diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yaml
index 6e195f6..c593c2e 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yaml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yaml
@@ -70,12 +70,14 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Setup Kubectl
         run: |
-          if ! command -v kubectl &>/dev/null; then
-            for attempt in 1 2 3; do
-              curl -LO "https://files.m.daocloud.io/dl.k8s.io/release/v1.28.0/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl" && break
-              echo "Download attempt $attempt failed, retrying in 5s..." && sleep 5
-            done
-            chmod +x kubectl && mv kubectl /usr/bin/kubectl
+          if [ -f /usr/local/bin/kubectl ]; then
+            echo "Using mounted kubectl"
+          elif command -v kubectl &>/dev/null; then
+            echo "kubectl already in PATH"
+          else
+            echo "Downloading kubectl..."
+            curl -sLO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/v1.28.0/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl"
+            chmod +x kubectl && mv kubectl /usr/local/bin/kubectl
           fi
           kubectl version --client
 
@@ -86,6 +88,7 @@ jobs:
           chmod 600 $HOME/.kube/config
           echo "kubeconfig lines: $(wc -l < $HOME/.kube/config)"
           grep server $HOME/.kube/config || echo "WARNING: no server found in kubeconfig"
+          kubectl cluster-info 2>&1 | head -3 || true
 
       - name: Deploy to K3s
         id: deploy