diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index cbcfc66c3..c28984170 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/cache@v4
         with:
           path: dependencies
-          key: ${{ matrix.os.dist }}-${{ matrix.os.compiler }}-${{ matrix.os.compiler_version }}-${{ hashFiles('scripts/spack', 'scripts/install-dependencies.sh') }}
+          key: ${{ matrix.os.dist }}-${{ matrix.os.compiler }}-${{ matrix.os.compiler_version }}-${{ hashFiles('spack.yaml', 'scripts/spack', 'scripts/install-dependencies.sh') }}
       - name: Install dependencies
         if: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true' }}
         env:
@@ -130,12 +130,13 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/cache@v4
         with:
           path: /dependencies
-          key: ${{ matrix.os.image }}-${{ matrix.os.compiler }}-${{ matrix.os.compiler_version }}-${{ hashFiles('scripts/spack', 'scripts/install-dependencies.sh') }}
+          key: ${{ matrix.os.image }}-${{ matrix.os.compiler }}-${{ matrix.os.compiler_version }}-${{ hashFiles('spack.yaml', 'scripts/spack', 'scripts/install-dependencies.sh') }}
       - name: Install dependencies
         if: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true' }}
         env:
           JULEA_SPACK_COMPILER: ${{ matrix.os.compiler_spack }}@${{ matrix.os.compiler_version }}
           JULEA_SPACK_DIR: /dependencies
+          JULEA_SPACK_ENV: .
         run: |
           ./scripts/install-dependencies.sh
   build:
@@ -187,7 +188,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/cache/restore@v4
         with:
           path: dependencies
-          key: ${{ matrix.os.dist }}-${{ matrix.os.compiler }}-${{ matrix.os.compiler_version }}-${{ hashFiles('scripts/spack', 'scripts/install-dependencies.sh') }}
+          key: ${{ matrix.os.dist }}-${{ matrix.os.compiler }}-${{ matrix.os.compiler_version }}-${{ hashFiles('spack.yaml', 'scripts/spack', 'scripts/install-dependencies.sh') }}
       - name: Check dependencies
         if: ${{ matrix.dependencies == 'spack' && steps.cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true' }}
         run: |
@@ -313,7 +314,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/cache/restore@v4
         with:
           path: dependencies
-          key: ${{ matrix.os.dist }}-${{ matrix.os.compiler }}-${{ matrix.os.compiler_version }}-${{ hashFiles('scripts/spack', 'scripts/install-dependencies.sh') }}
+          key: ${{ matrix.os.dist }}-${{ matrix.os.compiler }}-${{ matrix.os.compiler_version }}-${{ hashFiles('spack.yaml', 'scripts/spack', 'scripts/install-dependencies.sh') }}
       - name: Check dependencies
         if: ${{ matrix.dependencies == 'spack' && steps.cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true' }}
         run: |
@@ -405,7 +406,7 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/cache/restore@v4
         with:
           path: dependencies
-          key: ubuntu-24.04-gcc-13.3.0-${{ hashFiles('scripts/spack', 'scripts/install-dependencies.sh') }}
+          key: ubuntu-24.04-gcc-13.3.0-${{ hashFiles('spack.yaml', 'scripts/spack', 'scripts/install-dependencies.sh') }}
       - name: Check dependencies
         if: ${{ steps.cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true' }}
         run: |
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 3a3f02351..8c04d908a 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -22,3 +22,10 @@ bld*/
 
 # Visual Studio Code
 .vscode/
+
+# CLion
+.idea/
+
+# Spack-Env
+.spack-env/
+spack.lock
diff --git a/scripts/benchmark.sh b/scripts/benchmark.sh
index c35de58ae..d79bcd69e 100755
--- a/scripts/benchmark.sh
+++ b/scripts/benchmark.sh
@@ -24,8 +24,6 @@ SELF_BASE="${SELF_PATH##*/}"
 
 # shellcheck source=scripts/common
 . "${SELF_DIR}/common"
-# shellcheck source=scripts/spack
-. "${SELF_DIR}/spack"
 
 usage ()
 {
@@ -54,6 +52,7 @@ then
 	JULEA_SPACK_DIR="$(get_directory "${SELF_DIR}/..")/dependencies"
 fi
 
