diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml
index 47f685c..0a641c1 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -125,7 +125,15 @@ jobs:
     # and MXAccess-adjacent code. Not required for a green portable build; runs where a runner exists.
     runs-on: [self-hosted, windows]
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      # act host-mode on Windows cannot stage JS actions (actions/checkout's dist/ is not
+      # materialized), so check the repo out manually. Public repo -> anonymous https clone.
+      - name: Checkout (manual)
+        shell: pwsh
+        run: |
+          git init -q .
+          git remote add origin "https://gitea.dohertylan.com/$env:GITHUB_REPOSITORY"
+          git -c protocol.version=2 fetch -q --depth 1 origin $env:GITHUB_SHA
+          git checkout -q --force FETCH_HEAD
       - name: Build x86 Worker
         run: dotnet build src/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Worker/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.Worker.csproj -p:Platform=x86
       - name: Worker tests
@@ -138,6 +146,13 @@ jobs:
     env:
       MXGATEWAY_RUN_LIVE_MXACCESS_TESTS: '1'
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      # Manual checkout — same act host-mode constraint as the windows job above.
+      - name: Checkout (manual)
+        shell: pwsh
+        run: |
+          git init -q .
+          git remote add origin "https://gitea.dohertylan.com/$env:GITHUB_REPOSITORY"
+          git -c protocol.version=2 fetch -q --depth 1 origin $env:GITHUB_SHA
+          git checkout -q --force FETCH_HEAD
       - name: Live MXAccess smoke
         run: dotnet test src/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.IntegrationTests/ZB.MOM.WW.MxGateway.IntegrationTests.csproj --filter FullyQualifiedName~WorkerLiveMxAccessSmokeTests