diff --git a/.github/workflows/container_tests.yml b/.github/workflows/container_tests.yml
index ef310a3816..540fafcea1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/container_tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/container_tests.yml
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ jobs:
           python setup.py sdist
           ls dist
           export PREFIX=/tmp/$USER/$GITHUB_SHA
-          pip install --prefix $PREFIX dist/easybuild-framework*tar.gz
+          pip install --prefix $PREFIX dist/easybuild[-_]framework*tar.gz
           pip install --prefix $PREFIX https://github.com/easybuilders/easybuild-easyblocks/archive/develop.tar.gz
 
     - name: run test
diff --git a/.github/workflows/container_tests_apptainer.yml b/.github/workflows/container_tests_apptainer.yml
index 77d2a4a395..f7040000f9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/container_tests_apptainer.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/container_tests_apptainer.yml
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ jobs:
           python setup.py sdist
           ls dist
           export PREFIX=/tmp/$USER/$GITHUB_SHA
-          pip install --prefix $PREFIX dist/easybuild-framework*tar.gz
+          pip install --prefix $PREFIX dist/easybuild[-_]framework*tar.gz
           pip install --prefix $PREFIX https://github.com/easybuilders/easybuild-easyblocks/archive/develop.tar.gz
 
     - name: run test
diff --git a/.github/workflows/eb_command.yml b/.github/workflows/eb_command.yml
index ff9a5eaa4f..220258cd9f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/eb_command.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/eb_command.yml
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-20.04
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        python: [3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, '3.10', '3.11']
+        python: [3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, '3.10', '3.11']
       fail-fast: false
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v3
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ jobs:
           python setup.py sdist
           ls dist
           export PREFIX=/tmp/$USER/$GITHUB_SHA
-          pip install --prefix $PREFIX dist/easybuild-framework*tar.gz
+          pip install --prefix $PREFIX dist/easybuild[-_]framework*tar.gz
 
     - name: run tests for 'eb' command
       env:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/linting.yml b/.github/workflows/linting.yml
index d722761208..e7c25b22d7 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/linting.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/linting.yml
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-20.04
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        python-version: [3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, '3.10', '3.11']
+        python-version: [3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, '3.10', '3.11']
         
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v3
diff --git a/.github/workflows/unit_tests.yml b/.github/workflows/unit_tests.yml
index c79b515e42..c9f42891ec 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/unit_tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/unit_tests.yml
@@ -37,8 +37,6 @@ jobs:
         lc_all: [""]
         include:
           # Test different Python 3 versions with Lmod 8.x
-          - python: 3.5
-            modules_tool: ${{needs.setup.outputs.lmod8}}
           - python: 3.7
             modules_tool: ${{needs.setup.outputs.lmod8}}
           - python: 3.8
@@ -140,7 +138,7 @@ jobs:
           python setup.py sdist
           ls dist
           export PREFIX=/tmp/$USER/$GITHUB_SHA
-          pip install --prefix $PREFIX dist/easybuild-framework*tar.gz
+          pip install --prefix $PREFIX dist/easybuild[-_]framework*tar.gz
 
     - name: run test suite
       env:
diff --git a/RELEASE_NOTES b/RELEASE_NOTES
index 07c9756e67..5a45be8a56 100644
--- a/RELEASE_NOTES
+++ b/RELEASE_NOTES
@@ -4,6 +4,28 @@ For more detailed information, please see the git log.
 These release notes can also be consulted at https://easybuild.readthedocs.io/en/latest/Release_notes.html.
 
 
+v4.9.2 (12 June 2024)
+---------------------
+
+update/bugfix release
+
+- various enhancements, including:
+  - improve behavior when using extension which has 'nosource' enabled (#4506)
+  - enhance 'get_software_libdir' to return 'lib' or 'lib64' if only one of them contains library files (#4513)
+  - implement versions checks to avoid mixing major versions across the EasyBuild components (#4520, #4553)
+  - add support for easyconfig parameter 'module_only' (#4537)
+- various bug fixes, including:
+  - fix typo in patch_step logging (#4505)
+  - consider both 'easybuild-framework*.tar.gz' and 'easybuild_framework*.tar.gz' in CI workflows (#4507)
+  - don't delete existing environment module files when using '--dump-env-script' with '--force' or '--rebuild' (#4512)
+  - fix resolved (template) values in case of failure  (#4532)
+  - also consider '$CRAY_PE_LIBSCI_PREFIX_DIR' to determine installation prefix for cray-libsci (#4551)
+  - symlink downloaded repo at specified commit when using '--from-commit' so easyconfigs for dependencies are found (#4552)
+- other changes:
+  - code cleanup in 'easyblock.py' (#4519)
+  - stop running unit tests on Python 3.5 (#4530)
+
+
 v4.9.1 (5 April 2024)
 ---------------------
 
diff --git a/easybuild/framework/easyblock.py b/easybuild/framework/easyblock.py
index d2727d61ee..80cddf8819 100644
--- a/easybuild/framework/easyblock.py
+++ b/easybuild/framework/easyblock.py
@@ -1068,7 +1068,7 @@ def make_builddir(self):
             self.log.info("Overriding 'cleanupoldinstall' (to False), 'cleanupoldbuild' (to True) "
                           "and 'keeppreviousinstall' because we're building in the installation directory.")
             # force cleanup before installation
-            if build_option('module_only'):
+            if build_option('module_only') or self.cfg['module_only']:
                 self.log.debug("Disabling cleanupoldbuild because we run as module-only")
                 self.cfg['cleanupoldbuild'] = False
             else:
@@ -1139,7 +1139,7 @@ def make_dir(self, dir_name, clean, dontcreateinstalldir=False):
             if self.cfg['keeppreviousinstall']:
                 self.log.info("Keeping old directory %s (hopefully you know what you are doing)", dir_name)
                 return
-            elif build_option('module_only'):
+            elif build_option('module_only') or self.cfg['module_only']:
                 self.log.info("Not touching existing directory %s in module-only mode...", dir_name)
             elif clean:
                 remove_dir(dir_name)
@@ -1365,7 +1365,7 @@ def make_module_dep(self, unload_info=None):
                     multi_dep_mod_names[dep['name']].append(dep['short_mod_name'])
 
