diff --git a/.github/workflows/pr.yml b/.github/workflows/pr.yml
index 6ed769d48..5afe0d3d3 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/pr.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/pr.yml
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ jobs:
           key: libs-windows-latest-${{ hashFiles('make.ps1', 'CMakeLists.txt', 'lib/CMakeLists.txt', 'lib/llvm/patches/*') }}
       - name: Build Libs
         if: steps.restore-libs.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
-        run: .\make.ps1 -Command libs
+        run: .\make.ps1 -Command libs -LibsExtraCmakeDefines "-DPONYC_DOWNLOAD_PREBUILT_LLVM=On"
       - name: Save Libs Cache
         if: steps.restore-libs.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
         uses: actions/cache/save@v4
diff --git a/lib/CMakeLists.txt b/lib/CMakeLists.txt
index 5dccd87db..129e14cc5 100644
--- a/lib/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/lib/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -52,96 +52,110 @@ install(TARGETS blake2
     COMPONENT library
 )
 
-find_package(Git)
-
-set(LLVM_DESIRED_HASH "4434dabb69916856b824f68a64b029c67175e532")
-set(PATCHES_DESIRED_HASH "3e16c097794cb669a8f6a0bd7600b440205ac5c29a6135750c2e83263eb16a95")
-
-if(GIT_FOUND)
-    if(EXISTS "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/../.git")
-        # Update submodules as needed
-        option(GIT_SUBMODULE "Check submodules during build" ON)
-        if(GIT_SUBMODULE)
-            message(STATUS "Updating submodules...")
-            execute_process(COMMAND ${GIT_EXECUTABLE} submodule update --init --recursive --depth 1
-                            WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}
-                            RESULT_VARIABLE git_submod_result)
-            #message("git_submod_result ${git_submod_result}")
-            if(NOT git_submod_result EQUAL "0")
-                message(FATAL_ERROR "git submodule update --init --recursive --depth 1 failed with ${git_submod_result}, please checkout submodules")
-            endif()
-
-            # we check to make sure the submodule hash matches
-            # the reason the submodule hash is in this file is to be able to use this file as a key for caching the libs in CI
-            execute_process(COMMAND ${GIT_EXECUTABLE} submodule status
-                            WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}
-                            OUTPUT_VARIABLE git_submod_output)
-            #message("git_submod_output ${git_submod_output}")
-            string(FIND "${git_submod_output}" "${LLVM_DESIRED_HASH}" LLVM_SUBMOD_POS)
-            if(LLVM_SUBMOD_POS EQUAL "-1")
-                message(FATAL_ERROR "Expecting the lib/llvm/src submodule to be at hash '${LLVM_DESIRED_HASH}'; found '${git_submod_output}'; update the LLVM_DESIRED_HASH variable in lib/CMakeLists.txt if you've updated the submodule.")
-            endif()
-        endif()
-    endif()
-
-    # Apply patches
-    message("Applying patches...")
-    file(GLOB PONY_LLVM_PATCHES "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/llvm/patches/*.diff")
-
-    # check to see if the patch hashes match
-    message("Checking patches ${PONY_LLVM_PATCHES}")
-    set(PATCHES_ACTUAL_HASH "needed_if_no_patches")
-    foreach (PATCH ${PONY_LLVM_PATCHES})
-        file(STRINGS ${PATCH} patch_file NEWLINE_CONSUME)
-        string(REPLACE "\n" " " patch_file "${patch_file}")
-        string(SHA256 patch_file_hash "${patch_file}")
-        string(CONCAT PATCHES_ACTUAL_HASH ${PATCHES_ACTUAL_HASH} ${patch_file_hash})
-    endforeach()
-    string(SHA256 PATCHES_ACTUAL_HASH ${PATCHES_ACTUAL_HASH})
-    if(NOT PATCHES_ACTUAL_HASH MATCHES "${PATCHES_DESIRED_HASH}")
-        message(FATAL_ERROR "Patch hash actual '${PATCHES_ACTUAL_HASH}' does not match desired '${PATCHES_DESIRED_HASH}'")
-    endif()
-
-    foreach (PATCH ${PONY_LLVM_PATCHES})
-        message("  Checking ${PATCH}")
-        execute_process(COMMAND ${GIT_EXECUTABLE} apply --check -p 1 --ignore-whitespace --whitespace=nowarn ${PATCH}
-                        WORKING_DIRECTORY "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/llvm/src"
-                        ERROR_VARIABLE _err_out
-                        RESULT_VARIABLE git_apply_check_result)
-        if(git_apply_check_result EQUAL "0")
-            message("    Applying ${PATCH}")
-            execute_process(COMMAND ${GIT_EXECUTABLE} apply -p 1 --ignore-whitespace --whitespace=nowarn ${PATCH}
-                            WORKING_DIRECTORY "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/llvm/src"
-                            RESULT_VARIABLE git_apply_result)
-            if(NOT git_apply_result EQUAL "0")
-                message(FATAL_ERROR "Unable to apply ${PATCH}")
-            endif()
-        else()
-            message("    Already applied ${PATCH}")
-        endif()
-    endforeach()
+if(PONYC_DOWNLOAD_PREBUILT_LLVM)
+  set(PONYC_LLVM_DOWNLOAD_URL https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/releases/download/llvmorg-22.1.0/clang+llvm-22.1.0-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.tar.xz)
+
+  ExternalProject_Add(
+    LLVM_Downloaded
+    URL ${PONYC_LLVM_DOWNLOAD_URL}
+    SOURCE_DIR ${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}
+    BUILD_COMMAND ""
+    INSTALL_COMMAND ""
+    CONFIGURE_COMMAND ""
+    UPDATE_COMMAND ""
+  )
 else()
-    message(FATAL_ERROR "Git not found!")
