr
+      '';
+    in
+    {
+      # The Nix image.
+      nix = pkgs.dockerTools.buildLayeredImage {
+        name = imageNames.nix;
+        tag = "latest";
 
-      config = {
-        Labels = noPruneLabels;
-        Env = toEnvList envs.nix;
+        extraCommands = extraCommands + ''
+          set -eu
+          # For `/usr/bin/env`.
+          mkdir -p usr && ln -s ../bin usr/bin
+        '';
+
+        contents = bootstrapPkgs ++ [ files.basicRoot ];
+        # No store paths are copied into. We provide them by mounting the
+        # /nix/store.
+        includeStorePaths = false;
+
+        config = {
+          Labels = noPruneLabels;
+          Env = toEnvList envs.nix;
+        };
+        maxLayers = 2;
       };
-      maxLayers = 4;
+
+      # This is the analog image to `local/nix` but alpine based.
+      alpine =
+        let
+          # Update with:
+          # ```shell
+          # nix run "github:nixos/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable#nix-prefetch-docker" -- --image-name alpine --image-tag latest
+          # ```
+          alpineBase = pkgs.dockerTools.pullImage {
+            imageName = "alpine";
+            imageDigest = "sha256:beefdbd8a1da6d2915566fde36db9db0b524eb737fc57cd1367effd16dc0d06d";
+            sha256 = "0gf7wbjp37zbni3pz8vdgq1mss6mz69wynms0gqhq7lsxfmg9xj9";
+            finalImageName = "alpine";
+            finalImageTag = "latest";
+          };
+        in
+        (pkgs.dockerTools.buildLayeredImage {
+          fromImage = alpineBase;
+          name = imageNames.alpine;
+          tag = "latest";
+
+          inherit extraCommands;
+
+          contents = bootstrapPkgs;
+          # No store paths are copied into. We provide them by mounting the
+          # /nix/store.
+          includeStorePaths = false;
+
+          config = {
+            Labels = noPruneLabels;
+            Env = toEnvList envs.nix;
+          };
+
+          # Only if `build buildLayeredImage`.
+          maxLayers = 3;
+        });
+
+      # This is the analog image to `local/nix` but ubuntu based.
+      ubuntu =
+        let
+          # Update with:
+          # ```shell
+          # nix run "github:nixos/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable#nix-prefetch-docker" -- \
+          #   --image-name ubuntu --image-tag latest
+          # ```
+          ubuntuBase = pkgs.dockerTools.pullImage {
+            imageName = "ubuntu";
+            imageDigest = "sha256:1e622c5f073b4f6bfad6632f2616c7f59ef256e96fe78bf6a595d1dc4376ac02";
+            hash = "sha256-aC8SgxdcMSaaU89YMr/uwE022Yqey2frmeZqr+L1xEU=";
+            finalImageName = "ubuntu";
+            finalImageTag = "latest";
+          };
+        in
+        (pkgs.dockerTools.buildLayeredImage {
+          fromImage = ubuntuBase;
+          name = imageNames.ubuntu;
+          tag = "latest";
+
+          inherit extraCommands;
+
+          contents = bootstrapPkgs;
+          # No store paths are copied into. We provide them by mounting the
+          # /nix/store.
+          includeStorePaths = false;
+
+          config = {
+            Labels = noPruneLabels;
+            Env = toEnvList envs.ubuntu;
+          };
+
+          # Only if `build buildLayeredImage`.
+          maxLayers = 3;
+        });
     };
 
