diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml b/.circleci/config.yml
index 9eb63ece5..4351ad001 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml
@@ -51,7 +51,6 @@ jobs:
             command: |
               python -m pip install --user --upgrade --progress-bar off pip
               python -m pip install --user -e .
-              python -m pip install --user --upgrade --no-cache-dir --progress-bar off -r requirements_all.txt 
               python -m pip install --user --upgrade --progress-bar off -r docs/requirements.txt
               python -m pip install --user --upgrade --progress-bar off ipython sphinx-gallery memory_profiler              
           # python -m pip install --user --upgrade --progress-bar off ipython "https://api.github.com/repos/sphinx-gallery/sphinx-gallery/zipball/master" memory_profiler
diff --git a/requirements_all.txt b/.github/requirements_doctests.txt
similarity index 67%
rename from requirements_all.txt
rename to .github/requirements_doctests.txt
index 8a1a5f2f5..95000846d 100644
--- a/requirements_all.txt
+++ b/.github/requirements_doctests.txt
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@ numpy>=1.20
 scipy>=1.6
 matplotlib
 autograd
-pymanopt @ git+https://github.com/pymanopt/pymanopt.git@master
+pymanopt
 cvxopt
 scikit-learn
-torch<=2.11
+torch<2.12
 jax
 jaxlib
 tensorflow; python_version < '3.14'
diff --git a/.github/requirements_no_backend.txt b/.github/requirements_no_backend.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6c91630af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/requirements_no_backend.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+numpy>=1.20
+scipy>=1.6
+matplotlib
+autograd
+pymanopt
+cvxopt
+scikit-learn
+pytest
+cvxpy
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build_doc.yml b/.github/workflows/build_doc.yml
index e1620683f..fcc45fb4b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build_doc.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build_doc.yml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ on:
   pull_request:
   push:
     branches:
-      - 'master'  
+      - 'master'
 
 jobs:
   build:
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
     steps:
-    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v7
       with:
         submodules: true
     # Standard drop-in approach that should work for most people.
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@ jobs:
     - name: Get Python running
       run: |
         python -m pip install --user --upgrade --progress-bar off pip
-        python -m pip install --user --upgrade --progress-bar off -r requirements_all.txt
         python -m pip install --user --upgrade --progress-bar off -r docs/requirements.txt
         python -m pip install --user --upgrade --progress-bar off ipython sphinx-gallery memory_profiler
         python -m pip install -v --user -e .
@@ -45,7 +44,7 @@ jobs:
       uses: rickstaa/sphinx-action@master
       with:
         docs-folder: "docs/"
-    - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+    - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
       with:
         name: Documentation
         path: docs/build/html/
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build_tests.yml b/.github/workflows/build_tests.yml
index 2510004c1..df0652a3b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build_tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build_tests.yml
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ on:
     tags:
       - '**'
 
+env:
+  PY_VERSION: "3.13"
+
 jobs:
 
   Lint:
@@ -27,13 +30,13 @@ jobs:
 
 
     - name: Checking Out Repository
-      uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      uses: actions/checkout@v7
       with:
         submodules: true
     # Install Python & Packages
     - uses: actions/setup-python@v6
       with:
-        python-version: "3.14"
+        python-version: ${{ env.PY_VERSION }}
     - run: which python
     - name: Lint with pre-commit
       run: |
@@ -44,14 +47,14 @@ jobs:
   build_from_source:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v7
       with:
         submodules: true
 
     - name: Set up Python
-      uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+      uses: actions/setup-python@v6
       with:
-        python-version: "3.14"
+        python-version: ${{ env.PY_VERSION }}
     - name: Build from source
       run: |
         python -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
@@ -59,22 +62,77 @@ jobs:
         python setup.py sdist bdist_wheel
         pip install dist/*.tar.gz
 
-  linux:
+  doctests:
 
