diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/build.yml b/.gitea/workflows/build.yml
index 2dcc258..a4ffec4 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/build.yml
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ jobs:
       REGISTRY: registry.gitea.lab
       REGISTRY_LOGIN_ENDPOINT: http://registry.gitea.lab
       IMAGE_NAME: sancho41/condado-newsletter
+      REGISTRY_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.REGISTRY_USERNAME }}
+      REGISTRY_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.REGISTRY_PASSWORD }}
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
@@ -29,14 +31,11 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: log the docker registry login credentials (for debugging)
         run: |
-          echo "REGISTRY_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.REGISTRY_USERNAME }}"
-          echo "REGISTRY_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.REGISTRY_PASSWORD }}"
+          echo "REGISTRY_USERNAME: $REGISTRY_USERNAME"
+          echo "REGISTRY_PASSWORD: $REGISTRY_PASSWORD"
 
       - name: Log in to Gitea container registry
         run: |
-          REGISTRY_USERNAME="${{ secrets.REGISTRY_USERNAME }}"
-          REGISTRY_PASSWORD="${{ secrets.REGISTRY_PASSWORD }}"
-
           if [ -z "$REGISTRY_USERNAME" ]; then
             REGISTRY_USERNAME="${{ github.actor }}"
             echo "REGISTRY_USERNAME secret is empty; falling back to github.actor: $REGISTRY_USERNAME"