             multi_dep_load_defaults = []
-            for depname, depmods in sorted(multi_dep_mod_names.items()):
+            for _, depmods in sorted(multi_dep_mod_names.items()):
                 stmt = self.module_generator.load_module(depmods[0], multi_dep_mods=depmods,
                                                          recursive_unload=recursive_unload,
                                                          depends_on=depends_on)
@@ -1769,10 +1769,7 @@ def make_extension_string(self, name_version_sep='-', ext_sep=', ', sort=True):
         return ext_sep.join(exts_list)
 
     def prepare_for_extensions(self):
-        """
-        Also do this before (eg to set the template)
-        """
-        pass
+        """Ran before installing extensions (eg to set templates)"""
 
     def skip_extensions(self):
         """
@@ -2114,7 +2111,7 @@ def guess_start_dir(self):
         start_dir = ''
         # do not use the specified 'start_dir' when running as --module-only as
         # the directory will not exist (extract_step is skipped)
-        if self.start_dir and not build_option('module_only'):
+        if self.start_dir and not build_option('module_only') and not self.cfg['module_only']:
             start_dir = self.start_dir
 
         if not os.path.isabs(start_dir):
@@ -2198,9 +2195,9 @@ def handle_iterate_opts(self):
                 self.log.info("Current iteration index: %s", self.iter_idx)
 
             # pop first element from all iterative easyconfig parameters as next value to use
-            for opt in self.iter_opts:
-                if len(self.iter_opts[opt]) > self.iter_idx:
-                    self.cfg[opt] = self.iter_opts[opt][self.iter_idx]
+            for opt, value in self.iter_opts.items():
+                if len(value) > self.iter_idx:
+                    self.cfg[opt] = value[self.iter_idx]
                 else:
                     self.cfg[opt] = ''  # empty list => empty option as next value
                 self.log.debug("Next value for %s: %s" % (opt, str(self.cfg[opt])))
@@ -2212,12 +2209,12 @@ def post_iter_step(self):
         """Restore options that were iterated over"""
         # disable templating, since we're messing about with values in self.cfg
         with self.cfg.disable_templating():
-            for opt in self.iter_opts:
-                self.cfg[opt] = self.iter_opts[opt]
+            for opt, value in self.iter_opts.items():
+                self.cfg[opt] = value
 
                 # also need to take into account extensions, since those were iterated over as well
                 for ext in self.ext_instances:
-                    ext.cfg[opt] = self.iter_opts[opt]
+                    ext.cfg[opt] = value
 
                 self.log.debug("Restored value of '%s' that was iterated over: %s", opt, self.cfg[opt])
 
@@ -2349,7 +2346,7 @@ def check_readiness_step(self):
                 self.log.info("No module %s found. Not skipping anything." % self.full_mod_name)
 
         # remove existing module file under --force (but only if --skip is not used)
-        elif build_option('force') or build_option('rebuild'):
+        elif (build_option('force') or build_option('rebuild')) and not build_option('dump_env_script'):
             self.remove_module_file()
 
     def fetch_step(self, skip_checksums=False):
@@ -2607,7 +2604,7 @@ def patch_step(self, beginpath=None, patches=None):
             copy_patch = 'copy' in patch and 'sourcepath' not in patch
 
             self.log.debug("Source index: %s; patch level: %s; source path suffix: %s; copy patch: %s",
-                           srcind, level, srcpathsuffix, copy)
+                           srcind, level, srcpathsuffix, copy_patch)
 
             if beginpath is None:
                 try:
@@ -2751,10 +2748,7 @@ def _test_step(self):
             self.report_test_failure(err)
 
     def stage_install_step(self):
-        """
-        Install in a stage directory before actual installation.
-        """
-        pass
+        """Install in a stage directory before actual installation."""
 
     def install_step(self):
         """Install built software (abstract method)."""
@@ -3248,7 +3242,7 @@ def sanity_check_linked_shared_libs(self, subdirs=None):
         required_libs.extend(self.cfg['required_linked_shared_libs'])
 
         # early return if there are no banned/required libraries
-        if not (banned_libs + required_libs):
+        if not banned_libs + required_libs:
             self.log.info("No banned/required libraries specified")
             return []
         else:
@@ -3795,7 +3789,7 @@ def make_module_step(self, fake=False):
                 try:
                     self.make_devel_module()
                 except EasyBuildError as error:
-                    if build_option('module_only'):
+                    if build_option('module_only') or self.cfg['module_only']:
                         self.log.info("Using --module-only so can recover from error: %s", error)
                     else:
                         raise error
@@ -3903,7 +3897,7 @@ def skip_step(self, step, skippable):
         """Dedice whether or not to skip the specified step."""
         skip = False
         force = build_option('force')
-        module_only = build_option('module_only')
+        module_only = build_option('module_only') or self.cfg['module_only']
         sanity_check_only = build_option('sanity_check_only')
         skip_extensions = build_option('skip_extensions')
         skip_test_step = build_option('skip_test_step')
@@ -4463,7 +4457,7 @@ def copy_easyblocks_for_reprod(easyblock_instances, reprod_dir):
             else:
                 easyblock_paths.add(easyblock_path)
     for easyblock_path in easyblock_paths:
-        easyblock_basedir, easyblock_filename = os.path.split(easyblock_path)
+        easyblock_filename = os.path.basename(easyblock_path)
         copy_file(easyblock_path, os.path.join(reprod_easyblock_dir, easyblock_filename))
         _log.info("Dumped easyblock %s required for reproduction to %s", easyblock_filename, reprod_easyblock_dir)
 