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     if: "!contains(github.event.head_commit.message, 'no ci')"
-    strategy:
-      max-parallel: 4
-      matrix:
-        python-version: ["3.11", "3.12", "3.13", "3.14"]
-
     steps:
     - name: Free Disk Space (Ubuntu)
       uses: insightsengineering/disk-space-reclaimer@v1
       with:
         android: true
         dotnet: true
-    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+      with:
+        submodules: true
+
+    - name: Set up Python
+      uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+      with:
+        python-version: ${{ env.PY_VERSION }}
+        cache: 'pip'
+    - name: Install dependencies
+      run: |
+        python -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools
+        pip install -r .github/requirements_doctests.txt
+        pip install pytest pytest-cov
+    - name: Install POT
+      run: |
+        pip install -e .
+    - name: Run tests
+      run: |
+        python -m pytest -v ot/ test/conftest.py --doctest-modules --color=yes --cov=./ --cov-report=xml
+
+  linux-minimal:
+
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: "!contains(github.event.head_commit.message, 'no ci')"
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+      with:
+        submodules: true
+
+    - name: Set up Python
+      uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+      with:
+        python-version: ${{ env.PY_VERSION }}
+        cache: 'pip'
+    - name: Install dependencies
+      run: |
+        python -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools
+        pip install pytest pytest-cov
+    - name: Install POT
+      run: |
+        pip install -e .
+    - name: Run tests
+      run: |
+        python -m pytest --durations=20 -v test/ ot/ --color=yes --cov=./ --cov-report=xml
+
+  linux:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: "!contains(github.event.head_commit.message, 'no ci')"
+    strategy:
+      max-parallel: 4
+      matrix:
+        python-version: ["3.11", "3.12", "3.13", "3.14"]
+
+    steps:
+    # - name: Free Disk Space (Ubuntu)
+    #   uses: insightsengineering/disk-space-reclaimer@v1
+    #   with:
+    #     android: true
+    #     dotnet: true
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v7
       with:
         submodules: true
 
@@ -89,41 +147,100 @@ jobs:
     - name: Install dependencies
       run: |
         python -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools
-        pip install -r requirements_all.txt
+        pip install -r .github/requirements_no_backend.txt
         pip install pytest pytest-cov
     - name: test POT import
       run: |
         python -c "import ot; print(ot.__version__)"
     - name: Run tests
       run: |
-        python -m pytest --durations=20 -v test/ ot/ --doctest-modules --color=yes --cov=./ --cov-report=xml
+        python -m pytest --durations=20 -v test/ --color=yes --cov=./ --cov-report=xml
     - name: Upload coverage reports to Codecov with GitHub Action
       uses: codecov/codecov-action@v4
 
-  linux-minimal-deps:
+  linux-torch:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: "!contains(github.event.head_commit.message, 'no ci')"
+
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+      with:
+        submodules: true
+
+    - name: Set up Python ${{ env.PY_VERSION }}
+      uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+      with:
+        python-version: ${{ env.PY_VERSION }}
+        cache: 'pip'
+    - name: Install POT
+      run: |
+        pip install -e .
+    - name: Install dependencies
+      run: |
+        python -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools
+        pip install torch torch_geometric geomloss pykeops scikit-learn
+        pip install pytest pytest-cov
+    - name: Run tests
+      run: |
+        python -m pytest --durations=20 -v test/ --color=yes --cov=./ --cov-report=xml
+    - name: Upload coverage reports to Codecov with GitHub Action
+      uses: codecov/codecov-action@v4
 
+  linux-jax:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     if: "!contains(github.event.head_commit.message, 'no ci')"
+
     steps:
-    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v7
       with:
         submodules: true
 
-    - name: Set up Python
-      uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+    - name: Set up Python ${{ env.PY_VERSION }}
+      uses: actions/setup-python@v6
       with:
-        python-version: "3.14"
+        python-version: ${{ env.PY_VERSION }}
         cache: 'pip'
+    - name: Install POT
+      run: |
+        pip install -e .
     - name: Install dependencies
       run: |
         python -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools
+        pip install jax jaxlib
         pip install pytest pytest-cov
+    - name: Run tests
+      run: |
+        python -m pytest --durations=20 -v test/ --color=yes --cov=./ --cov-report=xml
+    - name: Upload coverage reports to Codecov with GitHub Action
+      uses: codecov/codecov-action@v4
+
+  linux-tf:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: "!contains(github.event.head_commit.message, 'no ci')"
+
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v7
+      with:
+        submodules: true
+
+    - name: Set up Python ${{ env.PY_VERSION }}
+      uses: actions/setup-python@v6
+      with:
+        python-version: ${{ env.PY_VERSION }}
+        cache: 'pip'
     - name: Install POT
       run: |
         pip install -e .
+    - name: Install dependencies
+      run: |
+        python -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools
+        pip install tensorflow
+        pip install pytest pytest-cov
     - name: Run tests
       run: |
-        python -m pytest --durations=20 -v test/ ot/ --color=yes --cov=./ --cov-report=xml
+        python -m pytest --durations=20 -v test/ --color=yes --cov=./ --cov-report=xml
+    - name: Upload coverage reports to Codecov with GitHub Action
+      uses: codecov/codecov-action@v4
 
