diff --git a/.github/workflows/linux.yml b/.github/workflows/linux.yml
index 52ae953..9be6d73 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/linux.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/linux.yml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ defaults:
     shell: bash -l -eo pipefail {0}
 
 jobs:
-  build_linux:
+  linux_build_from_conda_forge:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     strategy:
       matrix:
@@ -20,22 +20,63 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - name: Checkout repository
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
       - name: Create build environment
         uses: mamba-org/setup-micromamba@v2
         with:
           environment-file: ./environment-dev.yml
           environment-name: build_env
           cache-environment: true
-      - name: Build sparrow-ipc
+
+      - name: Configure using cmake
         run: |
-          cmake -B build/ -G Ninja \
-            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${{ matrix.build_type }} \
-            -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$CONDA_PREFIX \
-            -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=$CONDA_PREFIX \
-            -DSPARROW_IPC_BUILD_SHARED=${{ matrix.build_shared }} \
-            -DBUILD_TESTS=ON
-          cmake --build build/ --parallel
+          cmake -G Ninja \
+          -Bbuild \
+          -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${{ matrix.build_type }} \
+          -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=%CONDA_PREFIX% \
+          -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=%CONDA_PREFIX% \
+          -DSPARROW_IPC_BUILD_SHARED=${{ matrix.build_shared }} \
+          -DSPARROW_IPC_BUILD_TESTS=ON
+
+      - name: Build sparrow-ipc
+        working-directory: build
+        run: cmake --build . --target sparrow-ipc
+
+      - name: Build tests
+        working-directory: build
+        run: cmake --build . --target test_sparrow_ipc_lib
+
       - name: Run tests
+        working-directory: build
+        run: cmake --build . --target run_tests_with_junit_report
+
+  linux_build_fetch_from_source:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        build_type: [Release, Debug]
+        build_shared: [ON, OFF]
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Configure using cmake
         run: |
-          cd build
-          ctest --output-on-failure
+          cmake -G Ninja \
+          -Bbuild \
+          -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${{ matrix.build_type }} \
+          -DSPARROW_IPC_BUILD_SHARED=${{ matrix.build_shared }} \
+          -DSPARROW_IPC_BUILD_TESTS=ON \
+          -DFETCH_DEPENDENCIES_WITH_CMAKE=MISSING
+
+      - name: Build sparrow-ipc
+        working-directory: build
+        run: cmake --build . --target sparrow-ipc
+
+      - name: Build tests
+        working-directory: build
+        run: cmake --build . --target test_sparrow_ipc_lib
+
+      - name: Run tests
+        working-directory: build
+        run: cmake --build . --target run_tests_with_junit_report
diff --git a/.github/workflows/osx.yml b/.github/workflows/osx.yml
index cfb760f..ea4c739 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/osx.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/osx.yml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ defaults:
     shell: bash -l -eo pipefail {0}
 
 jobs:
-  build_osx:
+  osx_build_from_conda_forge:
     runs-on: macos-latest
     strategy:
       matrix:
@@ -20,22 +20,73 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - name: Checkout repository
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Select XCode version
+        run: |
+          sudo xcode-select --switch /Applications/Xcode_16.4.app/Contents/Developer
+          xcodebuild -version
+
       - name: Create build environment
         uses: mamba-org/setup-micromamba@v2
         with:
           environment-file: ./environment-dev.yml
           environment-name: build_env
           cache-environment: true
-      - name: Build sparrow-ipc
+
+      - name: Configure using cmake
         run: |
-          cmake -B build/ -G Ninja \
-            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${{ matrix.build_type }} \
-            -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$CONDA_PREFIX \
-            -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=$CONDA_PREFIX \
-            -DSPARROW_IPC_BUILD_SHARED=${{ matrix.build_shared }} \
-            -DBUILD_TESTS=ON
-          cmake --build build/ --parallel
+          cmake -G Ninja \
+          -Bbuild \
+          -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${{ matrix.build_type }} \
+          -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=%CONDA_PREFIX% \
+          -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=%CONDA_PREFIX% \
+          -DSPARROW_IPC_BUILD_SHARED=${{ matrix.build_shared }} \
+          -DSPARROW_IPC_BUILD_TESTS=ON
+
+      - name: Build sparrow-ipc
+        working-directory: build
+        run: cmake --build . --target sparrow-ipc
+
+      - name: Build tests
+        working-directory: build
+        run: cmake --build . --target test_sparrow_ipc_lib
+
       - name: Run tests
+        working-directory: build
+        run: cmake --build . --target run_tests_with_junit_report
+
+  osx_build_fetch_from_source:
+    runs-on: macos-latest
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        build_type: [Release, Debug]
+        build_shared: [ON, OFF]
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Select XCode version
         run: |
-          cd build
-          ctest --output-on-failure
+          sudo xcode-select --switch /Applications/Xcode_16.4.app/Contents/Developer
+          xcodebuild -version
+
+      - name: Configure using cmake
+        run: |
+          cmake -G Ninja \
+          -Bbuild \
+          -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${{ matrix.build_type }} \
+          -DSPARROW_IPC_BUILD_SHARED=${{ matrix.build_shared }} \
+          -DSPARROW_IPC_BUILD_TESTS=ON \
+          -DFETCH_DEPENDENCIES_WITH_CMAKE=MISSING
+
+      - name: Build sparrow-ipc
+        working-directory: build
+        run: cmake --build . --target sparrow-ipc
+
+      - name: Build tests
+        working-directory: build
+        run: cmake --build . --target test_sparrow_ipc_lib
+
+      - name: Run tests
+        working-directory: build
+        run: cmake --build . --target run_tests_with_junit_report
diff --git a/.github/workflows/windows.yml b/.github/workflows/windows.yml
index 3f57427..73768b2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/windows.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/windows.yml
@@ -8,11 +8,10 @@ on:
 
