diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yaml
index cab7e5ff..0aeff37d 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yaml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yaml
@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ jobs:
             if [ -n "${STAGE}" ] && [ -d "${STAGE}" ]; then
               git -C "${LIVE}" worktree remove --force "${STAGE}" 2>/dev/null || rm -rf "${STAGE}" || true
             fi
-            pm2 start next --update-env 2>/dev/null || pm2 restart next --update-env 2>/dev/null || true
+            pm2 restart next --update-env 2>/dev/null || pm2 start pnpm --name "next" -- start 2>/dev/null || true
             exit 1
           }
           trap 'error_handler $LINENO' ERR
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ jobs:
 
           DEPLOY_USER="$(id -un)"
           DEPLOY_GROUP="$(id -gn)"
-          sudo chown -R "${DEPLOY_USER}:${DEPLOY_GROUP}" "${LIVE}"
+          sudo chown -R "${DEPLOY_USER}:${DEPLOY_GROUP}" "${LIVE}" 2>/dev/null || true
           git config --global --add safe.directory "${LIVE}"
           git -C "${LIVE}" remote set-url origin /docker/gitea/gitea/git/repositories/remco/epicnext-cms.git/
 
@@ -325,16 +325,6 @@ jobs:
             echo "ERROR: stage build produced no .next/" >&2
             exit 1
           fi
-          # Verify standalone static files exist (required by Next.js standalone mode).
-          STANDALONE_STATIC="${STAGE}/.next/standalone/.next/static"
-          if [ -d "${STANDALONE_STATIC}" ] && [ -z "$(ls -A "${STANDALONE_STATIC}" 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
-            echo "WARNING: standalone .next/static is empty — copying fresh..."
-            cp -r "${STAGE}/.next/static/." "${STANDALONE_STATIC}/"
-          elif [ ! -d "${STANDALONE_STATIC}" ]; then
-            echo "WARNING: standalone static dir missing — creating..."
-            mkdir -p "${STANDALONE_STATIC}"
-            cp -r "${STAGE}/.next/static/." "${STANDALONE_STATIC}/"
-          fi
 
           echo "Cutover: stop service (free DB connections), migrate, swap .next..."
           CUTOVER_STARTED=1
@@ -387,7 +377,7 @@ jobs:
           # Prisma client is gitignored — regenerate into live src/generated.
           pnpm prisma:generate
 
-          sudo chown -R www-data:www-data "${LIVE}"
+          sudo chown -R www-data:www-data "${LIVE}" 2>/dev/null || true
 
           echo "Starting PM2 (zero-downtime reload)..."
           pm2 reload next --update-env || pm2 start next --update-env