diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 14d05fd3f..769e5c29d 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,7 +1,12 @@
 .DEFAULT_GOAL := help
 
+VENV := .venv
 TESTNET_VARIANT ?= conway_fast
 
+## ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+## Setup
+## ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
 .PHONY: install
 install: ## Install cardano_node_tests and its dependencies into a virtual environment
 	./scripts/setup_dev_venv.sh
@@ -30,48 +35,10 @@ reinstall-editable: ## Reinstall python package in editable mode from a given gi
 test-env: ## Set up test environment (variant: TESTNET_VARIANT=conway_fast)
 	@./scripts/setup_test_env.sh $(TESTNET_VARIANT:%_fast=%)
 
-# update flake.lock
-.PHONY: update-flake-lock
-update-flake-lock: ## Update flake.lock
-	nix flake update --accept-flake-config
-
-.PHONY: update-uv-lock
-update-uv-lock: ## Update uv lockfile
-	@exit_code=0; \
-	./scripts/uv_update_lock.sh || exit_code=$$?; \
-	if [ $$exit_code -ne 0 ] && [ $$exit_code -ne 10 ]; then \
-		echo "uv lockfile update failed. Retrying without cache..." >&2; \
-		./scripts/uv_update_lock.sh --refresh; \
-	else \
-		exit $$exit_code; \
-	fi
-
-.PHONY: init-lint
-init-lint: ## Initialize linters
-	pre-commit clean
-	pre-commit gc
-	find . -path '*/.mypy_cache/*' -delete
-	pre-commit uninstall
-	pre-commit install --install-hooks
-
-.PHONY: lint
-lint: ## Run linters
-	pre-commit run -a --show-diff-on-failure --color=always
-
-.PHONY: build-doc
-build-doc: ## Build sphinx documentation
-	mkdir -p src_docs/build
-	$(MAKE) -C src_docs clean
-	$(MAKE) -C src_docs html
-
-.PHONY: doc
-doc: ## Build and deploy sphinx documentation
-	./scripts/deploy_doc.sh
-
 # prepare cluster scripts for the given variant
 .PHONY: cluster-scripts
 cluster-scripts: ## Prepare local testnet cluster scripts (variant: TESTNET_VARIANT=conway_fast)
-	prepare-cluster-scripts -c -d dev_workdir/$(TESTNET_VARIANT) -t $(TESTNET_VARIANT)
+	$(VENV)/bin/prepare-cluster-scripts -c -d dev_workdir/$(TESTNET_VARIANT) -t $(TESTNET_VARIANT)
 
 # start the local testnet cluster
 .PHONY: start-cluster
@@ -93,8 +60,87 @@ stop-cluster: ## Stop local testnet cluster (variant: TESTNET_VARIANT=conway_fas
 	fi
 	./dev_workdir/$(TESTNET_VARIANT)/stop-cluster
 
+## ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+## Linting
+## ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+.PHONY: init-lint
+init-lint: ## Initialize linters
+	$(VENV)/bin/pre-commit clean
+	$(VENV)/bin/pre-commit gc
+	find . -path '*/.mypy_cache/*' -delete
+	$(VENV)/bin/pre-commit uninstall
+	$(VENV)/bin/pre-commit install --install-hooks
+
+.PHONY: lint
+lint: ## Run linters
+	$(VENV)/bin/pre-commit run -a --show-diff-on-failure --color=always
+
+.PHONY: fmt
+fmt: ## Format code with ruff
+	$(VENV)/bin/pre-commit run ruff-check -a
+	$(VENV)/bin/pre-commit run ruff-format -a
+
+## ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+## Documentation
+## ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+.PHONY: build-doc
+build-doc: ## Build sphinx documentation
+	mkdir -p src_docs/build
+	$(MAKE) -C src_docs clean
+	$(MAKE) -C src_docs html
+
+.PHONY: doc
+doc: ## Build and deploy sphinx documentation
+	./scripts/deploy_doc.sh
+
+## ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+## Maintenance
+## ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+# update flake.lock
+.PHONY: update-flake-lock
+update-flake-lock: ## Update flake.lock
+	nix flake update --accept-flake-config
+
+.PHONY: update-uv-lock
+update-uv-lock: ## Update uv lockfile
+	@exit_code=0; \
+	./scripts/uv_update_lock.sh || exit_code=$$?; \
+	if [ $$exit_code -ne 0 ] && [ $$exit_code -ne 10 ]; then \
+		echo "uv lockfile update failed. Retrying without cache..." >&2; \
+		./scripts/uv_update_lock.sh --refresh; \
+	else \
+		exit $$exit_code; \
+	fi
+
+.PHONY: clean
+clean: ## Clean build artifacts and caches
+	find . -type d -name __pycache__ -not -path './$(VENV)/*' -exec rm -rf {} +
+	find . -type d -name .pytest_cache -not -path './$(VENV)/*' -exec rm -rf {} +
+	find . -type d -name .mypy_cache -not -path './$(VENV)/*' -exec rm -rf {} +
+	find . -type d -name '*.egg-info' -not -path './$(VENV)/*' -exec rm -rf {} +
+	find . -name '*.pyc' -not -path './$(VENV)/*' -delete
+
+.PHONY: clean-all
+clean-all: clean ## Clean all build artifacts, caches, and virtual environment
+	@echo "Removing virtual environment: $(VENV)"
+	rm -rf -- "$(VENV)"
+
+## ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+## Help
+## ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
 .PHONY: help
 help: ## Show this help message
-	@awk 'BEGIN {FS = ":.*##"; printf "\nUsage:\n  make \033[36m<target>\033[0m\n\nTargets:\n"} \
-		/^[a-zA-Z_-]+:.*?##/ { printf "  \033[36m%-22s\033[0m %s\n", $$1, $$2 }' \
+	@awk 'BEGIN {FS = ":.*##"; printf "\nUsage:\n  make \033[36m<target>\033[0m\n"} \
+		/^## [A-Z][a-zA-Z]*$$/ { section = substr($$0, 4); next } \
+		/^[a-zA-Z_-]+:.*?##/ { \
+			if (section != last_section) { \
+				printf "\n\033[1m%s\033[0m\n", section; \
+				last_section = section; \
+			} \
+			printf "  \033[36m%-22s\033[0m %s\n", $$1, $$2; \
+		}' \
 		$(MAKEFILE_LIST)
diff --git a/cardano_node_tests/tests/test_dbsync.py b/cardano_node_tests/tests/test_dbsync.py
index a44c0a8d4..fdbeeeb4d 100644
--- a/cardano_node_tests/tests/test_dbsync.py
+++ b/cardano_node_tests/tests/test_dbsync.py
@@ -259,9 +259,12 @@ def test_blocks(self, cluster: clusterlib.ClusterLib):  # noqa: C901
             )
             raise AssertionError(msg)
 
-        # If cardano-node knows about Babbage and network is in Alonzo or higher era, check that
-        # the highest known protocol major version matches the expected value
-        if rec and not (rec.proto_major == 8 and rec.proto_minor == 0):
+        # Check that the highest known protocol major version matches the expected value
+        protocol_version = cluster.g_query.get_protocol_params()["protocolVersion"]
+        if rec and not (
+            rec.proto_major == protocol_version["major"]
+            and rec.proto_minor == protocol_version["minor"]
+        ):
             pytest.xfail(
                 f"protocol major version: {rec.proto_major}; "
                 f"protocol minor version: {rec.proto_minor}"