-spack_load_dependencies
+# shellcheck source=scripts/environment.sh
+. "${SELF_DIR}/environment.sh"
 
 run_benchmark "$@"
diff --git a/scripts/ci/build.sh b/scripts/ci/build.sh
index 0639f2b1a..903fce7ff 100755
--- a/scripts/ci/build.sh
+++ b/scripts/ci/build.sh
@@ -21,19 +21,24 @@ set -e
 MODE="$1"
 DEPS="$2"
 
-GDBM_PREFIX=''
-
+echo "$PATH"
 . scripts/environment.sh
+echo "$PATH"
+
+ls
+
+spack env status
+
+printf "\n\n"
+ls .spack-env/
 
-if test "${DEPS}" = 'spack'
-then
-	GDBM_PREFIX="-Dgdbm_prefix=$(spack location --install-dir gdbm)"
-fi
+printf "\n\n"
+ls .spack-env/view/bin/
 
 case "${MODE}" in
 	release)
 		# shellcheck disable=SC2086
-		meson setup --prefix="${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/julea-install" --buildtype=release --werror ${GDBM_PREFIX} bld
+		meson setup --prefix="${GITHUB_WORKSPACE}/julea-install" --buildtype=release --werror bld
 		ninja -C bld
 		ninja -C bld install
 		;;
@@ -44,12 +49,12 @@ case "${MODE}" in
 			CLANG_LUNDEF='-Db_lundef=false'
 		fi
 		# shellcheck disable=SC2086
-		meson setup -Db_sanitize=address,undefined ${CLANG_LUNDEF} ${GDBM_PREFIX} bld
+		meson setup -Db_sanitize=address,undefined ${CLANG_LUNDEF} bld
 		ninja -C bld
 		;;
 	coverage)
 		# shellcheck disable=SC2086
-		meson setup -Db_coverage=true -Db_sanitize=address,undefined ${GDBM_PREFIX} bld
+		meson setup -Db_coverage=true -Db_sanitize=address,undefined bld
 		ninja -C bld
 		;;
 	*)
diff --git a/scripts/environment.sh b/scripts/environment.sh
index 10e3b75ce..e004ba567 100755
--- a/scripts/environment.sh
+++ b/scripts/environment.sh
@@ -25,8 +25,6 @@ SELF_BASE="${SELF_PATH##*/}"
 
 # shellcheck source=scripts/common
 . "${SELF_DIR}/common"
-# shellcheck source=scripts/spack
-. "${SELF_DIR}/spack"
 
 JULEA_ENVIRONMENT_SOURCED=1
 
@@ -63,7 +61,19 @@ then
 	JULEA_SPACK_DIR="$(get_directory "${SELF_DIR}/..")/dependencies"
 fi
 
-spack_load_dependencies
+# shellcheck source=scripts/spack
+. "${SELF_DIR}/spack"
+
+# activate spack if its installed
+if spack_init
+then
+  # Activate spack shell support.
+  # shellcheck source=/dev/null
+  . "${JULEA_SPACK_DIR}/share/spack/setup-env.sh"
+  # Activate spack environment.
+  spack env activate .
+  spack env status
+fi
 
 # Do not filter out paths contained in CPATH and LIBRARY_PATH.
 PKG_CONFIG_ALLOW_SYSTEM_CFLAGS=1
diff --git a/scripts/install-dependencies.sh b/scripts/install-dependencies.sh
index 46a4ef24a..dc0c67a4d 100755
--- a/scripts/install-dependencies.sh
+++ b/scripts/install-dependencies.sh
@@ -38,4 +38,9 @@ then
 	JULEA_SPACK_DIR="$(get_directory "${SELF_DIR}/..")/dependencies"
 fi
 
+if test -z "${JULEA_SPACK_ENV}"
+then
+	JULEA_SPACK_ENV="$(get_directory "${SELF_DIR}/..")"
+fi
+
 spack_install_dependencies
diff --git a/scripts/setup b/scripts/setup
index 6d1189e27..910899969 100644
--- a/scripts/setup
+++ b/scripts/setup
@@ -160,6 +160,7 @@ setup_start ()
 		host="$(get_host "${server}")"
 		port="$(get_port "${server}")"
 
