diff --git a/images/full/Dockerfile b/images/full/Dockerfile
index 6174c00..ac1e8c1 100644
--- a/images/full/Dockerfile
+++ b/images/full/Dockerfile
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ FROM ubuntu:24.04
 ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
 
 ARG TARGETARCH
+ARG NODE_VERSION=22.23.1
 
 # Install base tools, Docker, and utilities
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
@@ -24,9 +25,25 @@ RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
     docker.io \
     docker-buildx \
     docker-compose-v2 \
-    nodejs \
+    xz-utils \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
+# Install a current Node.js LTS runtime for JavaScript actions such as
+# actions/checkout@v4. Ubuntu 24.04's nodejs package is Node 18, which is too
+# old for current Gitea Actions runners. The official tarball supplies `node`;
+# keep a `nodejs` alias as well for tooling that expects Debian's command name.
+RUN case "${TARGETARCH}" in \
+      amd64) NODE_ARCH=x64 ;; \
+      arm64) NODE_ARCH=arm64 ;; \
+      *) echo "Unsupported Node.js architecture: ${TARGETARCH}" >&2; exit 1 ;; \
+    esac && \
+    curl -fsSLO "https://nodejs.org/dist/v${NODE_VERSION}/node-v${NODE_VERSION}-linux-${NODE_ARCH}.tar.xz" && \
+    curl -fsSLO "https://nodejs.org/dist/v${NODE_VERSION}/SHASUMS256.txt" && \
+    grep " node-v${NODE_VERSION}-linux-${NODE_ARCH}.tar.xz$" SHASUMS256.txt | sha256sum -c - && \
+    tar -xJf "node-v${NODE_VERSION}-linux-${NODE_ARCH}.tar.xz" -C /usr/local --strip-components=1 --no-same-owner && \
+    ln -sf /usr/local/bin/node /usr/local/bin/nodejs && \
+    rm "node-v${NODE_VERSION}-linux-${NODE_ARCH}.tar.xz" SHASUMS256.txt
+
 # Download and install kubectl matching the target architecture
 RUN KUBE_VER=$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt) && \
     curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/${KUBE_VER}/bin/linux/${TARGETARCH}/kubectl" && \
diff --git a/images/slim/Dockerfile b/images/slim/Dockerfile
index 7c07de6..6a40770 100644
--- a/images/slim/Dockerfile
+++ b/images/slim/Dockerfile
@@ -13,7 +13,12 @@ RUN apk add --no-cache \
     tar \
     gzip \
     nodejs \
-    docker-cli
+    docker-cli \
+    docker-cli-buildx \
+    docker-cli-compose \
+    && docker --version \
+    && docker buildx version \
+    && docker compose version
 
 # Download and install kubectl matching the target architecture
 RUN KUBE_VER=$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt) && \