 defaults:
   run:
-    # micromamba activation
-    shell: cmd /C call {0}
+    shell: bash -e -l {0}
 
 jobs:
-  build_windows:
+  windows_build_from_conda_forge:
     runs-on: windows-latest
     strategy:
       matrix:
@@ -21,27 +20,63 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - name: Checkout repository
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
       - name: Create build environment
         uses: mamba-org/setup-micromamba@v2
         with:
           environment-file: ./environment-dev.yml
           environment-name: build_env
+          init-shell: bash
           cache-environment: true
-          init-shell: cmd.exe
+
+      - name: Configure using cmake
+        run: |
+          cmake -S ./ -B ./build \
+          -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${{ matrix.build_type }} \
+          -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=%CONDA_PREFIX% \
+          -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=%CONDA_PREFIX% \
+          -DSPARROW_IPC_BUILD_SHARED=${{ matrix.build_shared }} \
+          -DSPARROW_IPC_BUILD_TESTS=ON
+
       - name: Build sparrow-ipc
+        working-directory: build
+        run: cmake --build . --target sparrow-ipc
+
+      - name: Build tests
+        working-directory: build
+        run: cmake --build . --target test_sparrow_ipc_lib
+
+      - name: Run tests
+        working-directory: build
         run: |
-          cmake -B build/ -G Ninja ^
-            -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${{ matrix.build_type }} ^
-            -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=%CONDA_PREFIX% ^
-            -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=%CONDA_PREFIX% ^
-            -DSPARROW_IPC_BUILD_SHARED=${{ matrix.build_shared }} ^
-            -DBUILD_TESTS=ON
-          if %errorlevel% neq 0 exit /b %errorlevel%
-          cmake --build build/ --parallel
-          if %errorlevel% neq 0 exit /b %errorlevel%
-      # TODO this is failing (to debug when dependencies can be fetched and built locally with debug mode)
-      #- name: Run tests
-        #run: |
-          #cd build
-          #ctest --output-on-failure
-          #if %errorlevel% neq 0 exit /b %errorlevel%
+          cmake --build . --target run_tests
+
+  windows_build_fetch_from_source:
+    runs-on: windows-latest
+    strategy:
+      matrix:
+        build_type: [Release, Debug]
+        build_shared: [ON, OFF]
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Configure using cmake
+        run: |
+          cmake -S ./ -B ./build \
+          -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${{ matrix.build_type }} \
+          -DSPARROW_IPC_BUILD_SHARED=${{ matrix.build_shared }} \
+          -DSPARROW_IPC_BUILD_TESTS=ON \
+          -DFETCH_DEPENDENCIES_WITH_CMAKE=MISSING
+
+      - name: Build sparrow-ipc
+        working-directory: build
+        run: cmake --build . --target sparrow-ipc
+
+      - name: Build tests
+        working-directory: build
+        run: cmake --build . --target test_sparrow_ipc_lib
+
+      - name: Run tests
+        working-directory: build
+        run: cmake --build . --target run_tests_with_junit_report
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 8e81a66..a6780cd 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -33,3 +33,5 @@
 