-    # This is the analog image to `local/nix` but alpine based.
-    alpine =
-      let
-        # Update with:
-        # ```shell
-        # nix run "github:nixos/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable#nix-prefetch-docker" -- --image-name alpine --image-tag latest
-        # ```
-        alpineBase = pkgs.dockerTools.pullImage {
-          imageName = "alpine";
-          imageDigest = "sha256:beefdbd8a1da6d2915566fde36db9db0b524eb737fc57cd1367effd16dc0d06d";
-          sha256 = "0gf7wbjp37zbni3pz8vdgq1mss6mz69wynms0gqhq7lsxfmg9xj9";
-          finalImageName = "alpine";
-          finalImageTag = "latest";
-        };
-      in
-      (pkgs.dockerTools.buildLayeredImage {
-        fromImage = alpineBase;
-        name = imageNames.alpine;
-        tag = "latest";
-
-        contents = bootstrapPkgs;
-        # No store paths are copied into. We provide them by mounting the
-        # /nix/store.
-        includeStorePaths = false;
-
-        config = {
-          Labels = noPruneLabels;
-          Env = toEnvList envs.alpine;
-        };
-
-        # Only if `build buildLayeredImage`.
-        maxLayers = 15;
-      });
-
-    # This is the analog image to `local/nix` but ubuntu based.
-    ubuntu =
-      let
-        # Update with:
-        # ```shell
-        # nix run "github:nixos/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable#nix-prefetch-docker" -- \
-        #   --image-name ubuntu --image-tag latest
-        # ```
-        ubuntuBase = pkgs.dockerTools.pullImage {
-          imageName = "ubuntu";
-          imageDigest = "sha256:1e622c5f073b4f6bfad6632f2616c7f59ef256e96fe78bf6a595d1dc4376ac02";
-          hash = "sha256-aC8SgxdcMSaaU89YMr/uwE022Yqey2frmeZqr+L1xEU=";
-          finalImageName = "ubuntu";
-          finalImageTag = "latest";
-        };
-      in
-      (pkgs.dockerTools.buildLayeredImage {
-        fromImage = ubuntuBase;
-        name = imageNames.ubuntu;
-        tag = "latest";
-
-        contents = bootstrapPkgs;
-        # No store paths are copied into. We provide them by mounting the
-        # /nix/store.
-        includeStorePaths = false;
-
-        config = {
-          Labels = noPruneLabels;
-          Env = toEnvList envs.ubuntu;
-        };
-
-        # Only if `build buildLayeredImage`.
-        maxLayers = 15;
-      });
-  };
-
   nixDaemonContainer = {
     imageFile = nixDaemonImage;
     image = "local/nix-daemon:latest";
@@ -293,27 +338,36 @@ let
 
   # Environment variables for all job containers.
   envs = rec {
-    daemons = {
+    common = {
       # Access to the nix daemon.
       NIX_REMOTE = "daemon";
       # Access to podman.
       CONTAINER_HOST = "unix:///run/podman/podman.sock";
-    };
-
-    nix = daemons // {
-      IMAGE_OS_DIST = "nixos";
-    };
-
-    alpine = daemons // {
-      IMAGE_OS_DIST = "alpine";
 
       USER = "root";
       PATH = "/nix/var/nix/profiles/default/bin:/nix/var/nix/profiles/default/sbin:/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin";
+
       SSL_CERT_FILE = "${pkgs.cacert}/etc/ssl/certs/ca-bundle.crt";
       NIX_SSL_CERT_FILE = "${pkgs.cacert}/etc/ssl/certs/ca-bundle.crt";
+
+      # For shells, source this file.
+      ENV = "${pkgs.nix}/etc/profile.d/nix-daemon.sh";
+      BASH_ENV = "${pkgs.nix}/etc/profile.d/nix-daemon.sh";
+
+      # Make a fake nixpkgs which throws when using
+      # `nix repl -f <nixpkgs>` for example.
+      NIX_PATH = "nixpkgs=${files.fakeNixpkgs}";
     };
 
