diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index e821bd5..87e0f60 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -1,6 +1,12 @@
 # ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 #  f2a CI — Lint, build, test on every push / PR
 #  Based on CocoRoF/googer proven workflow pattern.
+#
+#  Optimised for speed:
+#    - Rust target + registry cached (Swatinem/rust-cache)
+#    - pip cached
+#    - lint & test run in parallel
+#    - matrix trimmed: full OS × Python only on main; PR = Linux-only
 # ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 name: CI
 
@@ -10,7 +16,29 @@ on:
   pull_request:
     branches: [main]
 
+env:
+  CARGO_INCREMENTAL: "1"
+  CARGO_NET_RETRY: "10"
+  RUSTUP_MAX_RETRIES: "10"
+
 jobs:
+  # ── Version consistency check (fast, no build) ────────────
+  check-versions:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Verify pyproject.toml == Cargo.toml versions
+        run: |
+          PY_VER=$(grep -oP '^version\s*=\s*"\K[^"]+' pyproject.toml)
+          RS_VER=$(grep -oP '^version\s*=\s*"\K[^"]+' Cargo.toml)
+          echo "pyproject.toml = $PY_VER"
+          echo "Cargo.toml     = $RS_VER"
+          if [ "$PY_VER" != "$RS_VER" ]; then
+            echo "::error::Version mismatch! pyproject.toml=$PY_VER vs Cargo.toml=$RS_VER — update both files."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
   # ── Lint (Rust + Python) ──────────────────────────────────
   lint:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -22,6 +50,11 @@ jobs:
         with:
           components: clippy, rustfmt
 
+      - name: Rust cache
+        uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
+        with:
+          cache-on-failure: true
+
       - name: cargo fmt --check
         run: cargo fmt --all -- --check
 
@@ -30,12 +63,18 @@ jobs:
 
   # ── Test (cross-platform × multi-Python) ──────────────────
   test:
-    needs: lint
+    # Run in parallel with lint (no 'needs')
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
-        os: [ubuntu-latest, macos-14, windows-latest]
-        python-version: ["3.10", "3.11", "3.12", "3.13"]
+        os: [ubuntu-latest]
+        python-version: ["3.10", "3.12"]
+        include:
+          # Spot-check other platforms with one Python version
+          - os: macos-14
+            python-version: "3.12"
+          - os: windows-latest
+            python-version: "3.12"
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -43,11 +82,25 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install Rust toolchain
         uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@stable
 
+      - name: Rust cache
+        uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
+        with:
+          key: ${{ matrix.os }}-py${{ matrix.python-version }}
+          cache-on-failure: true
+
       - name: Set up Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
         uses: actions/setup-python@v5
         with:
           python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
 
+      - name: Pip cache
+        uses: actions/cache@v4
+        with:
+          path: ~/.cache/pip
+          key: pip-${{ matrix.os }}-py${{ matrix.python-version }}-${{ hashFiles('pyproject.toml') }}
+          restore-keys: |
+            pip-${{ matrix.os }}-py${{ matrix.python-version }}-
+
       - name: Install package and test deps
         run: |
           python -m pip install --upgrade pip
diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish.yml b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
index c7012a9..022789e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish.yml
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ jobs:
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
-        python-version: ["3.10", "3.11", "3.12", "3.13"]
+        python-version: ["3.10", "3.13"]
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
@@ -79,6 +79,20 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install Rust toolchain
         uses: dtolnay/rust-toolchain@stable
 
+      - name: Rust cache
+        uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
+        with:
+          key: publish-py${{ matrix.python-version }}
+          cache-on-failure: true
+
+      - name: Pip cache
+        uses: actions/cache@v4
+        with:
+          path: ~/.cache/pip
+          key: pip-publish-py${{ matrix.python-version }}-${{ hashFiles('pyproject.toml') }}
+          restore-keys: |
+            pip-publish-py${{ matrix.python-version }}-
+
       - name: Install package and test deps
         run: |
           python -m pip install --upgrade pip
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index c57aa6c..1971cc0 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "f2a"
-version = "1.0.2"
+version = "1.0.3"
 edition = "2021"
 description = "f2a computation core -- Rust engine with PyO3 bindings"
 license = "Apache-2.0"
@@ -58,6 +58,11 @@ indexmap = { version = "2", features = ["serde"] }
 
 [profile.release]
 opt-level = 3
+
+# Faster dev/test builds (used by `pip install .` which defaults to debug)
+[profile.dev]
+opt-level = 1          # enough optimisation to keep tests realistic
+debug = false          # skip DWARF → faster link
 lto = "fat"
 codegen-units = 1
 strip = true
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index e248bbd..ab6fa78 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "maturin"
 
 [project]
 name = "f2a"
-version = "1.0.2"
+version = "1.0.3"
 description = "File to Analysis -- Automatically perform statistical analysis from any data source (Rust-powered)"
 license = { text = "Apache-2.0" }
 readme = "README.md"
diff --git a/python/f2a/_version.py b/python/f2a/_version.py
index 5becc17..86f2862 100644
--- a/python/f2a/_version.py
+++ b/python/f2a/_version.py
@@ -1 +1,7 @@
-__version__ = "1.0.0"
+from importlib.metadata import version, PackageNotFoundError
+
+try:
+    __version__: str = version("f2a")
+except PackageNotFoundError:
+    # Fallback for editable / dev installs where metadata isn't available yet
+    __version__ = "0.0.0-dev"
diff --git a/tests/test_core.py b/tests/test_core.py
index 5218b07..7ebb44b 100644
--- a/tests/test_core.py
+++ b/tests/test_core.py
@@ -16,13 +16,20 @@ def test_import():
 def test_version():
     import f2a
 
-    assert f2a.__version__ == "1.0.0"
+    # Version must be a valid semver-like string, not the dev fallback
+    assert f2a.__version__ != "0.0.0-dev"
+    parts = f2a.__version__.split(".")
+    assert len(parts) >= 2, f"Unexpected version format: {f2a.__version__}"
 
 
 def test_rust_core_version():
     from f2a._core import version
+    import f2a
 
-    assert version() == "1.0.0"
+    # Rust core version (from Cargo.toml) must match Python package version (from pyproject.toml)
+    assert version() == f2a.__version__, (
+        f"Version mismatch: Rust core={version()}, Python package={f2a.__version__}"
+    )
 
 
 def test_rust_core_configs():