diff --git a/.forgejo/workflows/deploy.yml b/.forgejo/workflows/deploy.yml
index 57cc197..6b5c45d 100644
--- a/.forgejo/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.forgejo/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -48,6 +48,15 @@ jobs:
 
           cd "$HOME/pms"
 
+          # ~/pms has historically been a SPARSE checkout limited to App/ (only the
+          # app deployed), so the service folders + ecosystem.config.js never landed
+          # on disk. Expand the working tree to the full repo, then re-materialise
+          # the tag. Idempotent: a no-op once sparse is disabled / if never sparse.
+          git sparse-checkout disable 2>/dev/null || true
+          git config --unset core.sparseCheckout 2>/dev/null || true
+          rm -f .git/info/sparse-checkout 2>/dev/null || true
+          git checkout -f "refs/tags/${GITHUB_REF_NAME}"
+
           # Pull only the few keys the services need out of the app's .env (the
           # single source of truth on the host). Never import PORT (each service's
           # port is fixed in ecosystem.config.js) or the runner's ephemeral
@@ -69,6 +78,11 @@ jobs:
 
           # Create on first release, zero-downtime reload thereafter. The
           # ecosystem registers only services whose dirs exist.
+          if [ ! -f ecosystem.config.js ]; then
+            echo "ERROR: ecosystem.config.js absent in $(pwd) after checkout — sparse-checkout not expanded?"
+            git sparse-checkout list 2>/dev/null || true
+            exit 1
+          fi
           pm2 startOrReload ecosystem.config.js --update-env
           pm2 save
           pm2 list
diff --git a/automation/README.md b/automation/README.md
index 042a36a..4b4a88e 100644
--- a/automation/README.md
+++ b/automation/README.md
@@ -181,9 +181,13 @@ progress under **Actions** on the Forgejo repo, or `pm2 logs forgejo-runner` on
 ## Microservices (GstService / EpfoService / PdfService)
 
 The standalone Playwright services are deployed by the **same `v*` tag** as the app.
-After the app restart, `deploy.yml`:
+`~/pms` was historically a **sparse checkout limited to `App/`**, so the service
+folders never landed on disk; the deploy now disables sparse-checkout (idempotent)
+to materialise the whole tree before managing the services. After the app restart,
+`deploy.yml`:
 
-1. exports the few secrets the services need out of `~/pms/App/.env`
+1. expands the working tree (sparse-checkout disable) and exports the few secrets
+   the services need out of `~/pms/App/.env`
    (`PDF_SERVICE_TOKEN`, `ALLOWED_ORIGIN`, `EPFO_LIVE`) — never `PORT` or the
    runner's ephemeral `FORGEJO_TOKEN`;
 2. for each service folder present, runs `npm install` + `npx playwright install