 # Build directories
 /build*/
+.cache
+.vscode
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index e9c3053..d27a2db 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -2,11 +2,17 @@ cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.28)
 
 project(sparrow-ipc CXX)
 
-set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 20)
-set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
+set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 20 CACHE STRING "C++ Standard")
+set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON CACHE BOOL "C++ Standard Required")
+set(CMAKE_CXX_EXTENSIONS OFF)
 set(CMAKE_CXX_SCAN_FOR_MODULES OFF)
 include(CMakeDependentOption)
 
+list(PREPEND CMAKE_MODULE_PATH "${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/cmake")
+message(DEBUG "CMake module path: ${CMAKE_MODULE_PATH}")
+
+include(external_dependencies)
+
 set(SPARROW_IPC_COMPILE_DEFINITIONS "" CACHE STRING "List of public compile definitions of the sparrow-ipc target")
 
 # Linter options
@@ -35,8 +41,8 @@ else()
     list(APPEND SPARROW_IPC_COMPILE_DEFINITIONS SPARROW_IPC_STATIC_LIB)
 endif()
 
-OPTION(BUILD_TESTS "Build sparrow-ipc test suite" OFF)
-MESSAGE(STATUS "🔧 Build tests: ${BUILD_TESTS}")
+OPTION(SPARROW_IPC_BUILD_TESTS "Build sparrow-ipc test suite" OFF)
+MESSAGE(STATUS "🔧 Build tests: ${SPARROW_IPC_BUILD_TESTS}")
 
 set(SPARROW_IPC_INCLUDE_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/include)
 set(SPARROW_IPC_SOURCE_DIR ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src)
@@ -51,16 +57,8 @@ set(SPARROW_IPC_SRC
     ${SPARROW_IPC_SOURCE_DIR}/utils.cpp
 )
 
-set(SCHEMA_DIR ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/format)
-set(FLATBUFFERS_GENERATED_DIR ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/generated)
-
-find_program(FLATC_EXECUTABLE flatc)
-
-if(NOT FLATC_EXECUTABLE)
-    message(FATAL_ERROR "flatc not found. Please install Flatbuffers.")
-endif()
-
 # Fetch schemas from apache arrow
+set(SCHEMA_DIR ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/format)
 set(SCHEMA_URLS
     "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/apache/arrow/refs/heads/main/format/File.fbs"
     "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/apache/arrow/refs/heads/main/format/Message.fbs"
@@ -76,14 +74,17 @@ file(MAKE_DIRECTORY ${SCHEMA_DIR})
 set(FLATBUFFERS_SCHEMAS "")
 foreach(url IN LISTS SCHEMA_URLS)
     get_filename_component(filename ${url} NAME)
-    message(STATUS "Downloading schema: ${url}")
-    file(DOWNLOAD ${url} ${SCHEMA_DIR}/${filename}
-        STATUS status
-        SHOW_PROGRESS)
+    if(NOT EXISTS ${SCHEMA_DIR}/${filename})
+        message(STATUS "Downloading schema: ${url}")
+        file(DOWNLOAD ${url} ${SCHEMA_DIR}/${filename}
+            STATUS status)
+    endif()
+
     list(APPEND FLATBUFFERS_SCHEMAS ${SCHEMA_DIR}/${filename})
 endforeach()
 
 # Generate Flatbuffers C++ headers from the schemas
+set(FLATBUFFERS_GENERATED_DIR ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/generated)
 file(MAKE_DIRECTORY ${FLATBUFFERS_GENERATED_DIR})
 
 # Generate output files list
@@ -96,7 +97,7 @@ endforeach()
 
 add_custom_command(
     OUTPUT ${FLATBUFFERS_GENERATED_HEADERS}
-    COMMAND ${FLATC_EXECUTABLE} --cpp -o ${FLATBUFFERS_GENERATED_DIR} --cpp-std c++17 --scoped-enums ${FLATBUFFERS_SCHEMAS}
+    COMMAND flatc --cpp -o ${FLATBUFFERS_GENERATED_DIR} --cpp-std c++17 --scoped-enums ${FLATBUFFERS_SCHEMAS}
     DEPENDS ${FLATBUFFERS_SCHEMAS}
     COMMENT "Generating FlatBuffers C++ headers from schemas"
 )
@@ -110,11 +111,16 @@ add_library(flatbuffers_interface INTERFACE)
 target_include_directories(flatbuffers_interface INTERFACE ${FLATBUFFERS_GENERATED_DIR})
 add_dependencies(flatbuffers_interface generate_flatbuffers_headers)
 
