diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
index 731939f..182608a 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -10,20 +10,49 @@ jobs:
     runs-on:
       - ubuntu-latest
       - self-hosted
-    env:
-      PATH: /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
     steps:
-      - name: Verify tools (node/npm/git)
+      - name: Locate node/npm and fix PATH
         run: |
-          echo "PATH=$PATH"
-          set -e
-          which git
-          node -v
-          npm -v
-          which curl
-          which ssh || true
-          which ssh-keygen || true
-          ls -la /usr/local/bin/ | grep -E 'node|npm|npx' || true
+          set +e
+          echo "--- initial PATH ---"
+          echo "$PATH"
+          echo
+          echo "--- find node/npm binaries (maxdepth 6, 15s timeout) ---"
+          timeout 15 find / \( -path /proc -o -path /sys \) -prune -o -type f \( -name node -o -name npm \) -print 2>/dev/null | head -n 30 || true
+          echo
+          echo "--- common locations ---"
+          for d in /usr/local/bin /usr/bin /opt/node/bin /root/.nvm/versions/node/*/bin /home/*/.nvm/versions/node/*/bin /snap/bin /opt/homebrew/bin; do
+            [ -x "$d/node" ] && echo "FOUND node in $d: $($d/node -v 2>/dev/null)"
+            [ -x "$d/npm" ]  && echo "FOUND npm  in $d: $($d/npm -v 2>/dev/null)"
+          done
+          echo
+          echo "--- choose first available node/npm dir and write to $GITHUB_ENV ---"
+          NODE_DIR=""
+          for d in /usr/local/bin /usr/bin /opt/node/bin /opt/homebrew/bin /snap/bin; do
+            [ -x "$d/node" ] && [ -x "$d/npm" ] && { NODE_DIR="$d"; break; }
+          done
+          if [ -z "$NODE_DIR" ]; then
+            d=$(dirname "$(find / -path /proc -prune -o -type f -name node -print 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)" 2>/dev/null)
+            [ -n "$d" ] && [ -x "$d/node" ] && [ -x "$d/npm" ] && NODE_DIR="$d"
+          fi
+          if [ -z "$NODE_DIR" ]; then
+            for candidate in /root/.nvm/versions/node/*/bin /home/*/.nvm/versions/node/*/bin; do
+              [ -d "$candidate" ] && [ -x "$candidate/node" ] && [ -x "$candidate/npm" ] && { NODE_DIR="$candidate"; break; }
+            done
+          fi
+          if [ -z "$NODE_DIR" ]; then
+            echo "FAIL: could not locate node/npm on this runner. Install node 20 on the runner host first."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "SELECTED NODE_DIR=$NODE_DIR"
+          echo "PATH=$NODE_DIR:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:$PATH" >> "$GITHUB_ENV"
+          echo
+          echo "--- verify ---"
+          export "PATH=$NODE_DIR:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:$PATH"
+          which node && node -v
+          which npm  && npm -v
+          which git  && git --version | head -n 1
+          which curl && which ssh && which scp && (docker --version || docker-compose --version || true)
 
       - name: Prepare workspace
         working-directory: /tmp
@@ -114,7 +143,7 @@ jobs:
           ssh -p $PORT $SSH_USER@$SSH_HOST "mkdir -p /opt/volunteer/app /opt/volunteer/data"
           scp -P $PORT -r deploy-pkg/app/* $SSH_USER@$SSH_HOST:/opt/volunteer/app/
           scp -P $PORT deploy-pkg/docker-compose.yml $SSH_USER@$SSH_HOST:/opt/volunteer/docker-compose.yml
-          ssh -p $PORT $SSH_USER@$SSH_HOST "cd /opt/volunteer && (docker compose down || docker-compose down || true) && (docker compose up -d --force-recreate || docker-compose up -d --force-recreate) && sleep 3 && (docker compose ps || docker-compose ps)"
+          ssh -p $PORT $SSH_USER@$SSH_HOST "cd /opt/volunteer && (docker compose down || docker-compose down || true) && (docker compose up -d --force-recreate || docker-compose up -d --force-recreate) && sleep 5 && (docker compose ps || docker-compose ps)"
 
       - name: Health check
         env:
@@ -123,5 +152,5 @@ jobs:
           SSH_USER: ${{ secrets.SSH_USER }}
         run: |
           PORT="${SSH_PORT:-22}"
-          ssh -p $PORT $SSH_USER@$SSH_HOST "for i in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10; do if curl -fsS http://localhost:3000/u > /dev/null; then echo 'Service OK'; exit 0; fi; echo Wait...; sleep 3; done; echo 'Service FAIL'; exit 1"
+          ssh -p $PORT $SSH_USER@$SSH_HOST "for i in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12; do if curl -fsS http://localhost:3000/u > /dev/null; then echo 'Service OK'; exit 0; fi; echo Wait...; sleep 3; done; echo '--- Service FAIL, diagnose ---'; (docker compose ps || docker-compose ps); echo '--- container logs last 30 ---'; (docker compose logs --tail 30 || docker-compose logs --tail 30); exit 1"