diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yaml
index c67fe99d..c1ff8240 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yaml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yaml
@@ -21,15 +21,15 @@ jobs:
           # 2. Navigate to your website directory
           cd /var/www/atom-nexst/
           
-          # Fix ownership to ensure www-data owns the files
-          sudo chown -R www-data:www-data .git/
+          # Point Git directly to the local Gitea folder path
+          git remote set-url origin /docker/gitea/gitea/git/repositories/remco/epicnext-cms.git/
           
-          # Force Git to read directly from the local Gitea repository directory
-          sudo -u www-data git remote set-url origin /docker/gitea/gitea/git/repositories/remco/epicnext-cms.git/
+          # 3. Fetch and update code as root to bypass folder permission blocks
+          git fetch origin --prune
+          git reset --hard origin/main
           
-          # 3. Fetch and update code using the local web user
-          sudo -u www-data git fetch origin --prune
-          sudo -u www-data git reset --hard origin/main
+          # Fix ownership: Ensure www-data owns the files for the web server
+          sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/atom-nexst/
           
           # 4. Install dependencies, run migrations, and build the application
           /usr/local/bin/pnpm install --frozen-lockfile