diff --git a/data/setup_repos.py b/data/setup_repos.py
index 8a9a794a..bde44e74 100755
--- a/data/setup_repos.py
+++ b/data/setup_repos.py
@@ -37,6 +37,8 @@ import shutil
 import subprocess
 import sys
 
+import koji
+
 # these are variables to make testing this script easier...change them
 # to /tmp for testing
 WORKAROUNDS_DIR = "/mnt/workarounds_repo"
@@ -74,7 +76,7 @@ async def download_item(item, arch, targetdir):
     Download something - a build or task (with koji) or an update
     (with bodhi).
     """
-    print(f"Downloading item {item}")
+    print(f"Downloading item {item} for arch {arch}")
     if item.isdigit():
         # this will be a task ID
         cmd = ("koji", "download-task", f"--arch={arch}", "--arch=noarch", item)
@@ -88,30 +90,39 @@ async def download_item(item, arch, targetdir):
         # https://forge.fedoraproject.org/quality/os-autoinst-distri-fedora/issues/510
         # we don't bother on the other paths as they're less important,
         # this is the one used to download real updates
+        ksess = koji.ClientSession("https://koji.fedoraproject.org/kojihub")
         tries = 5
-        stdout = ""
-        retcode = 0
+        builtarches = set()
         while tries:
-            (retcode, stdout, _) = await run_command("koji", "buildinfo", item)
-            if retcode:
+            try:
+                kbuild = await asyncio.to_thread(ksess.getBuild, item) or {}
+                kbid = kbuild.get("build_id")
+                if kbid:
+                    rpms = await asyncio.to_thread(ksess.listRPMs, kbid)
+                    builtarches = {dc["arch"] for dc in rpms}
+                    # drop these so the set will be empty if there are
+                    # only noarch packages
+                    builtarches.discard("src")
+                    builtarches.discard("noarch")
+                    break
+                else:
+                    print(f"Warning: Koji build ID discovery for {item} failed")
+                    break
+            except Exception as err:    # pylint: disable=broad-exception-caught
                 tries -= 1
+                print("Warning: arch check attempt failed...")
+                print(err)
+                print(f"Tries remaining: {tries}")
                 if tries:
                     await asyncio.sleep(2)
-            else:
-                break
-        # if that didn't work we'll default to downloading to be safe
-        if stdout and not retcode:
-            lines = stdout.splitlines()
-            foundarches = set()
-            knownarches = ["x86_64", "aarch64", "s390x", "ppc64le", "riscv64", "i686"]
-            for line in lines:
-                for checkarch in knownarches:
-                    if f".{checkarch}.rpm" in line:
-                        foundarches.add(checkarch)
-            # no foundarches means it's a noarch-only package, which is fine
-            if foundarches and arch not in foundarches:
-                print(f"{item} not built for {arch}, skipping!")
-                return False
+                else:
+                    print(f"Warning: arch check failed, default to downloading {item} for {arch}")
+                    break
+        # if there's anything in builtarches here, the package was
+        # built for at least one arch besides noarch, so we'll check
+        if builtarches and arch not in builtarches:
+            print(f"{item} not built for {arch}, skipping!")
+            return False
 
     # do the download and check for failure
     tries = 5