diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index e88d66c..73f0545 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -10,10 +10,11 @@
 #   5. deploy    — restart services on the local machine (manual trigger)
 #
 # Executor: shell (runs directly on dashboard-dev using system Node.js)
+# Uses cache (not artifacts) for node_modules to avoid upload size limits.
 # =============================================================================
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-# Global cache — speeds up repeated runs by reusing node_modules
+# Global cache — persists node_modules between pipeline runs on this runner
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 cache:
   key: ${CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG}
@@ -39,20 +40,12 @@ install-backend:
   stage: install
   script:
     - npm install
-  artifacts:
-    paths:
-      - node_modules/
-    expire_in: 1 hour
 
 install-frontend:
   stage: install
   script:
     - cd frontend
     - npm install
-  artifacts:
-    paths:
-      - frontend/node_modules/
-    expire_in: 1 hour
 
 # =============================================================================
 # STAGE 2: Lint / static analysis
@@ -60,9 +53,9 @@ install-frontend:
 
 lint-frontend:
   stage: lint
-  needs: ["install-frontend"]
   script:
     - cd frontend
+    - npm install
     - npx eslint src/ --max-warnings 0
   allow_failure: true   # non-blocking until the team cleans up existing warnings
 
@@ -72,16 +65,16 @@ lint-frontend:
 
 test-backend:
   stage: test
-  needs: ["install-backend"]
   script:
+    - npm install
     - npx jest --ci --forceExit --detectOpenHandles backend/__tests__/
   timeout: 5 minutes
 
 test-frontend:
   stage: test
-  needs: ["install-frontend"]
   script:
     - cd frontend
+    - npm install
     - CI=true npx react-scripts test --watchAll=false --ci --forceExit
   timeout: 5 minutes
 
@@ -91,9 +84,9 @@ test-frontend:
 
 build-frontend:
   stage: build
-  needs: ["install-frontend", "test-frontend"]
   script:
     - cd frontend
+    - npm install
     - REACT_APP_API_BASE=/api REACT_APP_API_HOST="" npm run build
   artifacts:
     paths:
@@ -111,7 +104,6 @@ build-frontend:
 
 deploy:
   stage: deploy
-  needs: ["build-frontend"]
   rules:
     - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main" || $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "master"
       when: manual