-find_package(FlatBuffers CONFIG REQUIRED)
-find_package(sparrow CONFIG REQUIRED)
-
 add_library(sparrow-ipc ${SPARROW_IPC_LIBRARY_TYPE} ${SPARROW_IPC_SRC} ${SPARROW_IPC_HEADERS})
-target_compile_definitions(sparrow-ipc PUBLIC ${SPARROW_IPC_COMPILE_DEFINITIONS})
+
+target_compile_options(sparrow-ipc
+    PRIVATE
+        ${compile_options}
+)
+
+target_compile_definitions(sparrow-ipc
+    PUBLIC
+        ${SPARROW_IPC_COMPILE_DEFINITIONS})
 
 if(UNIX)
     target_compile_options(sparrow-ipc PRIVATE "-fvisibility=hidden")
@@ -122,18 +128,22 @@ else()
     target_compile_definitions(sparrow-ipc PRIVATE SPARROW_IPC_EXPORTS)
 endif()
 
-target_compile_options(sparrow-ipc
+target_include_directories(sparrow-ipc
+    PUBLIC
+        ${SPARROW_IPC_INCLUDE_DIR}
     PRIVATE
-        ${compile_options}
-)
+        ${SPARROW_IPC_SOURCE_DIR} )
 
-target_include_directories(sparrow-ipc PUBLIC ${SPARROW_IPC_INCLUDE_DIR} PRIVATE ${SPARROW_IPC_SOURCE_DIR} )
-target_link_libraries(sparrow-ipc PRIVATE flatbuffers_interface)
-target_link_libraries(sparrow-ipc PUBLIC flatbuffers::flatbuffers sparrow::sparrow)
+target_link_libraries(sparrow-ipc 
+    PUBLIC
+        sparrow::sparrow
+        flatbuffers::flatbuffers
+    PRIVATE
+        flatbuffers_interface)
 
 add_dependencies(sparrow-ipc generate_flatbuffers_headers)
 