+        # TODO: These sometimes dont match which causes the script to silently fail. Fix this.
 		if test "${host}" = "${HOSTNAME}"
 		then
 			port_option=''
diff --git a/scripts/setup.sh b/scripts/setup.sh
index a041a458a..f79de74a8 100755
--- a/scripts/setup.sh
+++ b/scripts/setup.sh
@@ -27,8 +27,6 @@ SELF_BASE="${SELF_PATH##*/}"
 . "${SELF_DIR}/common"
 # shellcheck source=scripts/setup
 . "${SELF_DIR}/setup"
-# shellcheck source=scripts/spack
-. "${SELF_DIR}/spack"
 
 usage ()
 {
@@ -76,7 +74,9 @@ then
 	JULEA_SPACK_DIR="$(get_directory "${SELF_DIR}/..")/dependencies"
 fi
 
-spack_load_dependencies
+
+# shellcheck source=scripts/environment.sh
+. "${SELF_DIR}/environment.sh"
 
 setup_init
 
diff --git a/scripts/spack b/scripts/spack
index 56e375b79..1f531abfb 100644
--- a/scripts/spack
+++ b/scripts/spack
@@ -33,28 +33,20 @@ spack_clone ()
 
 	if test ! -d "${JULEA_SPACK_DIR}"
 	then
-		git clone --config feature.manyFiles=true https://github.com/spack/spack.git "${JULEA_SPACK_DIR}"
+		git clone --config feature.manyFiles=true --depth=1 --branch=releases/v1.0 https://github.com/spack/spack.git "${JULEA_SPACK_DIR}"
 	fi
 
 	test -d "${JULEA_SPACK_DIR}" || return 1
 
 	if test ! -d "${JULEA_SPACK_DIR}/packages"
 	then
-		git clone --config feature.manyFiles=true https://github.com/spack/spack-packages.git "${JULEA_SPACK_DIR}/packages"
+		git clone --config feature.manyFiles=true --branch=develop https://github.com/spack/spack-packages.git "${JULEA_SPACK_DIR}/packages"
 	fi
 
 	test -d "${JULEA_SPACK_DIR}/packages" || return 1
 
 	spack_set_env
 
-	(
-		cd "${JULEA_SPACK_DIR}" || return 1
-
-		git fetch
-		git checkout releases/v1.0
-		git reset --hard origin/releases/v1.0
-	)
-
 	(
 		cd "${JULEA_SPACK_DIR}/packages" || return 1
 
@@ -63,7 +55,7 @@ spack_clone ()
 		git reset --hard "${spack_packages_commit}"
 	)
 
-	spack_cmd repo set --destination "${JULEA_SPACK_DIR}/packages" builtin
+    spack_cmd repo set --destination "${JULEA_SPACK_DIR}/packages" builtin
 
