diff --git a/azure-pipelines/signing.yml b/azure-pipelines/signing.yml
index b72a9f9361..3c92d0393f 100644
--- a/azure-pipelines/signing.yml
+++ b/azure-pipelines/signing.yml
@@ -24,10 +24,6 @@ variables:
   - group: vcpkg-dependency-source-blobs
   - name: FMT_TARBALL_URL
     value: "$(fmt-tarball-url)"
-  - name: FMT_TARBALL_SHA
-    value: "$(fmt-tarball-sha)"
-  - name: FMT_TARBALL_DIRNAME
-    value: "$(fmt-tarball-dirname)"
   # If the user didn't override the signing type, then only real-sign on main.
   - ${{ if ne(parameters.SignTypeOverride, 'default') }}:
     - name: SignType
@@ -189,22 +185,12 @@ jobs:
       VCPKG_CE_SHA: $[ dependencies.arch_independent.outputs['shas.VCPKG_CE_SHA'] ]
       VCPKG_BASE_VERSION: $[ dependencies.arch_independent.outputs['versions.VCPKG_BASE_VERSION'] ]
     steps:
-    - task: CmdLine@2
-      displayName: "Download fmt library"
-      inputs:
-        failOnStderr: true
-        workingDirectory: "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)"
-        script: |
-          curl -sSL "$FMT_TARBALL_URL" --output ./fmtlib.tar.gz
-          printf "$FMT_TARBALL_SHA *./fmtlib.tar.gz\n" >checksum
-          shasum -c ./checksum -a 512 || exit 1
-          tar -xf ./fmtlib.tar.gz
     - task: CmdLine@2
       displayName: "Build vcpkg with CMake"
       inputs:
         failOnStderr: true
         script: |
-          cmake -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang++ -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF -DVCPKG_DEVELOPMENT_WARNINGS=ON -DVCPKG_WARNINGS_AS_ERRORS=ON -DVCPKG_BUILD_FUZZING=OFF -DVCPKG_EMBED_GIT_SHA=ON -DVCPKG_OFFICIAL_BUILD=ON -DCMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=10.13 -DCMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES="arm64;x86_64" -DFETCHCONTENT_FULLY_DISCONNECTED=ON "-DFETCHCONTENT_SOURCE_DIR_FMT=$(Build.BinariesDirectory)/$FMT_TARBALL_DIRNAME" -DVCPKG_BASE_VERSION=$VCPKG_BASE_VERSION -DVCPKG_STANDALONE_BUNDLE_SHA=$VCPKG_STANDALONE_BUNDLE_SHA -DVCPKG_CE_SHA=$VCPKG_CE_SHA -B "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)/build"
+          cmake -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang++ -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF -DVCPKG_DEVELOPMENT_WARNINGS=ON -DVCPKG_WARNINGS_AS_ERRORS=ON -DVCPKG_BUILD_FUZZING=OFF -DVCPKG_EMBED_GIT_SHA=ON -DVCPKG_OFFICIAL_BUILD=ON -DCMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET=10.13 -DCMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES="arm64;x86_64" "-DVCPKG_FMT_URL=$FMT_TARBALL_URL" -DVCPKG_BASE_VERSION=$VCPKG_BASE_VERSION -DVCPKG_STANDALONE_BUNDLE_SHA=$VCPKG_STANDALONE_BUNDLE_SHA -DVCPKG_CE_SHA=$VCPKG_CE_SHA -B "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)/build"
           make -j 8 -C "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)/build"
           zip -j "$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/vcpkg-macos.zip" "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)/build/vcpkg"
     - task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1
@@ -223,23 +209,12 @@ jobs:
       VCPKG_CE_SHA: $[ dependencies.arch_independent.outputs['shas.VCPKG_CE_SHA'] ]
