diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index 909db320..9f2cab0a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -1,28 +1,35 @@
 # Github actions CI file
 # Ryan Mulhall 2020
-# Builds and runs make check in two containers, one with mpi, one without
+# CI testing for the FRE-NCtools repo, builds and runs unit tests
+# container @ https://hub.docker.com/repository/docker/ryanmulhall/fre-nctools-base
 name: FRE-NCtools CI
 on: [push, pull_request]
 jobs:
-  build:
+  CI:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     strategy:
       matrix:
         with_mpi: ['','--with-mpi']
         enable_quad_precision: ['', '--enable-quad-precision']
-    env:
+    container:
+      image: ryanmulhall/fre-nctools-base
+      env:
         MPI: ${{ matrix.with_mpi }}
         QUAD_P: ${{ matrix.enable_quad_precision }}
     steps:
     - name: Checkout
       uses: actions/checkout@v2
-    - name: Build container
-      run: docker build . -t fre-nctools
-    - name: Build and run tests
-      run: docker run -u root --entrypoint "/bin/sh" --env MPI --env QUAD_P fre-nctools /build.sh
+    - name: Configure
+      run: | 
+        autoreconf -i configure.ac
+        ./configure $MPI $QUAD_P
+    - name: Build tools
+      run: make
+    - name: Run tests
+      run: make -j check LOG_DRIVER_FLAGS=--comments
     - name: Save log file on failure
       uses: actions/upload-artifact@v2.2.1
       if: failure()
       with:
-          name: test-suite.log
-          path: t/test-suite.log
+        name: test-suite.log
+        path: t/test-suite.log
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
deleted file mode 100644
index b1b2984a..00000000
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-FROM ubuntu:xenial
-## install dependencies
-RUN apt-get update \
- && apt-get -y install software-properties-common \
- && add-apt-repository ppa:remik-ziemlinski/nccmp --update \
- && apt-get install -y libnetcdf-dev libnetcdff-dev netcdf-bin gfortran bats \
-                       nccmp autoconf libopenmpi-dev openmpi-bin
-## copy repo into container
-COPY . .
-## run tests
-ENTRYPOINT ["build.sh"]
diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 789ee5c6..00000000
--- a/build.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-#Builds FRE-NCtools and runs regression tests
-autoreconf -i configure.ac
-./configure $MPI $QUAD_P
-make -j check LOG_DRIVER_FLAGS=--comments