diff --git a/.github/install-dependencies.sh b/.github/install-dependencies.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..3b35497
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/install-dependencies.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+[ $# -ne 1 ] && exit 1
+runner=$1
+
+case "$runner" in
+  'ubuntu-latest')
+    python -m pip install meson ninja
+    ;;
+  'macos-latest')
+    brew install meson ninja tree
+    # install fortran compiler:
+    brew install gcc
+    brew unlink gcc
+    brew link gcc
+    ;;
+  *)
+    exit 1
+    ;;
+esac
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 09a1736..d087b7d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ defaults:
 
 jobs:
 
-  build_cmake:
-    name: CMake build
+  build:
+    name: Build
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
@@ -25,42 +25,28 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.runner }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - name: build
+      - name: install dependencies
+        run: .github/install-dependencies.sh ${{ matrix.runner }}
+      - name: meson setup
         run: |
-          cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=install
-          cmake --build build -j4
-          cmake --install build
-      - run: brew install tree
-        if: ${{ matrix.runner == 'macos-latest' }}
+          meson setup build .                 \
+            --prefix=`pwd`/install            \
+            -D install_examples=true          \
+            -D test_file=`pwd`/test_data.hipo \
+            -D test_fortran=true
+      - run: meson install
+        working-directory: build
+      - name: dump build log
+        if: always()
+        run: cat build/meson-logs/meson-log.txt
       - run: tree install
-
-  build_make:
-    name: Makefile build
-    strategy:
-      fail-fast: false
-      matrix:
-        runner: [ ubuntu-latest, macos-latest ]
-    runs-on: ${{ matrix.runner }}
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          path: hipo_src
-          submodules: recursive # FIXME: need `lz4` submoudle for Makefile, whereas `cmake` does not
-      - name: build
-        working-directory: hipo_src
-        run: |
-          make -j4
-          make -j4 -C examples
-      - run: brew install tree
-        if: ${{ matrix.runner == 'macos-latest' }}
-      - run: tree hipo_src
       - name: tar
-        run: tar cavf hipo_src{.tar.zst,}
+        run: tar cavf build{.tar.zst,}
       - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
         with:
-          name: build_make_${{ matrix.runner }}
+          name: build-${{ matrix.runner }}
           retention-days: 5
-          path: hipo_src.tar.zst
+          path: build.tar.zst
 
   download_test_data:
     name: Download test data
@@ -82,35 +68,28 @@ jobs:
           tar xvf validation_files_${{ env.type }}.tar.zst
           mv -v $(find validation_files -type f -name "*.hipo" | head -n1) test_data.hipo
 
-  examples:
-    name: Run examples
-    needs: [ download_test_data, build_make ]
+  test:
+    name: Test
+    needs: [ download_test_data, build ]
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
         runner: [ ubuntu-latest, macos-latest ]
     runs-on: ${{ matrix.runner }}
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: install dependencies
+        run: .github/install-dependencies.sh ${{ matrix.runner }}
+      - name: download build
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
         with:
-          name: build_make_${{ matrix.runner }}
+          name: build-${{ matrix.runner }}
       - name: untar artifacts
-        run: |
-          ls *.tar.zst | xargs -I{} tar xvf {}
-          rm *.tar.zst
-          mv -v hipo_src/* ./
-          rm -rf hipo_src
+        run: ls *.tar.zst | xargs -I{} tar xvf {}
       - name: get test data
         uses: actions/cache/restore@v4
         with:
           key: test_data
           path: test_data.hipo
-      - run: examples/writeFile.exe
-      - run: examples/readFile.exe example_output.hipo
-      - run: examples/readFileTags.exe
-      - run: examples/showFile.exe example_output.hipo event::particle
-      - run: examples/readJson.exe test_data.hipo
-      - run: examples/tupleFile.exe
-      - run: examples/writeUserHeader.exe
-      - run: examples/bankRowList.exe test_data.hipo
-      - run: examples/histograms.exe test_data.hipo
+      - run: meson test
+        working-directory: build
diff --git a/hipo4/meson.build b/hipo4/meson.build
index 3fe8e9d..25e4f25 100644
--- a/hipo4/meson.build
+++ b/hipo4/meson.build
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ hipo_lib = library(
     '-Wno-unused-but-set-variable',
     '-Wno-misleading-indentation',
     '-Wno-format',
+    '-Wno-stringop-overflow',
     ],
   install: true
 )
diff --git a/meson.options b/meson.options
index 5bc338c..ed2eb5d 100644
--- a/meson.options
+++ b/meson.options
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 option('dataframes',       type: 'boolean', value: true,  description: 'install HIPO dataframes extension')
 option('install_examples', type: 'boolean', value: false, description: 'install examples')
-option('test_file',        type: 'string',  value: '',    description: 'sample HIPO file to use for certain tests; if unspecified, those tests will not run')
+option('test_file',        type: 'string',  value: '',    description: 'sample HIPO file to use for certain tests; if unspecified, those tests will not run; must be an absolute path')
 option('test_fortran',     type: 'boolean', value: false, description: 'test Fortran example; you must have a Fortran compiler, and "test_file" option must be set')