 	return 0
 }
@@ -99,101 +91,7 @@ spack_cmd ()
 	)
 }
 
-spack_load ()
-{
-	local pkg_loaded
-	local spack_pkg
-
-	pkg_loaded='YES'
-	spack_pkg="$1"
-
-	test -n "${spack_pkg}" || return 1
-
-	spack_pkg="$(printf '%s' "${spack_pkg}" | sed 's/#/ /g')"
-
-	spack load "${spack_pkg}" || pkg_loaded='NO'
-
-	printf 'Dependency "%s" loaded: %s\n' "${spack_pkg}" "${pkg_loaded}"
-}
-
-spack_install ()
-{
-	local spack_pkg
-
-	spack_pkg="$1"
-
-	test -n "${spack_pkg}" || return 1
-
-	spack_pkg="$(printf '%s' "${spack_pkg}" | sed 's/#/ /g')"
-
-	printf 'Installing "%s"\n' "${spack_pkg}"
-	# FIXME ignore errors?
-	spack_cmd install "${spack_pkg}"
-}
-
-spack_get_dependencies ()
-{
-	local dependencies
-
-	dependencies=''
-
-	# Required for building JULEA
-	dependencies="${dependencies} meson"
-	dependencies="${dependencies} pkgconf"
-
-	# Mandatory dependencies
-	dependencies="${dependencies} glib"
-	dependencies="${dependencies} libbson"
-	dependencies="${dependencies} libfabric#fabrics=sockets,tcp,udp,verbs,rxd,rxm"
-
-	# Recommended dependencies
-	dependencies="${dependencies} hdf5~mpi@1.14"
-	dependencies="${dependencies} libfuse~utils"
-	dependencies="${dependencies} lmdb"
-	dependencies="${dependencies} sqlite"
-
-	# Optional dependencies
-	# FIXME https://github.com/spack/spack-packages/pull/1109
-	dependencies="${dependencies} gdbm@1.23"
-	dependencies="${dependencies} leveldb"
-	dependencies="${dependencies} mariadb-c-client"
-	dependencies="${dependencies} mongo-c-driver"
-	dependencies="${dependencies} otf"
-	dependencies="${dependencies} rocksdb~static"
-
-	if test -n "${CI}"
-	then
-		dependencies="${dependencies} py-gcovr"
-	fi
-
-	#dependencies="${dependencies} enzo@main"
-	#dependencies="${dependencies} mpi"
-
-	printf '%s' "${dependencies}"
-}
-
-spack_load_dependencies ()
-{
-	if test -z "${JULEA_SPACK_DEPENDENCIES_LOADED}"
-	then
-		if spack_init
-		then
-			for dependency in $(spack_get_dependencies)
-			do
-				spack_load "${dependency}"
-			done
-
-			# FIXME this could be more clever by storing the actual dependencies loaded
-			JULEA_SPACK_DEPENDENCIES_LOADED=1
-
-			export JULEA_SPACK_DEPENDENCIES_LOADED
-		fi
-	else
-		printf 'Dependencies have already been loaded, skipping.\n' >&2
-	fi
-}
-
-spack_install_dependencies ()
+spack_install_dependencies()
 {
 	# FIXME does not fail if Git is not installed
 	if spack_clone
@@ -222,14 +120,17 @@ spack_install_dependencies ()
 			spack_cmd config --scope site add "packages:all:require:\"%${JULEA_SPACK_COMPILER}\""
 		fi
 
-		spack_cmd mark --implicit --all
+        spack_cmd mark --implicit --all
 
-		for dependency in $(spack_get_dependencies)
-		do
-			spack_install "${dependency}"
-		done
+        if spack_init
+        then
+            echo "Installing Spack packages"
+            spack env activate "${JULEA_SPACK_ENV}"
+            spack env status
+            spack install --fail-fast --deprecated
+        fi
 
-		spack_cmd gc --yes-to-all
+        spack_cmd gc --yes-to-all
 
 		if test -n "${CI}"
 		then
diff --git a/scripts/test.sh b/scripts/test.sh
index d300dac68..ae6d53d8a 100755
--- a/scripts/test.sh
+++ b/scripts/test.sh
@@ -24,8 +24,6 @@ SELF_BASE="${SELF_PATH##*/}"
 
 # shellcheck source=scripts/common
 . "${SELF_DIR}/common"
-# shellcheck source=scripts/spack
-. "${SELF_DIR}/spack"
 
 usage ()
 {
@@ -63,6 +61,7 @@ then
 	JULEA_SPACK_DIR="$(get_directory "${SELF_DIR}/..")/dependencies"
 fi
 
-spack_load_dependencies
+# shellcheck source=scripts/environment.sh
+. "${SELF_DIR}/environment.sh"
 
 run_test "$@"
diff --git a/spack.yaml b/spack.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..253d13461
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spack.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# This is a Spack Environment file.
+#
+# It describes a set of packages to be installed, along with
+# configuration settings.
+spack:
+  # add package specs to the `specs` list
+  # TODO: py-gcovr is only used for coverage and thus is only needed for CI
+  specs: 
+    - meson
+    - pkgconf
+
+    - glib
+    - libbson 
+    - libfabric fabrics=sockets,tcp,udp,verbs,rxd,rxm
+
+    - hdf5@1.14~mpi
+    - libfuse~utils
+    - lmdb
+    - sqlite
+
+    - gdbm@1.23
+    - leveldb
+    - mariadb-c-client
+    - mongo-c-driver
+    - otf
+    - rocksdb~static
+
+    - py-gcovr
+  
+  view: true
+  concretizer:
+    unify: true