   # linux-minimal-deps-ft:
 
@@ -151,22 +268,17 @@ jobs:
   #       python -m pytest --durations=20 -v test/ ot/ --color=yes --cov=./ --cov-report=xml
 
   macos:
-     runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
+     runs-on: macos-latest
      if: "!contains(github.event.head_commit.message, 'no ci')"
-     strategy:
-       max-parallel: 4
-       matrix:
-         os: [macos-latest]
-         python-version: ["3.13"]
 
      steps:
-     - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+     - uses: actions/checkout@v7
        with:
         submodules: true
-     - name: Set up Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
-       uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+     - name: Set up Python ${{ env.PY_VERSION }}
+       uses: actions/setup-python@v6
        with:
-         python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
+         python-version: ${{ env.PY_VERSION }}
          cache: 'pip'
      - name: Install POT
        run: |
@@ -174,7 +286,7 @@ jobs:
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: |
          python -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools
-         pip install -r requirements_all.txt
+         pip install -r .github/requirements_no_backend.txt
          pip install pytest
      - name: Run tests
        run: |
@@ -184,19 +296,15 @@ jobs:
   windows:
     runs-on: windows-latest
     if: "!contains(github.event.head_commit.message, 'no ci')"
-    strategy:
-      max-parallel: 4
-      matrix:
-        python-version: ["3.13"]
 
     steps:
-    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v7
       with:
         submodules: true
-    - name: Set up Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
-      uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+    - name: Set up Python ${{ env.PY_VERSION }}
+      uses: actions/setup-python@v6
       with:
-        python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
+        python-version: ${{ env.PY_VERSION }}
         cache: 'pip'
     - name: RC.exe
       run: |
@@ -213,7 +321,7 @@ jobs:
         Invoke-VSDevEnvironment
         Get-Command rc.exe | Format-Table -AutoSize
     - name: Update pip
-      run : |
+      run: |
         python -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools
         python -m pip install cython
     - name: Install POT
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build_wheels.yml b/.github/workflows/build_wheels.yml
index e0158d89d..8617eb6bd 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build_wheels.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build_wheels.yml
@@ -15,11 +15,11 @@ jobs:
         os: [ubuntu-latest, ubuntu-24.04-arm, macos-latest, windows-latest]
 
     steps:
-    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v7
       with:
         submodules: true
-    - name: Set up Python 3.10
-      uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+    - name: Set up Python 3.11
+      uses: actions/setup-python@v6
       with:
         python-version: "3.11"
 
@@ -41,5 +41,3 @@ jobs:
       with:
         name: wheels-${{ strategy.job-index }}
         path: ./wheelhouse
-
-
diff --git a/.yamllint.yml b/.yamllint.yml
index e7c081ac9..5d871be42 100644
--- a/.yamllint.yml
+++ b/.yamllint.yml
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 extends: default
 
 ignore: |
-  .github/workflows/*.yml
   .circleci/config.yml
   codecov.yml
   .github/labeler.yml
@@ -9,3 +8,4 @@ ignore: |
 rules:
   line-length: disable
   document-start: disable
+  indentation: disable
diff --git a/CITATION.cff b/CITATION.cff
index 2b0c64ac0..2c73bd3bd 100644
--- a/CITATION.cff
+++ b/CITATION.cff
@@ -84,11 +84,12 @@ authors:
   - given-names: Marco
     family-names: Corneli
     affiliation: Université Côte d'Azur
-
 identifiers:
   - type: url
     value: 'https://github.com/PythonOT/POT'
     description: Code
+  - type: doi
+    value: 10.5281/zenodo.17161062
 repository-code: 'https://github.com/PythonOT/POT'
 url: 'https://pythonot.github.io/'
 keywords:
@@ -98,4 +99,4 @@ keywords:
   - wasserstein
   - gromov-wasserstein
 license: MIT
-version: 0.9.5
+version: 0.9.7
diff --git a/RELEASES.md b/RELEASES.md
index d74a11e82..51d89cc01 100644
--- a/RELEASES.md
+++ b/RELEASES.md
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 # Releases
 
-## 0.9.7.dev0## 0.9.7.dev0
+## 0.9.7
 
-This new release adds support for sparse cost matrices and a new lazy EMD solver that computes distances on-the-fly from coordinates, reducing memory usage from O(n×m) to O(n+m). Both implementations are backend-agnostic and preserve gradient computation for automatic differentiation.
+This new release adds support for sparse cost matrices and a new lazy exact OT solver that re-computes distances on-the-fly from coordinates, reducing memory usage from O(n×m) to O(n+m). Both implementations are backend-agnostic and preserve gradient computation for automatic differentiation. 
 
