diff --git a/servers/gcp/k8s/gitea-runner/deployment.yaml b/servers/gcp/k8s/gitea-runner/deployment.yaml
index 7cc6659..ef1ff0b 100644
--- a/servers/gcp/k8s/gitea-runner/deployment.yaml
+++ b/servers/gcp/k8s/gitea-runner/deployment.yaml
@@ -1,16 +1,30 @@
 ---
-# Gitea Actions runner on GKE.
+# Gitea Actions runner on GKE Autopilot.
 #
 # Architecture:
 #   - init container registers the runner with Gitea (--no-interactive, idempotent)
 #   - main container runs act_runner daemon
-#   - docker:dind sidecar provides Docker for build jobs (privileged)
-#   - emptyDir /data persists runner state within a pod lifetime
 #
-# The runner uses Docker-in-Docker (DinD) rather than a host socket because
-# GKE Autopilot does not expose the node's Docker socket.
-# DinD requires privileged mode — the ci namespace has
-# pod-security.kubernetes.io/enforce: privileged (see namespace.yaml).
+# LIMITATION: GKE Autopilot does not allow privileged containers, so Docker-in-Docker
+# (DinD) is not available. The runner uses "host" label mode, which runs steps
+# directly inside the runner pod container rather than spawning Docker containers.
+# forgejo-runner v11 still requires a Docker daemon to start — this deployment
+# will fail until one of the following is resolved:
+#
+#   Option A (recommended): Switch to a GKE Standard node pool for the ci namespace.
+#     Add a standard node pool with sandbox.config.sandboxType=gvisor or allow
+#     privileged pods on specific node pools.
+#
+#   Option B: Use Cloud Build for docker build steps; use this runner for shell steps.
+#     Requires forking all workflow files to remove docker steps.
+#
+#   Option C: Point docker_host at an external Docker TCP daemon (e.g., on the GCE runner VM).
+#
+# Until resolved, the existing GCE VM runner (gitea-runner-1 in us-central1-a)
+# handles CI jobs. This deployment is a placeholder for when privileged pods are available.
+#
+# The ci namespace has pod-security.kubernetes.io/enforce: privileged set
+# (see namespace.yaml) but Autopilot's Warden enforces this at the node level.
 apiVersion: apps/v1
 kind: Deployment
 metadata:
@@ -45,28 +59,28 @@ spec:
                   --instance "${GITEA_INSTANCE_URL}" \
                   --token "${GITEA_RUNNER_REGISTRATION_TOKEN}" \
                   --name "gke-runner-$(hostname)" \
-                  --labels "ubuntu-latest:docker://us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/neuron-785695/neuron-ci/ci-base:latest,ubuntu-24.04:docker://us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/neuron-785695/neuron-ci/ci-base:latest,linux,x64" \
+                  --labels "ubuntu-latest:host,ubuntu-24.04:host,linux,x64" \
                   --no-interactive
               fi
               cat > /data/config.yaml << 'CONFIGEOF'
               runner:
                 capacity: 2
                 timeout: 3h
-              container:
-                network: host
-                docker_host: "tcp://localhost:2375"
-                force_pull: true
-                valid_volumes: []
-                default_image: "us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/neuron-785695/neuron-ci/ci-base:latest"
-                env:
-                  GITEA_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY: ""
+                envs:
                   BASH_ENV: "/usr/local/bin/git-ssh-init.sh"
+              container:
+                # GKE Autopilot blocks privileged DinD — steps run directly
+                # in the runner container (host mode). Labels use :host suffix.
+                network: host
+                docker_host: "-"
+                force_pull: false
+                valid_volumes: []
               CONFIGEOF
           env:
+            # Use the internal Gitea service to avoid Cloudflare Access auth.
+            # Gitea is in the same GKE cluster — use the ClusterIP service.
             - name: GITEA_INSTANCE_URL
-              value: "https://git.neuralplatform.ai"
-            - name: DOCKER_HOST
-              value: "tcp://localhost:2375"
+              value: "http://gitea.gitea.svc.cluster.local:80"
           envFrom:
             - secretRef:
                 name: gitea-runner-token
@@ -80,9 +94,7 @@ spec:
           command: ["act_runner", "daemon", "--config", "/data/config.yaml"]
           env:
             - name: GITEA_INSTANCE_URL
-              value: "https://git.neuralplatform.ai"
-            - name: DOCKER_HOST
-              value: "tcp://localhost:2375"
+              value: "http://gitea.gitea.svc.cluster.local:80"
           envFrom:
             - secretRef:
                 name: gitea-runner-token
@@ -97,25 +109,6 @@ spec:
             - mountPath: /data
               name: data
           workingDir: /data
-        - name: dind
-          image: docker:dind
-          securityContext:
-            privileged: true
-          env:
-            - name: DOCKER_TLS_CERTDIR
-              value: ""
-          resources:
-            requests:
-              cpu: "500m"
-              memory: "512Mi"
-            limits:
-              cpu: "4"
-              memory: "4Gi"
-          volumeMounts:
-            - mountPath: /var/lib/docker
-              name: docker-storage
       volumes:
         - name: data
           emptyDir: {}
-        - name: docker-storage
-          emptyDir: {}