       VCPKG_BASE_VERSION: $[ dependencies.arch_independent.outputs['versions.VCPKG_BASE_VERSION'] ]
     steps:
-    - task: CmdLine@2
-      displayName: "Download fmt library"
-      inputs:
-        failOnStderr: true
-        workingDirectory: "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)"
-        script: |
-          curl -sSL "$FMT_TARBALL_URL" --output "./fmtlib.tar.gz"
-          printf "$FMT_TARBALL_SHA *./fmtlib.tar.gz\n" >checksum
-          # shasum doesn't exist on rhel
-          sha512sum -c ./checksum || exit 1
-          tar -xf ./fmtlib.tar.gz
     - task: CmdLine@2
       displayName: "Build vcpkg with CMake"
       inputs:
         failOnStderr: true
         script: |
-          scl enable devtoolset-9 'cmake3 -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF -DVCPKG_DEVELOPMENT_WARNINGS=ON -DVCPKG_WARNINGS_AS_ERRORS=ON -DVCPKG_BUILD_FUZZING=OFF -DVCPKG_EMBED_GIT_SHA=ON -DVCPKG_OFFICIAL_BUILD=ON -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-static-libgcc -static-libstdc++" -DFETCHCONTENT_FULLY_DISCONNECTED=ON "-DFETCHCONTENT_SOURCE_DIR_FMT=$(Build.BinariesDirectory)/$FMT_TARBALL_DIRNAME" -DVCPKG_BASE_VERSION=$VCPKG_BASE_VERSION -DVCPKG_STANDALONE_BUNDLE_SHA=$VCPKG_STANDALONE_BUNDLE_SHA -DVCPKG_CE_SHA=$VCPKG_CE_SHA -B "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)/build"'
+          scl enable devtoolset-9 'cmake3 -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF -DVCPKG_DEVELOPMENT_WARNINGS=ON -DVCPKG_WARNINGS_AS_ERRORS=ON -DVCPKG_BUILD_FUZZING=OFF -DVCPKG_EMBED_GIT_SHA=ON -DVCPKG_OFFICIAL_BUILD=ON -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-static-libgcc -static-libstdc++" "-DVCPKG_FMT_URL=$FMT_TARBALL_URL" -DVCPKG_BASE_VERSION=$VCPKG_BASE_VERSION -DVCPKG_STANDALONE_BUNDLE_SHA=$VCPKG_STANDALONE_BUNDLE_SHA -DVCPKG_CE_SHA=$VCPKG_CE_SHA -B "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)/build"'
           make -j 4 -C "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)/build"
           mv "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)/build/vcpkg" "$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/vcpkg-glibc"
     - task: PublishBuildArtifacts@1
@@ -258,23 +233,12 @@ jobs:
       VCPKG_CE_SHA: $[ dependencies.arch_independent.outputs['shas.VCPKG_CE_SHA'] ]
       VCPKG_BASE_VERSION: $[ dependencies.arch_independent.outputs['versions.VCPKG_BASE_VERSION'] ]
     steps:
-    - task: CmdLine@2
-      displayName: "Download fmt library"
-      inputs:
-        failOnStderr: true
-        workingDirectory: "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)"
-        script: |
-          curl -sSL "$FMT_TARBALL_URL" --output "./fmtlib.tar.gz"
-          printf "$FMT_TARBALL_SHA *./fmtlib.tar.gz\n" >checksum
-          shasum -c ./checksum -a 512 || exit 1
-          tar -xf ./fmtlib.tar.gz
     - task: CmdLine@2
       displayName: "Build vcpkg in Alpine"
       inputs:
         failOnStderr: true
         script: |
-          mv "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)/$FMT_TARBALL_DIRNAME" external-fmtlib
-          docker build -t vcpkg-muslc-image -f azure-pipelines/vcpkg-alpine/Dockerfile .