 #### New features 
 
@@ -34,7 +34,8 @@ This new release adds support for sparse cost matrices and a new lazy EMD solver
 - Wrapper for barycenter solvers with free support `ot.solvers.bary_free_support` (PR #730)
 - Build wheels on ubuntu ARM to avoid QEMU emulation (PR #818)
 - Add new methods to compute the linear transport map and the related 2-Wasserstein distance betweeen high-dimensional (HD) Gaussian distributions as described in [88], implemented in  `ot.gaussian.bures_wasserstein_mapping_hd` and `ot.gaussian.bures_wasserstein_distance_hd`, respectively. Two additional methods estimate the same quantities from the source and destination observed data and are implemented in `ot.gaussian.empirical_bures_wasserstein_mapping_hd` and `ot.gaussian.empirical_bures_wasserstein_distance_hd`, respectively (PR #814)
-- Fix docstrings for `lowrank_gromov_wasserstein_samples` and `lowrank_sinkhorn` (PR #823)   
+- Fix docstrings for `lowrank_gromov_wasserstein_samples` and `lowrank_sinkhorn` (PR #823)
+- Reorganize all tests per backend (PR #828)
 
 
 #### Closed issues
diff --git a/docs/requirements.txt b/docs/requirements.txt
index cf689f205..beb66b6bc 100644
--- a/docs/requirements.txt
+++ b/docs/requirements.txt
@@ -1,3 +1,17 @@
+numpy>=1.20
+scipy>=1.6
+matplotlib
+autograd
+pymanopt
+cvxopt
+scikit-learn
+torch<2.12
+pytest
+torch_geometric
+cvxpy
+geomloss
+pykeops
+
 sphinx
 sphinx-rtd-theme
 sphinx-gallery
diff --git a/ot/gnn/_layers.py b/ot/gnn/_layers.py
index b3adad489..1d1b54c59 100644
--- a/ot/gnn/_layers.py
+++ b/ot/gnn/_layers.py
@@ -7,14 +7,16 @@
 #         Rémi Flamary <remi.flamary@unice.fr>
 #
 # License: MIT License
-
-import torch
-import torch.nn as nn
-from ._utils import (
-    TFGW_template_initialization,
-    FGW_distance_to_templates,
-    wasserstein_distance_to_templates,
-)
+try:
+    import torch
+    import torch.nn as nn
+    from ._utils import (
+        TFGW_template_initialization,
+        FGW_distance_to_templates,
+        wasserstein_distance_to_templates,
+    )
+except ImportError:
+    pass
 
 
 class TFGWPooling(nn.Module):
diff --git a/ot/helpers/openmp_helpers.py b/ot/helpers/openmp_helpers.py
index ae2490542..fbe256625 100644
--- a/ot/helpers/openmp_helpers.py
+++ b/ot/helpers/openmp_helpers.py
@@ -5,12 +5,73 @@
 
 import os
 import sys
+import glob
+import tempfile
 import textwrap
 import subprocess
 
 from setuptools.errors import CompileError, LinkError
+from setuptools.command.build_ext import customize_compiler, new_compiler
 
-from pre_build_helpers import compile_test_program
+
+def _get_compiler():
+    ccompiler = new_compiler()
+    customize_compiler(ccompiler)
+    return ccompiler
+
+
+def compile_test_program(code, extra_preargs=[], extra_postargs=[]):
+    """Check that some C code can be compiled and run"""
+    ccompiler = _get_compiler()
+
+    # extra_(pre/post)args can be a callable to make it possible to get its
+    # value from the compiler
+    if callable(extra_preargs):
+        extra_preargs = extra_preargs(ccompiler)
+    if callable(extra_postargs):
+        extra_postargs = extra_postargs(ccompiler)
+
+    start_dir = os.path.abspath(".")
+
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp_dir:
+        try:
+            os.chdir(tmp_dir)
+
+            # Write test program
+            with open("test_program.c", "w") as f:
+                f.write(code)
+
+            os.mkdir("objects")
+
+            # Compile, test program
+            ccompiler.compile(
+                ["test_program.c"], output_dir="objects", extra_postargs=extra_postargs
+            )
+
+            # Link test program
+            objects = glob.glob(os.path.join("objects", "*" + ccompiler.obj_extension))
+            ccompiler.link_executable(
+                objects,
+                "test_program",
+                extra_preargs=extra_preargs,
+                extra_postargs=extra_postargs,
+            )
+
+            if "PYTHON_CROSSENV" not in os.environ:
+                # Run test program if not cross compiling
+                # will raise a CalledProcessError if return code was non-zero
+                output = subprocess.check_output("./test_program")
+                output = output.decode(sys.stdout.encoding or "utf-8").splitlines()
+            else:
+                # Return an empty output if we are cross compiling
+                # as we cannot run the test_program
+                output = []
+        except Exception:
+            raise
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(start_dir)
+
+    return output, extra_postargs
 
