diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
index 9113fb8..79cf415 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -13,11 +13,23 @@ jobs:
       - name: Setup SSH
         env:
           SSH_KEY: ${{ secrets.SSH_PRIVATE_KEY }}
+          SSH_KEY_B64: ${{ secrets.SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_B64 }}
         run: |
           mkdir -p ~/.ssh
-          echo "$SSH_KEY" | sed 's/^[[:space:]]*//' > ~/.ssh/id_rsa
+          if [ -n "$SSH_KEY_B64" ]; then
+            echo "Using base64-encoded key"
+            echo "$SSH_KEY_B64" | base64 -d > ~/.ssh/id_rsa
+          else
+            echo "Using raw key, fixing newlines"
+            printf '%s' "$SSH_KEY" | sed 's/\\n/\n/g' > ~/.ssh/id_rsa
+          fi
           chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsa
-          ssh-keyscan -p ${{ vars.SERVER_PORT }} ${{ vars.SERVER_HOST }} >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts
+          # Sanity check — fail fast with a readable message if key is broken
+          ssh-keygen -y -f ~/.ssh/id_rsa > /dev/null || {
+            echo "::error::SSH key is invalid (libcrypto parse error). Use SSH_PRIVATE_KEY_B64 instead: base64 the file and put the result in the secret."
+            exit 1
+          }
+          ssh-keyscan -p ${{ vars.SERVER_PORT }} ${{ vars.SERVER_HOST }} >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts 2>/dev/null
 
       - name: Clone or pull on server
         run: |
@@ -36,18 +48,16 @@ jobs:
           WEB_APP_URL: ${{ vars.WEB_APP_URL }}
           DEBUG_CHAT_ID: ${{ vars.DEBUG_CHAT_ID }}
           SELFTEST_CHAT_ID: ${{ vars.SELFTEST_CHAT_ID }}
-          APP_ENV: prod
-          APP_DEBUG: 'false'
         run: |
-          ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa -p ${{ vars.SERVER_PORT }} ${{ vars.SERVER_USER }}@${{ vars.SERVER_HOST }} "cat > /home/pkirillw/dockered-services/max-bot-test/.env << 'ENVEOF'
+          ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa -p ${{ vars.SERVER_PORT }} ${{ vars.SERVER_USER }}@${{ vars.SERVER_HOST }} "cat > /home/pkirillw/dockered-services/max-bot-test/.env <<'ENVEOF'
           BOT_TOKEN=$BOT_TOKEN
           MAX_BOT_API_SECRET=$MAX_BOT_API_SECRET
           WEBHOOK_URL=$WEBHOOK_URL
           WEB_APP_URL=$WEB_APP_URL
           DEBUG_CHAT_ID=$DEBUG_CHAT_ID
           SELFTEST_CHAT_ID=$SELFTEST_CHAT_ID
-          APP_ENV=$APP_ENV
-          APP_DEBUG=$APP_DEBUG
+          APP_ENV=prod
+          APP_DEBUG=false
           ENVEOF"
 
       - name: Build and restart
@@ -60,4 +70,4 @@ jobs:
       - name: Health check
         run: |
           ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa -p ${{ vars.SERVER_PORT }} ${{ vars.SERVER_USER }}@${{ vars.SERVER_HOST }} "
-            sleep 5 && docker compose -f /home/pkirillw/dockered-services/max-bot-test/docker-compose.yml ps"
+            sleep 5 && cd /home/pkirillw/dockered-services/max-bot-test && docker compose ps"