diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy-vps.yml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy-vps.yml
index 6ecb59e..fc9e718 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy-vps.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy-vps.yml
@@ -30,6 +30,12 @@ jobs:
           test -n "${VPS_HOST:-}"
           test -n "${VPS_USER:-}"
 
+          # act_runner images are minimal; telegrambot deploy installs these too.
+          if ! command -v rsync >/dev/null 2>&1 || ! command -v ssh >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            apt-get update -qq
+            apt-get install -y -qq rsync openssh-client
+          fi
+
           install -m 700 -d "$HOME/.ssh"
           printf '%s\n' "$SSH_KEY" > "$HOME/.ssh/deploy_key"
           chmod 600 "$HOME/.ssh/deploy_key"