-endif()
-
-message("Building targets: ${LLVM_TARGETS_TO_BUILD}")
-
-set(LLVM_ENABLE_BINDINGS OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
-set(LLVM_ENABLE_OCAMLDOC OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
-set(LLVM_ENABLE_PIC OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
-set(LLVM_ENABLE_TERMINFO OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
-set(LLVM_ENABLE_WARNINGS OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
-set(LLVM_ENABLE_Z3_SOLVER OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
-set(LLVM_INCLUDE_BENCHMARKS OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
-set(LLVM_INCLUDE_TESTS OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
-set(LLVM_TOOL_REMARKS_SHLIB_BUILD OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
-set(LLVM_ENABLE_ZLIB OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
-set(LLVM_ENABLE_ZSTD OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
-set(LLVM_ENABLE_LIBXML2 OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
-
-if(${CMAKE_HOST_SYSTEM_NAME} MATCHES "Darwin")
-    set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS "${CMAKE_C_FLAGS} -mmacosx-version-min=10.14 -DUSE_SCHEDULER_SCALING_PTHREADS")
-    set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} -stdlib=libc++ -mmacosx-version-min=10.14")
-endif()
-
-add_subdirectory(llvm/src/llvm)
+  find_package(Git)
+
+  set(LLVM_DESIRED_HASH "4434dabb69916856b824f68a64b029c67175e532")
+  set(PATCHES_DESIRED_HASH "3e16c097794cb669a8f6a0bd7600b440205ac5c29a6135750c2e83263eb16a95")
+
+  if(GIT_FOUND)
+      if(EXISTS "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/../.git")
+          # Update submodules as needed
+          option(GIT_SUBMODULE "Check submodules during build" ON)
+          if(GIT_SUBMODULE)
+              message(STATUS "Updating submodules...")
+              execute_process(COMMAND ${GIT_EXECUTABLE} submodule update --init --recursive --depth 1
+                              WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}
+                              RESULT_VARIABLE git_submod_result)
+              #message("git_submod_result ${git_submod_result}")
+              if(NOT git_submod_result EQUAL "0")
+                  message(FATAL_ERROR "git submodule update --init --recursive --depth 1 failed with ${git_submod_result}, please checkout submodules")
+              endif()
+
+              # we check to make sure the submodule hash matches
+              # the reason the submodule hash is in this file is to be able to use this file as a key for caching the libs in CI
+              execute_process(COMMAND ${GIT_EXECUTABLE} submodule status
+                              WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}
+                              OUTPUT_VARIABLE git_submod_output)
+              #message("git_submod_output ${git_submod_output}")
+              string(FIND "${git_submod_output}" "${LLVM_DESIRED_HASH}" LLVM_SUBMOD_POS)
+              if(LLVM_SUBMOD_POS EQUAL "-1")
+                  message(FATAL_ERROR "Expecting the lib/llvm/src submodule to be at hash '${LLVM_DESIRED_HASH}'; found '${git_submod_output}'; update the LLVM_DESIRED_HASH variable in lib/CMakeLists.txt if you've updated the submodule.")
+              endif()
+          endif()
+      endif()
+
+      # Apply patches
+      message("Applying patches...")
+      file(GLOB PONY_LLVM_PATCHES "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/llvm/patches/*.diff")
+
+      # check to see if the patch hashes match
+      message("Checking patches ${PONY_LLVM_PATCHES}")
+      set(PATCHES_ACTUAL_HASH "needed_if_no_patches")
+      foreach (PATCH ${PONY_LLVM_PATCHES})
+          file(STRINGS ${PATCH} patch_file NEWLINE_CONSUME)
+          string(REPLACE "\n" " " patch_file "${patch_file}")
+          string(SHA256 patch_file_hash "${patch_file}")
+          string(CONCAT PATCHES_ACTUAL_HASH ${PATCHES_ACTUAL_HASH} ${patch_file_hash})
+      endforeach()
+      string(SHA256 PATCHES_ACTUAL_HASH ${PATCHES_ACTUAL_HASH})
+      if(NOT PATCHES_ACTUAL_HASH MATCHES "${PATCHES_DESIRED_HASH}")
+          message(FATAL_ERROR "Patch hash actual '${PATCHES_ACTUAL_HASH}' does not match desired '${PATCHES_DESIRED_HASH}'")
+      endif()
+
+      foreach (PATCH ${PONY_LLVM_PATCHES})
+          message("  Checking ${PATCH}")
+          execute_process(COMMAND ${GIT_EXECUTABLE} apply --check -p 1 --ignore-whitespace --whitespace=nowarn ${PATCH}
+                          WORKING_DIRECTORY "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/llvm/src"
+                          ERROR_VARIABLE _err_out
+                          RESULT_VARIABLE git_apply_check_result)
+          if(git_apply_check_result EQUAL "0")
+              message("    Applying ${PATCH}")
+              execute_process(COMMAND ${GIT_EXECUTABLE} apply -p 1 --ignore-whitespace --whitespace=nowarn ${PATCH}
+                              WORKING_DIRECTORY "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/llvm/src"
+                              RESULT_VARIABLE git_apply_result)
+              if(NOT git_apply_result EQUAL "0")
+                  message(FATAL_ERROR "Unable to apply ${PATCH}")
+              endif()
+          else()
+              message("    Already applied ${PATCH}")
+          endif()
+      endforeach()
+  else()
+      message(FATAL_ERROR "Git not found!")
