diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
index b30e2a2..4f4cc9e 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -559,7 +559,7 @@ jobs:
 
           DB_CONTAINER="${{ needs.prepare.outputs.project_name }}-postgres-db-1"
           # Write docker credentials to a temp file locally, scp to remote, use it for docker auth
-          B64_AUTH=$(printf '%s:%s' "$VALID_USER" "$TOKEN" | base64 -w 0)
+          B64_AUTH=$(printf '%s:%s' "$VALID_USER" "$TOKEN" | base64 | tr -d '\n')
           printf '{"auths":{"git.infra.mintel.me":{"auth":"%s"}}}' "$B64_AUTH" > /tmp/docker_creds.json
           scp /tmp/docker_creds.json root@alpha.mintel.me:/tmp/docker_creds.json
           rm /tmp/docker_creds.json
@@ -568,8 +568,8 @@ jobs:
             docker network create '${{ needs.prepare.outputs.project_name }}-internal' || true
             docker volume create 'mintel-me_payload-db-data' || true
             cd $SITE_DIR
-            docker compose -p '${{ needs.prepare.outputs.project_name }}' --env-file '$ENV_FILE' pull
-            docker compose -p '${{ needs.prepare.outputs.project_name }}' --env-file '$ENV_FILE' up -d --remove-orphans
+            docker compose -p '${{ needs.prepare.outputs.project_name }}' --env-file \"$ENV_FILE\" pull
+            docker compose -p '${{ needs.prepare.outputs.project_name }}' --env-file \"$ENV_FILE\" up -d --remove-orphans
           "
 
       - name: 🧹 Post-Deploy Cleanup (Runner)