diff --git a/polkadot/node/core/pvf/benches/host_prepare_rococo_runtime.rs b/polkadot/node/core/pvf/benches/host_prepare_rococo_runtime.rs
index f2551b701c2c..e625a2303b5e 100644
--- a/polkadot/node/core/pvf/benches/host_prepare_rococo_runtime.rs
+++ b/polkadot/node/core/pvf/benches/host_prepare_rococo_runtime.rs
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ impl TestHost {
 	where
 		F: FnOnce(&mut Config),
 	{
-		let (prepare_worker_path, execute_worker_path) = testing::build_workers_and_get_paths(true);
+		let (prepare_worker_path, execute_worker_path) = testing::build_workers_and_get_paths();
 
 		let cache_dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
 		let mut config = Config::new(
diff --git a/polkadot/node/core/pvf/build.rs b/polkadot/node/core/pvf/build.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..e01cc6deecc2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/polkadot/node/core/pvf/build.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+// Copyright (C) Parity Technologies (UK) Ltd.
+// This file is part of Polkadot.
+
+// Polkadot is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+
+// Polkadot is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+// GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+// along with Polkadot.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+fn main() {
+	if let Ok(profile) = std::env::var("PROFILE") {
+		println!(r#"cargo:rustc-cfg=build_type="{}""#, profile);
+	}
+}
diff --git a/polkadot/node/core/pvf/src/testing.rs b/polkadot/node/core/pvf/src/testing.rs
index 400b65bfe7d8..c7c885c43421 100644
--- a/polkadot/node/core/pvf/src/testing.rs
+++ b/polkadot/node/core/pvf/src/testing.rs
@@ -59,21 +59,22 @@ pub fn validate_candidate(
 ///
 /// NOTE: This should only be called in dev code (tests, benchmarks) as it relies on the relative
 /// paths of the built workers.
-pub fn build_workers_and_get_paths(is_bench: bool) -> (PathBuf, PathBuf) {
+pub fn build_workers_and_get_paths() -> (PathBuf, PathBuf) {
 	// Only needs to be called once for the current process.
 	static WORKER_PATHS: OnceLock<Mutex<(PathBuf, PathBuf)>> = OnceLock::new();
 
-	fn build_workers(is_bench: bool) {
+	fn build_workers() {
 		let mut build_args = vec![
 			"build",
 			"--package=polkadot",
 			"--bin=polkadot-prepare-worker",
 			"--bin=polkadot-execute-worker",
 		];
-		if is_bench {
-			// Benches require --release. Regular tests are debug (no flag needed).
+
+		if cfg!(build_type = "release") {
 			build_args.push("--release");
 		}
+
 		let mut cargo = std::process::Command::new("cargo");
 		let cmd = cargo
 			// wasm runtime not needed
@@ -117,7 +118,7 @@ pub fn build_workers_and_get_paths(is_bench: bool) -> (PathBuf, PathBuf) {
 			}
 		}
 
-		build_workers(is_bench);
+		build_workers();
 
 		Mutex::new((prepare_worker_path, execute_worker_path))
 	});
diff --git a/polkadot/node/core/pvf/tests/it/main.rs b/polkadot/node/core/pvf/tests/it/main.rs
index 4c81ac502dd4..c18677f29462 100644
--- a/polkadot/node/core/pvf/tests/it/main.rs
+++ b/polkadot/node/core/pvf/tests/it/main.rs
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ impl TestHost {
 	where
 		F: FnOnce(&mut Config),
 	{
-		let (prepare_worker_path, execute_worker_path) = build_workers_and_get_paths(false);
+		let (prepare_worker_path, execute_worker_path) = build_workers_and_get_paths();
 
 		let cache_dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
 		let mut config = Config::new(
diff --git a/polkadot/node/core/pvf/tests/it/worker_common.rs b/polkadot/node/core/pvf/tests/it/worker_common.rs
index 0d33af7e096c..4b736b08ba60 100644
--- a/polkadot/node/core/pvf/tests/it/worker_common.rs
+++ b/polkadot/node/core/pvf/tests/it/worker_common.rs
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ use std::{env, time::Duration};
 // Test spawning a program that immediately exits with a failure code.
 #[tokio::test]
 async fn spawn_immediate_exit() {
-	let (prepare_worker_path, _) = build_workers_and_get_paths(false);
+	let (prepare_worker_path, _) = build_workers_and_get_paths();
 
 	// There's no explicit `exit` subcommand in the worker; it will panic on an unknown
 	// subcommand anyway
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ async fn spawn_immediate_exit() {
 
 #[tokio::test]
 async fn spawn_timeout() {
-	let (_, execute_worker_path) = build_workers_and_get_paths(false);
+	let (_, execute_worker_path) = build_workers_and_get_paths();
 
 	let result = spawn_with_program_path(
 		"integration-test",
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ async fn spawn_timeout() {
 
 #[tokio::test]
 async fn should_connect() {
-	let (prepare_worker_path, _) = build_workers_and_get_paths(false);
+	let (prepare_worker_path, _) = build_workers_and_get_paths();
 
 	let _ = spawn_with_program_path(
 		"integration-test",