-    ubuntu = alpine // {
+    nix = common // {
+      IMAGE_OS_DIST = "nix";
+    };
+
+    alpine = common // {
+      IMAGE_OS_DIST = "alpine";
+    };
+
+    ubuntu = common // {
       IMAGE_OS_DIST = "ubuntu";
     };
   };
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/basicRoot/etc/group b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/basicRoot/etc/group
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..162f79fd7086
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/basicRoot/etc/group
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+root:x:0:
+wheel:x:1:
+kmem:x:2:
+tty:x:3:
+messagebus:x:4:
+disk:x:6:
+audio:x:17:
+floppy:x:18:
+uucp:x:19:
+lp:x:20:
+cdrom:x:24:
+tape:x:25:
+video:x:26:
+dialout:x:27:
+utmp:x:29:
+adm:x:55:
+keys:x:96:
+users:x:100:
+input:x:174:
+nixbld:x:30000:nixbld1,nixbld10,nixbld11,nixbld12,nixbld13,nixbld14,nixbld15,nixbld16,nixbld17,nixbld18,nixbld19,nixbld2,nixbld20,nixbld21,nixbld22,nixbld23,nixbld24,nixbld25,nixbld26,nixbld27,nixbld28,nixbld29,nixbld3,nixbld30,nixbld31,nixbld32,nixbld4,nixbld5,nixbld6,nixbld7,nixbld8,nixbld9
+nogroup:x:65534:
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/basicRoot/etc/nsswitch.conf b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/basicRoot/etc/nsswitch.conf
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..59a21416fd8f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/basicRoot/etc/nsswitch.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+passwd:    files mymachines systemd
+group:     files mymachines systemd
+shadow:    files
+
+hosts:     files mymachines dns myhostname
+networks:  files
+
+ethers:    files
+services:  files
+protocols: files
+rpc:       files
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/basicRoot/etc/passwd b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/basicRoot/etc/passwd
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..006b53f7bf82
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/basicRoot/etc/passwd
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+root:x:0:0:System administrator:/root:/bin/bash
+nixbld1:x:30001:30000:Nix build user 1:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld2:x:30002:30000:Nix build user 2:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld3:x:30003:30000:Nix build user 3:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld4:x:30004:30000:Nix build user 4:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld5:x:30005:30000:Nix build user 5:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld6:x:30006:30000:Nix build user 6:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld7:x:30007:30000:Nix build user 7:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld8:x:30008:30000:Nix build user 8:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld9:x:30009:30000:Nix build user 9:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld10:x:30010:30000:Nix build user 10:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld11:x:30011:30000:Nix build user 11:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld12:x:30012:30000:Nix build user 12:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld13:x:30013:30000:Nix build user 13:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld14:x:30014:30000:Nix build user 14:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld15:x:30015:30000:Nix build user 15:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld16:x:30016:30000:Nix build user 16:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld17:x:30017:30000:Nix build user 17:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld18:x:30018:30000:Nix build user 18:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld19:x:30019:30000:Nix build user 19:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld20:x:30020:30000:Nix build user 20:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld21:x:30021:30000:Nix build user 21:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld22:x:30022:30000:Nix build user 22:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld23:x:30023:30000:Nix build user 23:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld24:x:30024:30000:Nix build user 24:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld25:x:30025:30000:Nix build user 25:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld26:x:30026:30000:Nix build user 26:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld27:x:30027:30000:Nix build user 27:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld28:x:30028:30000:Nix build user 28:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld29:x:30029:30000:Nix build user 29:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld30:x:30030:30000:Nix build user 30:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld31:x:30031:30000:Nix build user 31:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nixbld32:x:30032:30000:Nix build user 32:/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
+nobody:x:65534:65534:Unprivileged account (don't use!):/var/empty:/run/current-system/sw/bin/nologin
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/containers.conf b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/containers.conf
similarity index 100%
rename from nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/containers.conf
rename to nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/containers.conf
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/mounts.conf b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/mounts.conf
similarity index 100%
rename from nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/mounts.conf
rename to nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/mounts.conf
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/policy.json b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/policy.json
similarity index 100%
rename from nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/policy.json