+  endif()
+
+  message("Building targets: ${LLVM_TARGETS_TO_BUILD}")
+
+  set(LLVM_ENABLE_BINDINGS OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
+  set(LLVM_ENABLE_OCAMLDOC OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
+  set(LLVM_ENABLE_PIC OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
+  set(LLVM_ENABLE_TERMINFO OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
+  set(LLVM_ENABLE_WARNINGS OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
+  set(LLVM_ENABLE_Z3_SOLVER OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
+  set(LLVM_INCLUDE_BENCHMARKS OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
+  set(LLVM_INCLUDE_TESTS OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
+  set(LLVM_TOOL_REMARKS_SHLIB_BUILD OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
+  set(LLVM_ENABLE_ZLIB OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
+  set(LLVM_ENABLE_ZSTD OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
+  set(LLVM_ENABLE_LIBXML2 OFF CACHE BOOL "ponyc specific override of LLVM cache entry")
+
+  if(${CMAKE_HOST_SYSTEM_NAME} MATCHES "Darwin")
+      set(CMAKE_C_FLAGS "${CMAKE_C_FLAGS} -mmacosx-version-min=10.14 -DUSE_SCHEDULER_SCALING_PTHREADS")
+      set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "${CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS} -stdlib=libc++ -mmacosx-version-min=10.14")
+  endif()
+
+  add_subdirectory(llvm/src/llvm)
+endif()
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/make.ps1 b/make.ps1
index 47da668f3..34208c121 100644
--- a/make.ps1
+++ b/make.ps1
@@ -37,7 +37,11 @@
 
     [Parameter(HelpMessage="CITests to run")]
     [string]
-    $CiTestsToRun = 'libponyrt.tests,libponyc.tests,libponyc.run.tests.debug,libponyc.run.tests.release,stdlib-debug,stdlib-release,pony-doc-tests' # ,grammar' do not run grammar for now as there is work on th
+    $CiTestsToRun = 'libponyrt.tests,libponyc.tests,libponyc.run.tests.debug,libponyc.run.tests.release,stdlib-debug,stdlib-release,pony-doc-tests', # ,grammar' do not run grammar for now as there is work on the parser. Reenable later.
+
+    [Parameter(HelpMessage="Extra CMake defines for LLVM")]
+    [string]
+    $LibsExtraCmakeDefines = ''
 )
 
 # Function to extract process exit code from LLDB output
@@ -174,12 +178,12 @@ switch ($Command.ToLower())
         Write-Output "Configuring libraries..."
         if ($Arch.Length -gt 0)
         {
-            & cmake.exe -B "$libsBuildDir" -S "$libsSrcDir" -G "$Generator" -A $Arch -Thost="$Thost" -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$libsDir" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DLLVM_TARGETS_TO_BUILD="X86;ARM;AArch64;WebAssembly;RISCV" -DCMAKE_BUILD_PARALLEL_LEVEL=$numCpus
+            & cmake.exe -B "$libsBuildDir" -S "$libsSrcDir" -G "$Generator" -A $Arch -Thost="$Thost" -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$libsDir" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DLLVM_TARGETS_TO_BUILD="X86;ARM;AArch64;WebAssembly;RISCV" -DCMAKE_BUILD_PARALLEL_LEVEL=$numCpus $LibsExtraCmakeDefines
             $err = $LastExitCode
         }
         else
         {
-            & cmake.exe -B "$libsBuildDir" -S "$libsSrcDir" -G "$Generator" -Thost="$Thost" -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$libsDir" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DLLVM_TARGETS_TO_BUILD="X86;ARM;AArch64;WebAssembly;RISCV" -DCMAKE_BUILD_PARALLEL_LEVEL=$numCpus
+            & cmake.exe -B "$libsBuildDir" -S "$libsSrcDir" -G "$Generator" -Thost="$Thost" -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX="$libsDir" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DLLVM_TARGETS_TO_BUILD="X86;ARM;AArch64;WebAssembly;RISCV" -DCMAKE_BUILD_PARALLEL_LEVEL=$numCpus $LibsExtraCmakeDefines
             $err = $LastExitCode
         }
         if ($err -ne 0) { throw "Error: exit code $err" }