@@ -4594,10 +4588,7 @@ def build_easyconfigs(easyconfigs, output_dir, test_results):
 
 
 class StopException(Exception):
-    """
-    StopException class definition.
-    """
-    pass
+    """Exception thrown to stop running steps"""
 
 
 def inject_checksums_to_json(ecs, checksum_type):
@@ -4645,14 +4636,14 @@ def inject_checksums_to_json(ecs, checksum_type):
 
         # actually inject new checksums or overwrite existing ones (if --force)
         existing_checksums = app.get_checksums_from_json(always_read=True)
-        for filename in checksums:
+        for filename, checksum in checksums.items():
             if filename not in existing_checksums:
-                existing_checksums[filename] = checksums[filename]
+                existing_checksums[filename] = checksum
             # don't do anything if the checksum already exist and is the same
-            elif checksums[filename] != existing_checksums[filename]:
+            elif checksum != existing_checksums[filename]:
                 if build_option('force'):
                     print_warning("Found existing checksums for %s, overwriting them (due to --force)..." % ec_fn)
-                    existing_checksums[filename] = checksums[filename]
+                    existing_checksums[filename] = checksum
                 else:
                     raise EasyBuildError("Found existing checksum for %s, use --force to overwrite them" % filename)
 
diff --git a/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/default.py b/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/default.py
index 965e6db037..ce11d0457b 100644
--- a/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/default.py
+++ b/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/default.py
@@ -109,6 +109,7 @@
     'hidden': [False, "Install module file as 'hidden' by prefixing its version with '.'", BUILD],
     'installopts': ['', 'Extra options for installation', BUILD],
     'maxparallel': [None, 'Max degree of parallelism', BUILD],
+    'module_only': [False, 'Only generate module file', BUILD],
     'parallel': [None, ('Degree of parallelism for e.g. make (default: based on the number of '
                         'cores, active cpuset and restrictions in ulimit)'), BUILD],
     'patches': [[], "List of patches to apply", BUILD],
diff --git a/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/easyconfig.py b/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/easyconfig.py
index 73182da7ac..2b6aaa751a 100644
--- a/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/easyconfig.py
+++ b/easybuild/framework/easyconfig/easyconfig.py
@@ -2026,12 +2026,14 @@ def resolve_template(value, tmpl_dict):
         # '%(name)s' -> '%(name)s'
         # '%%(name)s' -> '%%(name)s'
         if '%' in value:
+            orig_value = value
             value = re.sub(re.compile(r'(%)(?!%*\(\w+\)s)'), r'\1\1', value)
 
             try:
                 value = value % tmpl_dict
             except KeyError:
                 _log.warning("Unable to resolve template value %s with dict %s", value, tmpl_dict)
+                value = orig_value  # Undo "%"-escaping
     else:
         # this block deals with references to objects and returns other references
         # for reading this is ok, but for self['x'] = {}
diff --git a/easybuild/framework/extensioneasyblock.py b/easybuild/framework/extensioneasyblock.py
index 69c824fe7e..efd7c349f7 100644
--- a/easybuild/framework/extensioneasyblock.py
+++ b/easybuild/framework/extensioneasyblock.py
@@ -126,10 +126,12 @@ def _set_start_dir(self):
         elif ext_start_dir is None:
             # This may be on purpose, e.g. for Python WHL files which do not get extracted
             self.log.debug("Start dir is not set.")
-        else:
+        elif self.start_dir:
             # non-existing start dir means wrong input from user
-            warn_msg = "Provided start dir (%s) for extension %s does not exist: %s" % (self.start_dir, self.name,
-                                                                                        ext_start_dir)
+            raise EasyBuildError("Provided start dir (%s) for extension %s does not exist: %s",
+                                 self.start_dir, self.name, ext_start_dir)
+        else:
+            warn_msg = 'Failed to determine start dir for extension %s: %s' % (self.name, ext_start_dir)
             self.log.warning(warn_msg)
             print_warning(warn_msg, silent=build_option('silent'))
 
@@ -137,7 +139,10 @@ def run(self, unpack_src=False):
         """Common operations for extensions: unpacking sources, patching, ..."""
 
         # unpack file if desired
-        if unpack_src:
+        if self.options.get('nosource', False):
+            # If no source wanted use the start_dir from the main EC
+            self.ext_dir = self.master.start_dir
+        elif unpack_src:
             targetdir = os.path.join(self.master.builddir, remove_unwanted_chars(self.name))
             self.ext_dir = extract_file(self.src, targetdir, extra_options=self.unpack_options,
                                         change_into_dir=False, cmd=self.src_extract_cmd)
@@ -146,10 +151,9 @@ def run(self, unpack_src=False):
             # because start_dir value is usually a relative path (if it is set)
             change_dir(self.ext_dir)
 
-            self._set_start_dir()
+        self._set_start_dir()
+        if self.start_dir:
             change_dir(self.start_dir)
-        else:
-            self._set_start_dir()
 
         # patch if needed
         EasyBlock.patch_step(self, beginpath=self.ext_dir)
diff --git a/easybuild/main.py b/easybuild/main.py
index df5f23a460..451152f322 100644
--- a/easybuild/main.py
+++ b/easybuild/main.py
@@ -83,6 +83,8 @@
 from easybuild.tools.repository.repository import init_repository
 from easybuild.tools.systemtools import check_easybuild_deps
 from easybuild.tools.testing import create_test_report, overall_test_report, regtest, session_state
+from easybuild.tools.version import EASYBLOCKS_VERSION, FRAMEWORK_VERSION, UNKNOWN_EASYBLOCKS_VERSION
+from easybuild.tools.version import different_major_versions
 
