diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/cd.yaml b/.gitea/workflows/cd.yaml
index 21fe857a..1b35cb24 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/cd.yaml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/cd.yaml
@@ -1468,7 +1468,10 @@ jobs:
           # runner cleanup and incorrectly mark the deploy failed. Bound only
           # the smoke container; preserve pass evidence if it was written.
           if command -v timeout >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-            timeout --kill-after=20s 300s docker run --rm \
+            # 2026-06-14 Codex: act-runner host may provide BusyBox timeout,
+            # which rejects GNU-only --kill-after. The short -k form works
+            # with BusyBox and GNU timeout.
+            timeout -k 20s 300s docker run --rm \
               --name "awoooi-cd-${GITHUB_RUN_ID:-manual}-${GITHUB_RUN_ATTEMPT:-1}-e2e-smoke" \
               --cpus "1.5" \
               --memory "2g" \