-if(BUILD_TESTS)
+if(SPARROW_IPC_BUILD_TESTS)
     message(STATUS "🧪 Create tests targets")
     enable_testing()
     add_subdirectory(tests)
diff --git a/cmake/external_dependencies.cmake b/cmake/external_dependencies.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..742a3c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmake/external_dependencies.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+include(FetchContent)
+
+OPTION(FETCH_DEPENDENCIES_WITH_CMAKE "Fetch dependencies with CMake: Can be OFF, ON, or MISSING. If the latter, CMake will download only dependencies which are not previously found." OFF)
+MESSAGE(STATUS "🔧 FETCH_DEPENDENCIES_WITH_CMAKE: ${FETCH_DEPENDENCIES_WITH_CMAKE}")
+
+if(FETCH_DEPENDENCIES_WITH_CMAKE STREQUAL "OFF")
+    set(FIND_PACKAGE_OPTIONS REQUIRED)
+else()
+    set(FIND_PACKAGE_OPTIONS QUIET)
+endif()
+
+function(find_package_or_fetch)
+    set(options)
+    set(oneValueArgs PACKAGE_NAME VERSION GIT_REPOSITORY TAG)
+    set(multiValueArgs)
+    cmake_parse_arguments(PARSE_ARGV 0 arg
+        "${options}" "${oneValueArgs}" "${multiValueArgs}"
+    )
+    if(NOT FETCH_DEPENDENCIES_WITH_CMAKE STREQUAL "ON")
+        find_package(${arg_PACKAGE_NAME} ${FIND_PACKAGE_OPTIONS})
+    endif()
+    if(FETCH_DEPENDENCIES_WITH_CMAKE STREQUAL "ON" OR FETCH_DEPENDENCIES_WITH_CMAKE STREQUAL "MISSING")
+        if(NOT ${arg_PACKAGE_NAME}_FOUND)
+            message(STATUS "📦 Fetching ${arg_PACKAGE_NAME}")
+            FetchContent_Declare(
+                ${arg_PACKAGE_NAME}
+                GIT_SHALLOW TRUE
+                GIT_REPOSITORY ${arg_GIT_REPOSITORY}
+                GIT_TAG ${arg_TAG}
+                GIT_PROGRESS TRUE
+                SYSTEM
+                EXCLUDE_FROM_ALL)
+            FetchContent_MakeAvailable(${arg_PACKAGE_NAME})
+            message(STATUS "\t✅ Fetched ${arg_PACKAGE_NAME}")
+        else()
+            message(STATUS "📦 ${arg_PACKAGE_NAME} found here: ${arg_PACKAGE_NAME}_DIR")
+        endif()
+    endif()
+endfunction()
+
+set(SPARROW_BUILD_SHARED ${SPARROW_IPC_BUILD_SHARED})
+find_package_or_fetch(
+    PACKAGE_NAME sparrow
+    VERSION 1.0.0
+    GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/man-group/sparrow.git
+    TAG 1.0.0
+)
+
+if(NOT TARGET sparrow::sparrow)
+    add_library(sparrow::sparrow ALIAS sparrow)
+endif()
+
+set(FLATBUFFERS_BUILD_TESTS OFF)
+set(FLATBUFFERS_BUILD_SHAREDLIB ${SPARROW_IPC_BUILD_SHARED})
+find_package_or_fetch(
+    PACKAGE_NAME FlatBuffers
+    VERSION v25.2.10
+    GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/google/flatbuffers.git
+    TAG v25.2.10
+)
+
+if(NOT TARGET flatbuffers::flatbuffers)
+    add_library(flatbuffers::flatbuffers ALIAS flatbuffers)
+endif()
+unset(FLATBUFFERS_BUILD_TESTS CACHE)
+
+if(SPARROW_IPC_BUILD_TESTS)
+    find_package_or_fetch(
+        PACKAGE_NAME doctest
+        VERSION v2.4.12
+        GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/doctest/doctest.git
+        TAG v2.4.12
+    )
+endif()
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/environment-dev.yml b/environment-dev.yml
index 05b16b6..c27e3eb 100644
--- a/environment-dev.yml
+++ b/environment-dev.yml
@@ -4,11 +4,9 @@ channels:
 dependencies:
   # Build dependencies
   - cmake
-  - make
   - ninja
   - cxx-compiler
   # Libraries dependencies
   - flatbuffers
   - sparrow
-  # Tests
   - doctest
diff --git a/tests/CMakeLists.txt b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
index e761543..eafa5d7 100644
--- a/tests/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,15 +1,28 @@
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.28)
 
-find_package(doctest CONFIG REQUIRED)
-
 set(test_target "test_sparrow_ipc_lib")
 
 add_executable(${test_target} main.cpp test_primitive_array.cpp test_utils.cpp)
+
 target_link_libraries(${test_target}
     PRIVATE
         sparrow-ipc
         doctest::doctest
 )
+
+if(WIN32)
+    add_custom_command(
+        TARGET ${test_target} POST_BUILD
+        COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E copy
+            "$<TARGET_FILE:sparrow::sparrow>"
+            "$<TARGET_FILE_DIR:${test_target}>"
+        COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E copy
+            "$<TARGET_FILE:sparrow-ipc>"
+            "$<TARGET_FILE_DIR:${test_target}>"
+        COMMENT "Copying sparrow and sparrow-ipc DLLs to executable directory"
+    )
+endif()
+
 target_include_directories(${test_target}
     PRIVATE
         ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/generated
@@ -17,3 +30,25 @@ target_include_directories(${test_target}
 )
 add_dependencies(${test_target} generate_flatbuffers_headers)
 add_test(NAME sparrow-ipc-tests COMMAND ${test_target})
+
+add_custom_target(run_tests
+    COMMAND ${test_target}
+    DEPENDS 
+        ${test_target}
+    COMMENT "Running tests"
+    USES_TERMINAL
+)
+
+set_target_properties(run_tests PROPERTIES FOLDER "Tests utilities")
+
+set(JUNIT_REPORT_FILE_DOCTEST ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/test_sparrow-ipc_lib_report_doctest.xml)
+
+add_custom_target(run_tests_with_junit_report
+    COMMAND ${test_target} --reporters=junit --out=${JUNIT_REPORT_FILE_DOCTEST} --no-path-filenames=true # TODO: use better junit as in sparrow
+    DEPENDS
+        ${test_target} 
+    COMMENT "Running tests with JUnit reports saved to: ${JUNIT_REPORT_FILE_DOCTEST}"
+    USES_TERMINAL
+)
+
+set_target_properties(run_tests_with_junit_report PROPERTIES FOLDER "Tests utilities")