diff --git a/.cirrus.yml b/.cirrus.yml
index 280948bcc7..0427b7aca5 100644
--- a/.cirrus.yml
+++ b/.cirrus.yml
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ env:
   GCP_PROJECT: pg-ci-images
   IMAGE_PROJECT: $GCP_PROJECT
   CONTAINER_REPO: us-docker.pkg.dev/${GCP_PROJECT}/ci
+  DISK_SIZE: 25
 
   # The lower depth accelerates git clone. Use a bit of depth so that
   # concurrent tasks and retrying older jobs have a chance of working.
@@ -27,6 +28,45 @@ env:
   PG_TEST_EXTRA: kerberos ldap ssl
 
 
+# Define how to run various types of tasks.
+
+# VMs provided by cirrus-ci. Each user has a limited number of "free" credits
+# for testing.
+cirrus_community_vm_template: &cirrus_community_vm_template
+  compute_engine_instance:
+    image_project: $IMAGE_PROJECT
+    image: family/$IMAGE_FAMILY
+    platform: $PLATFORM
+    cpu: $CPUS
+    disk: $DISK_SIZE
+
+
+default_linux_task_template: &linux_task_template
+  env:
+    PLATFORM: linux
+  <<: *cirrus_community_vm_template
+
+
+default_freebsd_task_template: &freebsd_task_template
+  env:
+    PLATFORM: freebsd
+  <<: *cirrus_community_vm_template
+
+
+default_windows_task_template: &windows_task_template
+  env:
+    PLATFORM: windows
+  <<: *cirrus_community_vm_template
+
+
+# macos workers provided by cirrus-ci
+default_macos_task_template: &macos_task_template
+  env:
+    PLATFORM: macos
+  macos_instance:
+    image: $IMAGE
+
+
 # What files to preserve in case tests fail
 on_failure: &on_failure
   log_artifacts:
@@ -45,17 +85,14 @@ task:
     CPUS: 2
     BUILD_JOBS: 3
     TEST_JOBS: 3
+    IMAGE_FAMILY: pg-ci-freebsd-13
+    DISK_SIZE: 50
 
     CCACHE_DIR: /tmp/ccache_dir
 
-  only_if: $CIRRUS_CHANGE_MESSAGE !=~ '.*\nci-os-only:.*' || $CIRRUS_CHANGE_MESSAGE =~ '.*\nci-os-only:[^\n]*freebsd.*'
+  <<: *freebsd_task_template
 
-  compute_engine_instance:
-    image_project: $IMAGE_PROJECT
-    image: family/pg-ci-freebsd-13
-    platform: freebsd
-    cpu: $CPUS
-    disk: 50
+  only_if: $CIRRUS_CHANGE_MESSAGE !=~ '.*\nci-os-only:.*' || $CIRRUS_CHANGE_MESSAGE =~ '.*\nci-os-only:[^\n]*freebsd.*'
 
   sysinfo_script: |
     id
@@ -152,19 +189,16 @@ task:
     CPUS: 4
     BUILD_JOBS: 4
     TEST_JOBS: 8 # experimentally derived to be a decent choice
+    IMAGE_FAMILY: pg-ci-bullseye
 
     CCACHE_DIR: /tmp/ccache_dir
     DEBUGINFOD_URLS: "https://debuginfod.debian.net"
 
     LINUX_CONFIGURE_FEATURES: *LINUX_CONFIGURE_FEATURES
 
-  only_if: $CIRRUS_CHANGE_MESSAGE !=~ '.*\nci-os-only:.*' || $CIRRUS_CHANGE_MESSAGE =~ '.*\nci-os-only:[^\n]*linux.*'
+  <<: *linux_task_template
 
-  compute_engine_instance:
-    image_project: $IMAGE_PROJECT
-    image: family/pg-ci-bullseye
-    platform: linux
-    cpu: $CPUS
+  only_if: $CIRRUS_CHANGE_MESSAGE !=~ '.*\nci-os-only:.*' || $CIRRUS_CHANGE_MESSAGE =~ '.*\nci-os-only:[^\n]*linux.*'
 
   ccache_cache:
     folder: ${CCACHE_DIR}
@@ -228,15 +262,15 @@ task:
     # work OK. See
     # https://postgr.es/m/20220927040208.l3shfcidovpzqxfh%40awork3.anarazel.de
     TEST_JOBS: 8
+    IMAGE: ghcr.io/cirruslabs/macos-ventura-base:latest
 
     CIRRUS_WORKING_DIR: ${HOME}/pgsql/
     CCACHE_DIR: ${HOME}/ccache
     MACPORTS_CACHE: ${HOME}/macports-cache
 
-  only_if: $CIRRUS_CHANGE_MESSAGE !=~ '.*\nci-os-only:.*' || $CIRRUS_CHANGE_MESSAGE =~ '.*\nci-os-only:[^\n]*(macos|darwin|osx).*'
+  <<: *macos_task_template
 
-  macos_instance:
-    image: ghcr.io/cirruslabs/macos-ventura-base:latest
+  only_if: $CIRRUS_CHANGE_MESSAGE !=~ '.*\nci-os-only:.*' || $CIRRUS_CHANGE_MESSAGE =~ '.*\nci-os-only:[^\n]*(macos|darwin|osx).*'
 
   sysinfo_script: |
     id
@@ -360,6 +394,8 @@ task:
     #   build
     MSBFLAGS: -m -verbosity:minimal "-consoleLoggerParameters:Summary;ForceNoAlign" /p:TrackFileAccess=false -nologo
 
+    DISK_SIZE: 50
+
     # If tests hang forever, cirrus eventually times out. In that case log
     # output etc is not uploaded, making the problem hard to debug. Of course
     # tests internally should have shorter timeouts, but that's proven to not
@@ -382,15 +418,12 @@ task:
     # given that it explicitly prevents crash dumps from working...
     # 0x8001 is SEM_FAILCRITICALERRORS | SEM_NOOPENFILEERRORBOX
     CIRRUS_WINDOWS_ERROR_MODE: 0x8001
+    IMAGE_FAMILY: pg-ci-windows-ci-vs-2019
+
+  <<: *windows_task_template
 
   only_if: $CIRRUS_CHANGE_MESSAGE !=~ '.*\nci-os-only:.*' || $CIRRUS_CHANGE_MESSAGE =~ '.*\nci-os-only:[^\n]*windows.*'
 
-  compute_engine_instance:
-    image_project: $IMAGE_PROJECT
-    image: family/pg-ci-windows-ci-vs-2019
-    platform: windows
-    cpu: $CPUS
-
   sysinfo_script: |
     chcp
     systeminfo