+          docker build --build-arg "VCPKG_FMT_URL=$FMT_TARBALL_URL" -t vcpkg-muslc-image -f azure-pipelines/vcpkg-alpine/Dockerfile .
           docker create -ti --name vcpkg-muslc-container vcpkg-muslc-image sh
           docker cp vcpkg-muslc-container:/build/vcpkg "$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)/vcpkg-muslc"
           docker container rm vcpkg-muslc-container
@@ -298,22 +262,6 @@ jobs:
       VCPKG_CE_SHA: $[ dependencies.arch_independent.outputs['shas.VCPKG_CE_SHA'] ]
       VCPKG_BASE_VERSION: $[ dependencies.arch_independent.outputs['versions.VCPKG_BASE_VERSION'] ]
     steps:
-    - task: PowerShell@2
-      displayName: "Download fmt library"
-      inputs:
-        targetType: 'inline'
-        pwsh: true
-        failOnStderr: true
-        workingDirectory: "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)"
-        script: |
-          curl.exe -sSL "$env:FMT_TARBALL_URL" --output ./fmtlib.tar.gz
-          $hash = (Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA512 -Path ./fmtlib.tar.gz).Hash
-          if ($hash -ne "$env:FMT_TARBALL_SHA") {
-            throw "Unexpected hash for fmtlib download;
-            expected: $env:FMT_TARBALL_SHA
-            found   : $hash"
-          }
-          tar.exe -xf ./fmtlib.tar.gz
     - task: CmdLine@2
       displayName: "Build vcpkg x86 with CMake"
       inputs:
@@ -321,7 +269,7 @@ jobs:
         script: |
           call "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\Tools\VsDevCmd.bat" -arch=x86 -host_arch=x86
           cmake.exe --version
-          cmake.exe -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF -DVCPKG_DEVELOPMENT_WARNINGS=ON -DVCPKG_WARNINGS_AS_ERRORS=ON -DVCPKG_BUILD_FUZZING=OFF -DVCPKG_BUILD_TLS12_DOWNLOADER=ON -DVCPKG_EMBED_GIT_SHA=ON -DVCPKG_OFFICIAL_BUILD=ON -DFETCHCONTENT_FULLY_DISCONNECTED=ON "-DFETCHCONTENT_SOURCE_DIR_FMT=$(Build.BinariesDirectory)\%FMT_TARBALL_DIRNAME%" -DVCPKG_BASE_VERSION=%VCPKG_BASE_VERSION% -DVCPKG_STANDALONE_BUNDLE_SHA=%VCPKG_STANDALONE_BUNDLE_SHA% -DVCPKG_CE_SHA=%VCPKG_CE_SHA% -B "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)\x86"
+          cmake.exe -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF -DVCPKG_DEVELOPMENT_WARNINGS=ON -DVCPKG_WARNINGS_AS_ERRORS=ON -DVCPKG_BUILD_FUZZING=OFF -DVCPKG_BUILD_TLS12_DOWNLOADER=ON -DVCPKG_EMBED_GIT_SHA=ON -DVCPKG_OFFICIAL_BUILD=ON "-DVCPKG_FMT_URL=%FMT_TARBALL_URL%" -DVCPKG_BASE_VERSION=%VCPKG_BASE_VERSION% -DVCPKG_STANDALONE_BUNDLE_SHA=%VCPKG_STANDALONE_BUNDLE_SHA% -DVCPKG_CE_SHA=%VCPKG_CE_SHA% -B "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)\x86"
           ninja.exe -C "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)\x86"
     - task: CmdLine@2
       displayName: "Build vcpkg arm64 with CMake"
@@ -330,7 +278,7 @@ jobs:
         script: |
           call "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\Tools\VsDevCmd.bat" -arch=arm64 -host_arch=x86
           cmake.exe --version