 
 _log = None
@@ -440,9 +442,9 @@ def process_eb_args(eb_args, eb_go, cfg_settings, modtool, testing, init_session
     dry_run_mode = options.dry_run or options.dry_run_short or options.missing_modules
 
     keep_available_modules = any((
-        forced, dry_run_mode, options.extended_dry_run, any_pr_option_set, options.copy_ec, options.inject_checksums,
-        options.sanity_check_only, options.inject_checksums_to_json)
-    )
+        forced, dry_run_mode, any_pr_option_set, options.copy_ec, options.dump_env_script, options.extended_dry_run,
+        options.inject_checksums, options.inject_checksums_to_json, options.sanity_check_only
+    ))
 
     # skip modules that are already installed unless forced, or unless an option is used that warrants not skipping
     if not keep_available_modules:
@@ -618,6 +620,15 @@ def main(args=None, logfile=None, do_build=None, testing=False, modtool=None, pr
     (build_specs, _log, logfile, robot_path, search_query, eb_tmpdir, try_to_generate,
      from_pr_list, tweaked_ecs_paths) = cfg_settings
 
+    # compare running Framework and EasyBlocks versions
+    if EASYBLOCKS_VERSION == UNKNOWN_EASYBLOCKS_VERSION:
+        # most likely reason is running framework unit tests with no easyblocks installation
+        # so log a warning, to avoid test related issues
+        _log.warning("Unable to determine EasyBlocks version, so we'll assume it is not different from Framework")
+    elif different_major_versions(FRAMEWORK_VERSION, EASYBLOCKS_VERSION):
+        raise EasyBuildError("Framework (%s) and EasyBlock (%s) major versions are different." % (FRAMEWORK_VERSION,
+                                                                                                  EASYBLOCKS_VERSION))
+
     # load hook implementations (if any)
     hooks = load_hooks(options.hooks)
 
diff --git a/easybuild/toolchains/linalg/libsci.py b/easybuild/toolchains/linalg/libsci.py
index 07ea64ed82..6d7e93c16d 100644
--- a/easybuild/toolchains/linalg/libsci.py
+++ b/easybuild/toolchains/linalg/libsci.py
@@ -65,13 +65,20 @@ def _get_software_root(self, name, required=True):
         """Get install prefix for specified software name; special treatment for Cray modules."""
         if name == 'cray-libsci':
             # Cray-provided LibSci module
-            env_var = 'CRAY_LIBSCI_PREFIX_DIR'
-            root = os.getenv(env_var, None)
+            root = None
+            # consider both $CRAY_LIBSCI_PREFIX_DIR and $CRAY_PE_LIBSCI_PREFIX_DIR,
+            # cfr. https://github.com/easybuilders/easybuild-framework/issues/4536
+            env_vars = ('CRAY_LIBSCI_PREFIX_DIR', 'CRAY_PE_LIBSCI_PREFIX_DIR')
+            for env_var in env_vars:
+                root = os.getenv(env_var, None)
+                if root is not None:
+                    self.log.debug("Obtained install prefix for %s via $%s: %s", name, env_var, root)
+                    break
+
             if root is None:
                 if required:
-                    raise EasyBuildError("Failed to determine install prefix for %s via $%s", name, env_var)
-            else:
-                self.log.debug("Obtained install prefix for %s via $%s: %s", name, env_var, root)
+                    env_vars_str = ', '.join('$' + e for e in env_vars)
+                    raise EasyBuildError("Failed to determine install prefix for %s via $%s", name, env_vars_str)
         else:
             root = super(LibSci, self)._get_software_root(name, required=required)
 
diff --git a/easybuild/tools/config.py b/easybuild/tools/config.py
index 3a5cbecb55..6bec64764c 100644
--- a/easybuild/tools/config.py
+++ b/easybuild/tools/config.py
@@ -278,6 +278,7 @@ def mk_full_default_path(name, prefix=DEFAULT_PREFIX):
         'debug',
         'debug_lmod',
         'dump_autopep8',
+        'dump_env_script',
         'enforce_checksums',
         'experimental',
         'extended_dry_run',
diff --git a/easybuild/tools/github.py b/easybuild/tools/github.py
index ae9b78b5ed..6d4a1300fc 100644
--- a/easybuild/tools/github.py
+++ b/easybuild/tools/github.py
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@
 from easybuild.tools.py2vs3 import HTTPError, URLError, ascii_letters, urlopen
 from easybuild.tools.systemtools import UNKNOWN, get_tool_version
 from easybuild.tools.utilities import nub, only_if_module_is_available
+from easybuild.tools.version import FRAMEWORK_VERSION, different_major_versions
 
 
 _log = fancylogger.getLogger('github', fname=False)
@@ -587,9 +588,45 @@ def fetch_files_from_pr(pr, path=None, github_user=None, github_account=None, gi
         else:
             raise EasyBuildError("Couldn't find path to patched file %s", full_path)
 
+    if github_repo == GITHUB_EASYCONFIGS_REPO:
+        ver_file = os.path.join(final_path, 'setup.py')
+    elif github_repo == GITHUB_EASYBLOCKS_REPO:
+        ver_file = os.path.join(final_path, 'easybuild', 'easyblocks', '__init__.py')
+    else:
+        raise EasyBuildError("Don't know how to determine version for repo %s", github_repo)
+
+    # take into account that the file we need to determine repo version may not be available,
+    # for example when a closed PR is used (since then we only download files patched by the PR)
+    if os.path.exists(ver_file):
+        ver = _get_version_for_repo(ver_file)
+        if different_major_versions(FRAMEWORK_VERSION, ver):
+            raise EasyBuildError("Framework (%s) is a different major version than used in %s/%s PR #%s (%s)",
+                                 FRAMEWORK_VERSION, github_account, github_repo, pr, ver)
+
     return files
 