rename to nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/policy.json
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/registries.conf b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/registries.conf
similarity index 100%
rename from nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/registries.conf
rename to nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/registries.conf
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/registries.conf.d/000-shortnames.conf b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/registries.conf.d/000-shortnames.conf
similarity index 100%
rename from nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/registries.conf.d/000-shortnames.conf
rename to nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/registries.conf.d/000-shortnames.conf
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/registries.d/default.yaml b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/registries.d/default.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/registries.d/default.yaml
rename to nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/registries.d/default.yaml
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/registries.d/registry.access.redhat.com.yaml b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/registries.d/registry.access.redhat.com.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/registries.d/registry.access.redhat.com.yaml
rename to nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/registries.d/registry.access.redhat.com.yaml
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/registries.d/registry.redhat.io.yaml b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/registries.d/registry.redhat.io.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/registries.d/registry.redhat.io.yaml
rename to nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/registries.d/registry.redhat.io.yaml
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/storage.conf b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/storage.conf
similarity index 100%
rename from nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/etc/containers/storage.conf
rename to nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/containers/etc/containers/storage.conf
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/default.nix b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..e791ae42367f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# Specific files for the job images.
+#
+# - `basicRoot`: Some basic root files for the `jobImages.nix`.
+# - `fakeNixpkgs`: A fake Nixpkg directory which is set as `NIX_PATH=nixpkgs:<path>`
+#                  which throws on load.
+# - `nixConfig`: The Nix config with some options.
+# - `containers`:
+#   These are some files which are copied to the job images needed for
+#   `buildah` (`podman`):
+#
+#   ```bash
+#   podman create --name temp-buildah quay.io/buildah/stable:latest
+#   podman cp temp-buildah:/etc/containers ./etc/
+#   find ./etc -type d -empty -delete
+#   podman container rm temp-buildah
+#```
+#
+{ pkgs, ... }:
+let
+
+  # We need proper derivations to add it to the nixImageBase.
+  mkDrv =
+    name: src:
+    pkgs.stdenv.mkDerivation {
+      inherit name src;
+      installPhase = ''
+        mkdir -p $out
+        cp -r $src/* $out/
+      '';
+    };
+in
+{
+  basicRoot = mkDrv "basic-root-files" ./basicRoot;
+  containers = mkDrv "containers-files" ./containers;
+  fakeNixpkgs = mkDrv "fake-nixpkgs" ./fake-nixpkgs;
+
+  nixConfig = pkgs.writeTextFile {
+    name = "nix.conf";
+    destination = "/etc/nix/nix.conf";
+    text = ''
+      accept-flake-config = true
+      experimental-features = nix-command flakes
+      max-jobs = auto
+    '';
+  };
+}
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/fake-nixpkgs/default.nix b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/fake-nixpkgs/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..eee7aacaf920
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/files/fake-nixpkgs/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+_:
+throw ''
+  This container doesn't include nixpkgs.
+
+  The best way to work around that is to pin your dependencies. See
+    https://nix.dev/tutorials/first-steps/towards-reproducibility-pinning-nixpkgs.html
+
+  Or if you must, override the NIX_PATH environment variable with eg:
+    "NIX_PATH=nixpkgs=channel:nixos-unstable"
+''
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/default.nix b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/default.nix
deleted file mode 100644
index 0a5bd8907049..000000000000
--- a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/root/default.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,29 +0,0 @@
-## Root files for podman executions in job containers.
-#
-# These are some files which are copied to the image in the runner needed for
-# `buildah` (`podman`):
-#
-# ```bash
-# podman create --name temp-buildah quay.io/buildah/stable:latest
-# podman cp temp-buildah:/etc/containers ./etc/
-# find ./etc -type d -empty -delete
-# podman container rm temp-buildah
-#```
-#
-{ lib, pkgs, ... }:
-let
-  fs = lib.fileset;
-
-  auxRootFiles = fs.toSource {
-    root = ./.;
-    fileset = ./etc;
-  };
-in
-pkgs.stdenv.mkDerivation {
-  name = "aux-root-files";
-  src = auxRootFiles;
-  installPhase = ''
-    mkdir -p $out
-    cp -r $src/* $out/
-  '';
-}
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/scripts/prebuild.nix b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/scripts/prebuild.nix
index 8071acd438fe..78b8b0f41b18 100644
--- a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/scripts/prebuild.nix
+++ b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/scripts/prebuild.nix
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ writeShellScriptBin "gitlab-runner-pre-build-script"
         echo -e "\e[0Ksection_end:$(date +%s):$name\r\e[0K"
     }
 
