diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/main.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/main.yaml
index e486d1e..e8c2e6b 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/main.yaml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/main.yaml
@@ -37,28 +37,18 @@ jobs:
       - name: Validate Kubernetes manifest
         run: |
           # Offline check only: the runner has no cluster. The real apply happens
-          # in the deploy job using the KUBE_CONFIG secret.
-          python3 - <<'PY'
-          import sys, subprocess
-          try:
-              import yaml
-          except ImportError:
-              subprocess.run(["apk", "add", "--no-cache", "py3-yaml"], check=False)
-              import importlib
-              yaml = importlib.import_module("yaml")
-          kinds = []
-          with open("deploy/havenllo.yaml") as f:
-              for doc in yaml.safe_load_all(f):
-                  if doc is None:
-                      continue
-                  kinds.append(doc.get("kind"))
-          required = ["PersistentVolumeClaim", "Deployment", "Service", "Ingress"]
-          missing = [k for k in required if k not in kinds]
-          if missing:
-              print("MISSING KINDS:", missing)
-              sys.exit(1)
-          print("manifest docs OK:", kinds)
-          PY
+          # in the deploy job using the KUBE_CONFIG secret. Node is already
+          # installed in the verify job, so use it (no python on the slim image).
+          node -e '
+          const fs = require("fs");
+          const txt = fs.readFileSync("deploy/havenllo.yaml", "utf8");
+          const docs = txt.split(/\n---\n/).map(s => s.trim()).filter(Boolean);
+          const kinds = docs.map(d => { const m = d.match(/^kind:\s*(\S+)/m); return m ? m[1] : null; });
+          const req = ["PersistentVolumeClaim", "Deployment", "Service", "Ingress"];
+          const miss = req.filter(k => !kinds.includes(k));
+          console.log("docs:", docs.length, "kinds:", kinds.join(", "));
+          if (miss.length) { console.error("MISSING KINDS:", miss.join(", ")); process.exit(1); }
+          '
   build:
     name: Build and push image
     needs: verify