 
+def _get_version_for_repo(filename):
+    """Extract version from filename."""
+    _log.debug("Extract version from %s" % filename)
+
+    try:
+        ver_line = ""
+        with open(filename) as f:
+            for line in f.readlines():
+                if line.startswith("VERSION "):
+                    ver_line = line
+                    break
+
+        # version can be a string or LooseVersion
+        res = re.search(r"""^VERSION = .*['"](.*)['"].?$""", ver_line)
+
+        _log.debug("PR target version is %s" % res.group(1))
+        return res.group(1)
+    except Exception:
+        raise EasyBuildError("Couldn't determine version of PR from %s" % filename)
+
+
 def fetch_easyblocks_from_pr(pr, path=None, github_user=None):
     """Fetch patched easyblocks for a particular PR."""
     return fetch_files_from_pr(pr, path, github_user, github_repo=GITHUB_EASYBLOCKS_REPO)
@@ -612,6 +649,13 @@ def fetch_files_from_commit(commit, files=None, path=None, github_account=None,
     if github_repo is None:
         github_repo = GITHUB_EASYCONFIGS_REPO
 
+    if github_repo == GITHUB_EASYCONFIGS_REPO:
+        easybuild_subdir = os.path.join('easybuild', 'easyconfigs')
+    elif github_repo == GITHUB_EASYBLOCKS_REPO:
+        easybuild_subdir = os.path.join('easybuild', 'easyblocks')
+    else:
+        raise EasyBuildError("Unknown repo: %s", github_repo)
+
     if path is None:
         if github_repo == GITHUB_EASYCONFIGS_REPO:
             extra_ec_paths = build_option('extra_ec_paths')
@@ -655,6 +699,12 @@ def fetch_files_from_commit(commit, files=None, path=None, github_account=None,
     else:
         raise EasyBuildError("Unknown repo: %s" % github_repo)
 
+    # symlink subdirectories of 'easybuild/easy{blocks,configs}' into path that gets added to robot search path
+    mkdir(path, parents=True)
+    dirpath = os.path.join(repo_commit, easybuild_subdir)
+    for subdir in os.listdir(dirpath):
+        symlink(os.path.join(dirpath, subdir), os.path.join(path, subdir))
+
     # copy specified files to directory where they're expected to be found
     file_paths = []
     for file in files:
diff --git a/easybuild/tools/modules.py b/easybuild/tools/modules.py
index fc21a564b9..7318be4f4f 100644
--- a/easybuild/tools/modules.py
+++ b/easybuild/tools/modules.py
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@
 * Jens Timmerman (Ghent University)
 * David Brown (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
 """
+import glob
 import os
 import re
 import shlex
@@ -52,6 +53,7 @@
 from easybuild.tools.module_naming_scheme.mns import DEVEL_MODULE_SUFFIX
 from easybuild.tools.py2vs3 import subprocess_popen_text
 from easybuild.tools.run import run_cmd
+from easybuild.tools.systemtools import get_shared_lib_ext
 from easybuild.tools.utilities import get_subclasses, nub
 
 # software root/version environment variable name prefixes
@@ -1671,6 +1673,7 @@ def get_software_libdir(name, only_one=True, fs=None):
 
     Returns the library subdirectory, relative to software root.
     It fails if multiple library subdirs are found, unless only_one is False which yields a list of all library subdirs.
+    If only_one is True and fs is None, select the one subdirectory with shared or static libraries, if possible.
 
     :param name: name of the software package
     :param only_one: indicates whether only one lib path is expected to be found
@@ -1703,6 +1706,16 @@ def get_software_libdir(name, only_one=True, fs=None):
             if len(res) == 1:
                 res = res[0]
             else:
+                if fs is None and len(res) == 2:
+                    # if both lib and lib64 were found, check if only one (exactly) has libraries;
+                    # this is needed for software with library archives in lib64 but other files/directories in lib
+                    lib_glob = ['*.%s' % ext for ext in ['a', get_shared_lib_ext()]]
+                    has_libs = [any(glob.glob(os.path.join(root, subdir, f)) for f in lib_glob) for subdir in res]
+                    if has_libs[0] and not has_libs[1]:
+                        return res[0]
+                    elif has_libs[1] and not has_libs[0]:
+                        return res[1]
+
                 raise EasyBuildError("Multiple library subdirectories found for %s in %s: %s",
                                      name, root, ', '.join(res))
         return res
diff --git a/easybuild/tools/version.py b/easybuild/tools/version.py
index 0e82ff2ce9..bbe7f386ad 100644
--- a/easybuild/tools/version.py
+++ b/easybuild/tools/version.py
@@ -45,8 +45,9 @@
 # recent setuptools versions will *TRANSFORM* something like 'X.Y.Zdev' into 'X.Y.Z.dev0', with a warning like
 #   UserWarning: Normalizing '2.4.0dev' to '2.4.0.dev0'
 # This causes problems further up the dependency chain...
-VERSION = LooseVersion('4.9.1')
+VERSION = LooseVersion('4.9.2')
 UNKNOWN = 'UNKNOWN'
+UNKNOWN_EASYBLOCKS_VERSION = '0.0.UNKNOWN.EASYBLOCKS'
 
 
 def get_git_revision():
@@ -87,7 +88,7 @@ def get_git_revision():
 try:
     from easybuild.easyblocks import VERBOSE_VERSION as EASYBLOCKS_VERSION
 except Exception:
-    EASYBLOCKS_VERSION = '0.0.UNKNOWN.EASYBLOCKS'  # make sure it is smaller then anything
+    EASYBLOCKS_VERSION = UNKNOWN_EASYBLOCKS_VERSION  # make sure it is smaller then anything
 
