diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-gnome.yml b/.github/workflows/build-gnome.yml
index 5a6fe21..18cee0b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build-gnome.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-gnome.yml
@@ -19,20 +19,42 @@ env:
   IMAGE_REGISTRY: "ghcr.io/${{ github.repository_owner }}"  # do not edit
 
 jobs:
+  read_groups:
+    name: Read RPM groups from build.sh
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      groups: ${{ steps.extract_groups.outputs.result }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      
+      - name: Extract quoted groups
+        id: extract_groups
+        run: |
+          # Find the rpm-ostree groupinstall lines and extract quoted strings
+          VALUE=$(grep '^rpm-ostree groupinstall' build.sh | grep -o '"[^"]*"' | tr '\n' ' ')
+          echo "result=$VALUE" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
   get_pkg_lists:
     name: Retrieve group package lists from fedora:latest dnf group list
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     container: fedora:latest
+    needs: read_groups
     outputs:
       GROUP_PKGS: ${{ steps.get_pkg_list.outputs.result }}
     steps:
-      - id: get_pkg_list
+      - name: Get package lists from specified groups
         run: |
-          echo result=$((dnf group info "C Development Tools and Libraries" && dnf group info "Development Tools") | grep -v : | tr -d '\n' | tr -s '  ' | cut -c2-) > "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
-  
+          read -r -a GROUPS <<< ${{ needs.read_groups.outputs.groups }}
+          
+          for GROUP in "${GROUPS[@]}"; do
+            dnf group info "$GROUP" | grep -v : | tr -d '\n' | tr -s '  ' | cut -c2- >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          done
+
   build_push:
     name: Build and push image
     runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    needs: get_pkg_lists
 
     permissions:
       contents: read
@@ -47,6 +69,10 @@ jobs:
       - name: Maximize build space
         uses: ublue-os/remove-unwanted-software@v7
 
+      - name: Replace groupinstall <groups> with install <pkgs> in build.sh
+        run: |
+          sed "s/^rpm-ostree groupinstall.*/rpm-ostree install ${{ needs.get_pkg_lists.outputs.group_pkgs }}/" build.sh
+
       - name: Generate tags
         id: generate-tags
         shell: bash
@@ -119,8 +145,6 @@ jobs:
           # Postfix image name with -custom to make it a little more descriptive
           # Syntax: https://docs.github.com/en/actions/learn-github-actions/expressions#format
           image: ${{ env.MY_IMAGE_NAME }}
-          build-args: |
-            GROUP_PKGS=${{ env.GROUP_PKGS }}
           tags: |
             ${{ steps.generate-tags.outputs.alias_tags }}
           labels: ${{ steps.meta.outputs.labels }}
diff --git a/Containerfile b/Containerfile
index f47d176..1547d77 100644
--- a/Containerfile
+++ b/Containerfile
@@ -50,8 +50,6 @@ FROM ghcr.io/ublue-os/${SOURCE_IMAGE}${SOURCE_SUFFIX}:${FEDORA_VERSION}
 
 COPY build.sh /tmp/build.sh
 
-ARG GROUP_PKGS
-
 RUN mkdir -p /var/lib/alternatives && \
     /tmp/build.sh && \
     ostree container commit
diff --git a/build.sh b/build.sh
index 2b6a7e0..819791c 100755
--- a/build.sh
+++ b/build.sh
@@ -39,10 +39,8 @@ rpm-ostree install \
         htop \
         glances
 
-# from dnf groups (specify in build.yml)
-if [ -n "$GROUP_PKGS"]; then
-    rpm-ostree install $GROUP_PKGS
-fi
+# from dnf groups (gh actions will translate this to rpm-ostree install <pkgs>)
+rpm-ostree groupinstall "C Development Tools and Libraries" "Development Tools"
 
 # from rpmfusion
 rpm-ostree install vlc