 
 def get_openmp_flag(compiler):
diff --git a/ot/helpers/pre_build_helpers.py b/ot/helpers/pre_build_helpers.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 51b231c42..000000000
--- a/ot/helpers/pre_build_helpers.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,69 +0,0 @@
-"""Helpers to check build environment before actual build of POT"""
-
-import os
-import sys
-import glob
-import tempfile
-import subprocess
-
-from setuptools.command.build_ext import customize_compiler, new_compiler
-
-
-def _get_compiler():
-    ccompiler = new_compiler()
-    customize_compiler(ccompiler)
-    return ccompiler
-
-
-def compile_test_program(code, extra_preargs=[], extra_postargs=[]):
-    """Check that some C code can be compiled and run"""
-    ccompiler = _get_compiler()
-
-    # extra_(pre/post)args can be a callable to make it possible to get its
-    # value from the compiler
-    if callable(extra_preargs):
-        extra_preargs = extra_preargs(ccompiler)
-    if callable(extra_postargs):
-        extra_postargs = extra_postargs(ccompiler)
-
-    start_dir = os.path.abspath(".")
-
-    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp_dir:
-        try:
-            os.chdir(tmp_dir)
-
-            # Write test program
-            with open("test_program.c", "w") as f:
-                f.write(code)
-
-            os.mkdir("objects")
-
-            # Compile, test program
-            ccompiler.compile(
-                ["test_program.c"], output_dir="objects", extra_postargs=extra_postargs
-            )
-
-            # Link test program
-            objects = glob.glob(os.path.join("objects", "*" + ccompiler.obj_extension))
-            ccompiler.link_executable(
-                objects,
-                "test_program",
-                extra_preargs=extra_preargs,
-                extra_postargs=extra_postargs,
-            )
-
-            if "PYTHON_CROSSENV" not in os.environ:
-                # Run test program if not cross compiling
-                # will raise a CalledProcessError if return code was non-zero
-                output = subprocess.check_output("./test_program")
-                output = output.decode(sys.stdout.encoding or "utf-8").splitlines()
-            else:
-                # Return an empty output if we are cross compiling
-                # as we cannot run the test_program
-                output = []
-        except Exception:
-            raise
-        finally:
-            os.chdir(start_dir)
-
-    return output, extra_postargs
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 4cfde74d4..f423f1c0e 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -15,19 +15,20 @@
 import numpy
 from Cython.Build import cythonize
 
-sys.path.append(os.path.join("ot", "helpers"))
+ROOT = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
+
+sys.path.append(os.path.join(ROOT, "ot", "helpers"))
 from openmp_helpers import check_openmp_support
 
 # dirty but working
 __version__ = re.search(
     r'__version__\s*=\s*[\'"]([^\'"]*)[\'"]',  # It excludes inline comment too
-    open("ot/__init__.py").read(),
+    open(os.path.join(ROOT, "ot/__init__.py")).read(),
 ).group(1)
 # The beautiful part is, I don't even need to check exceptions here.
 # If something messes up, let the build process fail noisy, BEFORE my release!
 
 # thanks PyPI for handling markdown now
-ROOT = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__))
 with open(os.path.join(ROOT, "README.md"), encoding="utf-8") as f:
     README = f.read()
 
diff --git a/test/test_helpers.py b/test/test_helpers.py
index 7a605f46f..28d0722ba 100644
--- a/test/test_helpers.py
+++ b/test/test_helpers.py
@@ -9,8 +9,12 @@
 
 sys.path.append(os.path.join("ot", "helpers"))
 
-from openmp_helpers import get_openmp_flag, check_openmp_support  # noqa
-from pre_build_helpers import _get_compiler, compile_test_program  # noqa
+from openmp_helpers import (
+    get_openmp_flag,
+    check_openmp_support,
+    _get_compiler,
+    compile_test_program,
+)  # noqa
 
 
 def test_helpers():