-    function setup_nixos() {
+    function setup() {
         # We need to allow modification of nix config for cachix as
         # otherwise it is link to the read only file in the store.
         cp --remove-destination \
@@ -26,55 +26,26 @@ writeShellScriptBin "gitlab-runner-pre-build-script"
         . "${nix}/etc/profile.d/nix-daemon.sh"
     }
 
-    function setup_non_nixos() {
-        # shellcheck disable=SC2174
-        {
-            echo "Set missing '/nix/var' directories."
-            mkdir -p -m 0755 /nix/var/log/nix/drvs
-            mkdir -p -m 0755 /nix/var/nix/gcroots
-            mkdir -p -m 0755 /nix/var/nix/profiles
-            mkdir -p -m 0755 /nix/var/nix/temproots
-            mkdir -p -m 0755 /nix/var/nix/userpool
-            mkdir -p -m 1777 /nix/var/nix/gcroots/per-user
-            mkdir -p -m 1777 /nix/var/nix/profiles/per-user
-            mkdir -p -m 0755 /nix/var/nix/profiles/per-user/root
-
-            echo "Set missing '~/.nix-defexpr'."
-            mkdir -p -m 0700 ~/.nix-defexpr
-        }
-
-        echo "Source 'nix-daemon.sh'."
-        # shellcheck disable=SC1091
-        . "${nix}/etc/profile.d/nix-daemon.sh"
-
-        echo "Set nix experimental features."
-        mkdir -p ~/.config/nix
-        touch ~/.config/nix/nix.conf
-        echo "experimental-features = nix-command flakes" >>~/.config/nix/nix.conf
-    }
-
     function setup_pipeline_scratch_dir() {
         scratch_dir="/scratch/$CI_PIPELINE_ID"
 
-        echo "Create scratch directory for pipeline: $scratch_dir"
+        echo "Create scrtach directory for pipeline: $scratch_dir"
         mkdir -p "$scratch_dir" || {
             echo "Could not create scratch dir '$scratch_dir'." >&2
             exit 1
         }
 
-        export CI_CUSTODIAN_SCRATCH_DIR="$scratch_dir"
+        export CI_CUSTOM_SCRATCH_DIR="$scratch_dir"
+    }
+
+    function print_info() {
+      echo "Nix version:"
+      nix --version
     }
 
     function main() {
-        if [ "$IMAGE_OS_DIST" = "ubuntu" ] || [ "$IMAGE_OS_DIST" = "alpine" ]; then
-            setup_non_nixos
-        elif [ "$IMAGE_OS_DIST" = "nixos" ]; then
-            setup_nixos
-        else
-            echo "OS not implemented."
-            exit 1
-        fi
-
+        print_info
+        setup
         setup_pipeline_scratch_dir
     }
 
diff --git a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/scripts/recreate-nix-daemon-store.sh b/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/scripts/recreate-nix-daemon-store.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 8765396935eb..000000000000
--- a/nixos/tests/gitlab/runner/podman-runner/scripts/recreate-nix-daemon-store.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,42 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-set -eu
-
-[ "$(hostname)" = "vm-gitlab-runner" ] || {
-    echo "error: you do not seem to be logged in on the vm."
-    exit 1
-}
-
-NIX_STORE_VOLUME_ID=$(podman container inspect -f "{{ json .Mounts }}" nix-daemon-container |
-    jq -r '.[] | select(.Type == "volume" and .Destination == "/nix/store") | .Name')
-
-NIX_DB_VOLUME_ID=$(podman container inspect -f "{{ json .Mounts }}" nix-daemon-container |
-    jq -r '.[] | select(.Type == "volume" and .Destination == "/nix/var/nix/db") | .Name')
-
-[ -n "$NIX_STORE_VOLUME_ID" ] || {
-    echo "Could not determine podman volume with nix store in 'nix-daemon-container'." >&2
-    exit 1
-}
-
-echo "NIX_STORE_VOLUME_ID: $NIX_STORE_VOLUME_ID"
-echo "NIX_DB_VOLUME_ID: $NIX_DB_VOLUME_ID"
-
-if [ "${1:-}" = "--force" ]; then
-    just podman-remove-containers
-fi
-echo "Stopping gitlab runner ..."
-systemctl stop gitlab-runner.service
-
-echo "Remove podman-nix-daemon-container..."
-systemctl stop podman-nix-daemon-container.service
-podman container stop nix-daemon-container || true
-
-echo "Delete nix-daemon-store and nix-daemon-db..."
-podman volume rm --force "$NIX_STORE_VOLUME_ID" || true
-podman volume rm --force "$NIX_DB_VOLUME_ID" || true
-
-echo "Recreate empty volumes ..."
-podman volume create "$NIX_STORE_VOLUME_ID" --label="no-prune=true"
-podman volume create "$NIX_DB_VOLUME_ID" --label="no-prune=true"
-
-systemctl start podman-nix-daemon-container.service
-systemctl start gitlab-runner.service