 
 def this_is_easybuild():
@@ -103,3 +104,14 @@ def this_is_easybuild():
         msg = msg.encode('ascii')
 
     return msg
+
+
+def different_major_versions(v1, v2):
+    """Compare major versions"""
+    # Deal with version instances being either strings or LooseVersion
+    if isinstance(v1, str):
+        v1 = LooseVersion(v1)
+    if isinstance(v2, str):
+        v2 = LooseVersion(v2)
+
+    return v1.version[0] != v2.version[0]
diff --git a/test/framework/easyblock.py b/test/framework/easyblock.py
index e6b54e0bc8..19218eca6a 100644
--- a/test/framework/easyblock.py
+++ b/test/framework/easyblock.py
@@ -1685,7 +1685,7 @@ def test_fetch_patches(self):
         self.assertEqual(eb.patches[1]['level'], 4)
         self.assertEqual(eb.patches[2]['name'], toy_patch)
         self.assertEqual(eb.patches[2]['sourcepath'], 'foobar')
-        self.assertEqual(eb.patches[3]['name'], 'toy-0.0.tar.gz'),
+        self.assertEqual(eb.patches[3]['name'], 'toy-0.0.tar.gz')
         self.assertEqual(eb.patches[3]['copy'], 'some/path')
         self.assertEqual(eb.patches[4]['name'], toy_patch)
         self.assertEqual(eb.patches[4]['level'], 0)
@@ -2200,11 +2200,16 @@ def test_extension_set_start_dir(self):
         cwd = os.getcwd()
         self.assertExists(cwd)
 
-        def check_ext_start_dir(expected_start_dir, unpack_src=True):
+        def check_ext_start_dir(expected_start_dir, unpack_src=True, parent_startdir=None):
             """Check start dir."""
             # make sure we're in an existing directory at the start
             change_dir(cwd)
+
             eb = EasyBlock(ec['ec'])
+            if not os.path.exists(eb.builddir):
+                eb.make_builddir()  # Required to exist for samefile
+            eb.cfg['start_dir'] = parent_startdir
+
             eb.extensions_step(fetch=True, install=False)
             # extract sources of the extension
             ext = eb.ext_instances[-1]
@@ -2212,6 +2217,8 @@ def check_ext_start_dir(expected_start_dir, unpack_src=True):
 
             if expected_start_dir is None:
                 self.assertIsNone(ext.start_dir)
+                # Without a start dir we don't change the CWD
+                self.assertEqual(os.getcwd(), cwd)
             else:
                 self.assertTrue(os.path.isabs(ext.start_dir))
                 if ext.start_dir != os.sep:
@@ -2221,14 +2228,8 @@ def check_ext_start_dir(expected_start_dir, unpack_src=True):
                 else:
                     abs_expected_start_dir = os.path.join(eb.builddir, expected_start_dir)
                 self.assertEqual(ext.start_dir, abs_expected_start_dir)
-                if not os.path.exists(eb.builddir):
-                    eb.make_builddir()  # Required to exist for samefile
                 self.assertTrue(os.path.samefile(ext.start_dir, abs_expected_start_dir))
-            if unpack_src:
                 self.assertTrue(os.path.samefile(os.getcwd(), abs_expected_start_dir))
-            else:
-                # When not unpacking we don't change the CWD
-                self.assertEqual(os.getcwd(), cwd)
             remove_dir(eb.builddir)
 
         ec['ec']['exts_defaultclass'] = 'DummyExtension'
@@ -2257,11 +2258,8 @@ def check_ext_start_dir(expected_start_dir, unpack_src=True):
                 'start_dir': 'nonexistingdir'}),
         ]
         with self.mocked_stdout_stderr():
-            err_pattern = "Failed to change from .*barbar/barbar-0.0 to nonexistingdir.*"
+            err_pattern = r"Provided start dir \(nonexistingdir\) for extension barbar does not exist:.*"
             self.assertErrorRegex(EasyBuildError, err_pattern, check_ext_start_dir, 'whatever')
-            stderr = self.get_stderr()
-        warning_pattern = "WARNING: Provided start dir (nonexistingdir) for extension barbar does not exist"
-        self.assertIn(warning_pattern, stderr)
 
         # No error when using relative path in non-extracted source for some reason
         ec['ec']['exts_list'] = [
@@ -2291,6 +2289,15 @@ def check_ext_start_dir(expected_start_dir, unpack_src=True):
             check_ext_start_dir(os.sep, unpack_src=False)
             self.assertFalse(self.get_stderr())
 
+        # Go to ECs start dir if nosource is used
+        ec['ec']['exts_list'] = [
+            ('barbar', '0.0', {
+                'nosource': True}),
+        ]
+        with self.mocked_stdout_stderr():
+            check_ext_start_dir(self.test_prefix, parent_startdir=self.test_prefix)
+            self.assertFalse(self.get_stderr())
+
     def test_prepare_step(self):
         """Test prepare step (setting up build environment)."""
         test_easyconfigs = os.path.join(os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(__file__)), 'easyconfigs', 'test_ecs')
diff --git a/test/framework/easyconfig.py b/test/framework/easyconfig.py
index 45e2852221..4b63dc605b 100644
--- a/test/framework/easyconfig.py
+++ b/test/framework/easyconfig.py
@@ -3654,6 +3654,30 @@ def test_resolve_template(self):
         # '%(name)' is not a correct template spec (missing trailing 's')
         self.assertEqual(resolve_template('%(name)', tmpl_dict), '%(name)')
 
