diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index ff673175..9aba3983 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -18,3 +18,4 @@ tags
 .bsp/
 .conda-env/
 .#*
+first-clone-setup-fast-log
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 6c94c420..9bfb8fe7 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,23 @@
 
 This changelog follows the format defined here: https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/
 
+## [1.8.1] - 2022-10-18
+
+Various fixes and improvements, bump FireSim to 1.15.1.
+
+### Added
+* Bump chipyard to integrate mempress #1253
+
+### Changed
+* Default VCS simulators should generate FSDB #1252
+* Bump to FireSim 1.15.1 for various improvements #1258
+
+### Fixed
+* Revert to using sbt-launch.jar to run SBT #1251
+* Fix open files issue automatically on systems with a sufficiently large hard limit, to work around buildroot bug. #1258
+* Fixed PATH issues in generated env.sh #1258
+* Fixed scripts/repo-clean.sh to restore clean repo state again #1258
+
 ## [1.8.0] - 2022-09-30
 
 Adds support for NoC-based interconnects with Constellation (https://constellation.readthedocs.io/en/latest/). Switch to Conda for dependency/environment management. Bump Rocket Chip and other hardware libraries. Bump to FireSim 1.15.0.
diff --git a/build-setup.sh b/build-setup.sh
index 2435705b..8d5d25a5 100755
--- a/build-setup.sh
+++ b/build-setup.sh
@@ -96,4 +96,5 @@ $RDIR/scripts/gen-tags.sh
 cat << EOT >> env.sh
 # line auto-generated by $0
 conda activate $RDIR/.conda-env
+source $RDIR/scripts/fix-open-files.sh
 EOT
diff --git a/scripts/first-clone-setup-fast.sh b/scripts/first-clone-setup-fast.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..728fac1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/first-clone-setup-fast.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -ex
+
+{
+
+export MAKEFLAGS=-j16
+
+STARTDIR=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
+
+./build-setup.sh riscv-tools -f
+
+source $STARTDIR/.conda-env/etc/profile.d/conda.sh
+
+source env.sh
+
+./scripts/firesim-setup.sh
+cd sims/firesim
+source sourceme-f1-manager.sh --skip-ssh-setup
+
+cd sim
+unset MAKEFLAGS
+make verilator
+export MAKEFLAGS=-j16
+
+cd $STARTDIR/software/firemarshal
+./init-submodules.sh
+marshal -v build br-base.json
+
+cd $STARTDIR
+./scripts/repo-clean.sh
+
+} 2>&1 | tee first-clone-setup-fast-log
diff --git a/scripts/fix-open-files.sh b/scripts/fix-open-files.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..79e12e7a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/fix-open-files.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+
+# first, check if the system allows sufficient limits (the hard limit)
+HARD_LIMIT=$(ulimit -Hn)
+REQUIRED_LIMIT=16384
+
+if [ "$HARD_LIMIT" -lt "$REQUIRED_LIMIT" ]; then
+    echo "WARNING: Your system does not support an open files limit (the output of 'ulimit -Sn' and 'ulimit -Hn') of at least $REQUIRED_LIMIT, which is required to workaround a bug in buildroot. You will not be able to build a Linux distro with FireMarshal until this is addressed."
+fi
+
+# in any case, set the soft limit to the same value as the hard limit
+ulimit -Sn $(ulimit -Hn)
+
diff --git a/scripts/init-submodules-no-riscv-tools-nolog.sh b/scripts/init-submodules-no-riscv-tools-nolog.sh
index 76389b39..19eaeb8c 100755
--- a/scripts/init-submodules-no-riscv-tools-nolog.sh
+++ b/scripts/init-submodules-no-riscv-tools-nolog.sh
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ fi
 
 cat << EOT >> env.sh
 # line auto-generated by init-submodules-no-riscv-tools.sh
-__DIR="$(dirname "$(readlink -f "${BASH_SOURCE[0]:-${(%):-%x}}")")"
+__DIR="$RDIR"
 PATH=\$__DIR/bin:\$PATH
 PATH=\$__DIR/software/firemarshal:\$PATH
 EOT
diff --git a/scripts/repo-clean.sh b/scripts/repo-clean.sh
index 35a11deb..9c6d0389 100755
--- a/scripts/repo-clean.sh
+++ b/scripts/repo-clean.sh
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ rm -rf $RDIR/toolchains/esp-tools/riscv-tests/build.log
     pushd $RDIR/generators/constellation
     if [ -d espresso ]
     then
-	git submodule deinit espresso    
+	git submodule deinit -f espresso
     fi
     popd
 )
@@ -25,3 +25,11 @@ rm -rf $RDIR/toolchains/esp-tools/riscv-tests/build.log
     git config --local status.showUntrackedFiles no
     popd
 )
+(
+    pushd $RDIR/generators/cva6/src/main/resources/vsrc
+    if [ -d cva6 ]
+    then
+	git submodule deinit -f cva6
+    fi
+    popd
+)
diff --git a/sims/firesim b/sims/firesim
index 37d4fd03..8176b657 160000
--- a/sims/firesim
+++ b/sims/firesim
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit 37d4fd03d68af44bfe22712c102ec0c2b361c9f7
+Subproject commit 8176b657ee779ac4901b6b03aea0ac23a0b8874d