-          cmake.exe -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF -DVCPKG_DEVELOPMENT_WARNINGS=ON -DVCPKG_WARNINGS_AS_ERRORS=ON -DVCPKG_BUILD_FUZZING=OFF -DVCPKG_BUILD_TLS12_DOWNLOADER=ON -DVCPKG_EMBED_GIT_SHA=ON -DVCPKG_OFFICIAL_BUILD=ON -DVCPKG_PDB_SUFFIX="-arm64" -DFETCHCONTENT_FULLY_DISCONNECTED=ON "-DFETCHCONTENT_SOURCE_DIR_FMT=$(Build.BinariesDirectory)\%FMT_TARBALL_DIRNAME%" -DVCPKG_BASE_VERSION=%VCPKG_BASE_VERSION% -DVCPKG_STANDALONE_BUNDLE_SHA=%VCPKG_STANDALONE_BUNDLE_SHA% -DVCPKG_CE_SHA=%VCPKG_CE_SHA% -B "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)\arm64"
+          cmake.exe -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF -DVCPKG_DEVELOPMENT_WARNINGS=ON -DVCPKG_WARNINGS_AS_ERRORS=ON -DVCPKG_BUILD_FUZZING=OFF -DVCPKG_BUILD_TLS12_DOWNLOADER=ON -DVCPKG_EMBED_GIT_SHA=ON -DVCPKG_OFFICIAL_BUILD=ON -DVCPKG_PDB_SUFFIX="-arm64" "-DVCPKG_FMT_URL=%FMT_TARBALL_URL%" -DVCPKG_BASE_VERSION=%VCPKG_BASE_VERSION% -DVCPKG_STANDALONE_BUNDLE_SHA=%VCPKG_STANDALONE_BUNDLE_SHA% -DVCPKG_CE_SHA=%VCPKG_CE_SHA% -B "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)\arm64"
           ninja.exe -C "$(Build.BinariesDirectory)\arm64"
     - task: MicroBuildSigningPlugin@3
       displayName: Install MicroBuild Signing
diff --git a/azure-pipelines/vcpkg-alpine/Dockerfile b/azure-pipelines/vcpkg-alpine/Dockerfile
index cb82923ec7..e3c7d3717b 100644
--- a/azure-pipelines/vcpkg-alpine/Dockerfile
+++ b/azure-pipelines/vcpkg-alpine/Dockerfile
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ RUN apk add alpine-sdk cmake ninja git curl tar gzip zip
 
 COPY . /source
 
-RUN cmake -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF -DVCPKG_DEVELOPMENT_WARNINGS=ON -DVCPKG_WARNINGS_AS_ERRORS=ON -DVCPKG_BUILD_FUZZING=OFF -DVCPKG_EMBED_GIT_SHA=OFF -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-static -s -static-libgcc -static-libstdc++" -DFETCHCONTENT_FULLY_DISCONNECTED=ON -DFETCHCONTENT_SOURCE_DIR_FMT=/source/external-fmtlib -S /source -B /build
+ARG VCPKG_FMT_URL
+
+RUN cmake -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF -DVCPKG_DEVELOPMENT_WARNINGS=ON -DVCPKG_WARNINGS_AS_ERRORS=ON -DVCPKG_BUILD_FUZZING=OFF -DVCPKG_EMBED_GIT_SHA=OFF -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-static -s -static-libgcc -static-libstdc++" "-DVCPKG_FMT_URL=$VCPKG_FMT_URL" -S /source -B /build
 
 RUN ninja -C build
diff --git a/cmake/Findfmt.cmake b/cmake/Findfmt.cmake
index 5af5ed5714..9a188c2656 100644
--- a/cmake/Findfmt.cmake
+++ b/cmake/Findfmt.cmake
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 option(VCPKG_DEPENDENCY_EXTERNAL_FMT "Use an external version of the fmt library" OFF)
+set(VCPKG_FMT_URL "https://github.com/fmtlib/fmt/archive/refs/tags/8.1.1.tar.gz" CACHE STRING "URL to the fmt release tarball to use.")
 
 include(FetchContent)
 FetchContent_Declare(
     fmt
-    GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/fmtlib/fmt
-    GIT_TAG b6f4ceaed0a0a24ccf575fab6c56dd50ccf6f1a9 # 8.1.1
+    URL "${VCPKG_FMT_URL}"
+    URL_HASH SHA512=794a47d7cb352a2a9f2c050a60a46b002e4157e5ad23e15a5afc668e852b1e1847aeee3cda79e266c789ff79310d792060c94976ceef6352e322d60b94e23189
 )
 
 if(NOT fmt_FIND_REQUIRED)