+        # Correct (un)escaping
+        values = (
+            ('10%', '10%'),
+            ('%of', '%of'),
+            ('10%of', '10%of'),
+            ('%s', '%s'),
+            ('%%(name)s', '%(name)s'),
+            ('%%%(name)s', '%FooBar'),
+            ('%%%%(name)s', '%%(name)s'),
+            # It doesn't matter what is resolved
+            ('%%(invalid)s', '%(invalid)s'),
+            ('%%%%(invalid)s', '%%(invalid)s'),
+        )
+        for value, expected in values:
+            self.assertEqual(resolve_template(value, tmpl_dict), expected)
+            # Templates are resolved
+            value += ' %(name)s'
+            expected += ' FooBar'
+            self.assertEqual(resolve_template(value, tmpl_dict), expected)
+
+        # On unknown values the value is returned unchanged
+        for value in ('%(invalid)s', '%(name)s %(invalid)s', '%%%(invalid)s', '% %(invalid)s', '%s %(invalid)s'):
+            self.assertEqual(resolve_template(value, tmpl_dict), value)
+
     def test_det_subtoolchain_version(self):
         """Test det_subtoolchain_version function"""
         _, all_tc_classes = search_toolchain('')
diff --git a/test/framework/modules.py b/test/framework/modules.py
index 82d03f6440..195bf0339c 100644
--- a/test/framework/modules.py
+++ b/test/framework/modules.py
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@
 from easybuild.tools.modules import curr_module_paths, get_software_libdir, get_software_root, get_software_version
 from easybuild.tools.modules import invalidate_module_caches_for, modules_tool, reset_module_caches
 from easybuild.tools.run import run_cmd
+from easybuild.tools.systemtools import get_shared_lib_ext
 
 
 # number of modules included for testing purposes
@@ -674,10 +675,23 @@ def test_get_software_root_version_libdir(self):
             os.environ.pop('EBROOT%s' % env_var_name)
             os.environ.pop('EBVERSION%s' % env_var_name)
 
-        # check expected result of get_software_libdir with multiple lib subdirs
+        # if only 'lib' has a library archive, use it
         root = os.path.join(tmpdir, name)
         mkdir(os.path.join(root, 'lib64'))
         os.environ['EBROOT%s' % env_var_name] = root
+        write_file(os.path.join(root, 'lib', 'libfoo.a'), 'foo')
+        self.assertEqual(get_software_libdir(name), 'lib')
+
+        remove_file(os.path.join(root, 'lib', 'libfoo.a'))
+
+        # also check vice versa with *shared* library in lib64
+        shlib_ext = get_shared_lib_ext()
+        write_file(os.path.join(root, 'lib64', 'libfoo.' + shlib_ext), 'foo')
+        self.assertEqual(get_software_libdir(name), 'lib64')
+
+        remove_file(os.path.join(root, 'lib64', 'libfoo.' + shlib_ext))
+
+        # check expected result of get_software_libdir with multiple lib subdirs
         self.assertErrorRegex(EasyBuildError, "Multiple library subdirectories found.*", get_software_libdir, name)
         self.assertEqual(get_software_libdir(name, only_one=False), ['lib', 'lib64'])
 
diff --git a/test/framework/options.py b/test/framework/options.py
index b2f3da43c1..94c4372f91 100644
--- a/test/framework/options.py
+++ b/test/framework/options.py
@@ -366,6 +366,25 @@ def test_skip(self):
 
         self.assertEqual(len(glob.glob(toy_mod_glob)), 1)
 
+        # check use of module_only parameter
+        remove_dir(os.path.join(self.test_installpath, 'modules', 'all', 'toy'))
+        remove_dir(os.path.join(self.test_installpath, 'software', 'toy', '0.0'))
+        args = [
+            test_ec,
+            '--rebuild',
+        ]
+        test_ec_txt += "\nmodule_only = True\n"
+        write_file(test_ec, test_ec_txt)
+        self.eb_main(args, do_build=True, raise_error=True)
+
+        self.assertEqual(len(glob.glob(toy_mod_glob)), 1)
+
+        # check that no software was installed
+        installdir = os.path.join(self.test_installpath, 'software', 'toy', '0.0')
+        installdir_glob = glob.glob(os.path.join(installdir, '*'))
+        easybuild_dir = os.path.join(installdir, 'easybuild')
+        self.assertEqual(installdir_glob, [easybuild_dir])
+
     def test_skip_test_step(self):
         """Test skipping testing the build (--skip-test-step)."""
 
@@ -1908,7 +1927,7 @@ def test_github_from_pr(self):
 
             # make sure that *only* these modules are listed, no others
             regex = re.compile(r"^ \* \[.\] .*/(?P<filepath>.*) \(module: (?P<module>.*)\)$", re.M)
-            self.assertTrue(sorted(regex.findall(outtxt)), sorted(modules))
+            self.assertEqual(sorted(x[1] for x in regex.findall(outtxt)), sorted(x[1] for x in modules))
 
             pr_tmpdir = os.path.join(tmpdir, r'eb-\S{6,8}', 'files_pr6424')
             regex = re.compile(r"Extended list of robot search paths with \['%s'\]:" % pr_tmpdir, re.M)
@@ -1943,12 +1962,12 @@ def test_github_from_pr(self):
 
             # make sure that *only* these modules are listed, no others
             regex = re.compile(r"^ \* \[.\] .*/(?P<filepath>.*) \(module: (?P<module>.*)\)$", re.M)
-            self.assertTrue(sorted(regex.findall(outtxt)), sorted(modules))
+            self.assertEqual(sorted(x[1] for x in regex.findall(outtxt)), sorted(x[1] for x in modules))
 
             for pr in ('12150', '12366'):
                 pr_tmpdir = os.path.join(tmpdir, r'eb-\S{6,8}', 'files_pr%s' % pr)
                 regex = re.compile(r"Extended list of robot search paths with .*%s.*:" % pr_tmpdir, re.M)
-                self.assertTrue(regex.search(outtxt), "Found pattern %s in %s" % (regex.pattern, outtxt))
+                self.assertTrue(regex.search(outtxt), "Found pattern '%s' in: %s" % (regex.pattern, outtxt))
 
         except URLError as err:
             print("Ignoring URLError '%s' in test_from_pr" % err)
@@ -2125,6 +2144,50 @@ def test_from_commit(self):
             print("Ignoring URLError '%s' in test_from_commit" % err)
             shutil.rmtree(tmpdir)
 
+        easyblock_template = '\n'.join([
+            "from easybuild.framework.easyblock import EasyBlock",
+            "class %s(EasyBlock):",
+            "    pass",
+        ])
+
+        # create fake custom easyblock for CMake that is required by easyconfig used in test below
+        easyblock_file = os.path.join(self.test_prefix, 'easyblocks', 'cmake.py')
+        write_file(easyblock_file, easyblock_template % 'EB_CMake')
+
+        # also test with an easyconfig that requires additional easyconfigs to resolve dependencies,
+        # cfr. https://github.com/easybuilders/easybuild-framework/issues/4540;
+        # using commit that adds CMake-3.18.4.eb (which requires ncurses-6.2.eb),
+        # see https://github.com/easybuilders/easybuild-easyconfigs/pull/13156
+        test_commit = '41eee3fe2e5102f52319481ca8dde16204dab590'
+        args = [
+            '--from-commit=%s' % test_commit,
+            '--dry-run',
+            '--tmpdir=%s' % tmpdir,
+            '--include-easyblocks=' + os.path.join(self.test_prefix, 'easyblocks', '*.py'),
+        ]
+        try:
+            outtxt = self.eb_main(args, logfile=dummylogfn, raise_error=True)
+            modules = [
+                (tmpdir, 'ncurses/6.2'),
+                (tmpdir, 'CMake/3.18.4'),
+            ]
+            for path_prefix, module in modules:
+                ec_fn = "%s.eb" % '-'.join(module.split('/'))
+                path = '.*%s' % os.path.dirname(path_prefix)
+                regex = re.compile(r"^ \* \[.\] %s.*%s \(module: %s\)$" % (path, ec_fn, module), re.M)
+                self.assertTrue(regex.search(outtxt), "Found pattern %s in %s" % (regex.pattern, outtxt))
+
+            # make sure that *only* these modules are listed, no others
+            regex = re.compile(r"^ \* \[.\] .*/(?P<filepath>.*) \(module: (?P<module>.*)\)$", re.M)
+            self.assertEqual(sorted(x[1] for x in regex.findall(outtxt)), sorted(x[1] for x in modules))
+
+            pr_tmpdir = os.path.join(tmpdir, r'eb-\S{6,8}', 'files_commit_%s' % test_commit)
+            regex = re.compile(r"Extended list of robot search paths with \['%s'\]:" % pr_tmpdir, re.M)
+            self.assertTrue(regex.search(outtxt), "Found pattern %s in %s" % (regex.pattern, outtxt))
+        except URLError as err:
+            print("Ignoring URLError '%s' in test_from_commit" % err)
+            shutil.rmtree(tmpdir)
+
     # must be run after test for --list-easyblocks, hence the '_xxx_'
     # cleaning up the imported easyblocks is quite difficult...
     def test_xxx_include_easyblocks_from_commit(self):
@@ -4522,7 +4585,7 @@ def test_github_new_update_pr(self):
         res = [d for d in res if os.path.basename(d) != os.path.basename(git_working_dir)]
         if len(res) == 1:
             unstaged_file_full = os.path.join(res[0], unstaged_file)
-            self.assertNotExists(unstaged_file_full), "%s not found in %s" % (unstaged_file, res[0])
+            self.assertNotExists(unstaged_file_full)
         else:
             self.fail("Found copy of easybuild-easyconfigs working copy")
 
@@ -5249,6 +5312,45 @@ def test_dump_env_script(self):
         ])
         self.assertEqual(out.strip(), expected_out)
 
+    def test_dump_env_script_existing_module(self):
+        toy_ec = 'toy-0.0.eb'
+
+        os.chdir(self.test_prefix)
+        self._run_mock_eb([toy_ec, '--force'], do_build=True)
+        env_script = os.path.join(self.test_prefix, os.path.splitext(toy_ec)[0] + '.env')
+        test_module = os.path.join(self.test_installpath, 'modules', 'all', 'toy', '0.0')
+        if get_module_syntax() == 'Lua':
+            test_module += '.lua'
+        self.assertExists(test_module)
+        self.assertNotExists(env_script)
+
+        args = [toy_ec, '--dump-env']
+        os.chdir(self.test_prefix)
+        self._run_mock_eb(args, do_build=True, raise_error=True)
+        self.assertExists(env_script)
+        self.assertExists(test_module)
+        module_content = read_file(test_module)
+        env_file_content = read_file(env_script)
+
+        error_msg = (r"Script\(s\) already exists, not overwriting them \(unless --force is used\): "
+                     + os.path.basename(env_script))
+        os.chdir(self.test_prefix)
+        self.assertErrorRegex(EasyBuildError, error_msg, self._run_mock_eb, args, do_build=True, raise_error=True)
+        self.assertExists(env_script)
+        self.assertExists(test_module)
+        # Unchanged module and env file
+        self.assertEqual(read_file(test_module), module_content)
+        self.assertEqual(read_file(env_script), env_file_content)
+
+        args.append('--force')
+        os.chdir(self.test_prefix)
+        self._run_mock_eb(args, do_build=True, raise_error=True)
+        self.assertExists(env_script)
+        self.assertExists(test_module)
+        # Unchanged module and env file
+        self.assertEqual(read_file(test_module), module_content)
+        self.assertEqual(read_file(env_script), env_file_content)
+
     def test_stop(self):
         """Test use of --stop."""
         args = ['toy-0.0.eb', '--force', '--stop=configure']