# Unable to checkout code
**URL:** https://forum.gitea.com/t/unable-to-checkout-code/12295
**Category:** Actions
**Created:** [July 1, 2026, 3:38pm UTC](https://forum.gitea.com/t/unable-to-checkout-code/12295 "2026-07-01T15:38:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Ji563b54](https://forum.gitea.com/u/Ji563b54)
#### Post date: [July 1, 2026, 3:38pm UTC](https://forum.gitea.com/t/unable-to-checkout-code/12295/1 "2026-07-01T15:38:14Z")
I am new to gitea - I setup gitea and have a runner registered, but it won’t checkout code because it cannot find node on the PATH.
I thought that by manually installing node in the gitea-runner, that might resolve it, but no. I’ve looked at:
> [@Gitea actions: “Cannot find: node in PATH”](https://forum.gitea.com/t/gitea-actions-cannot-find-node-in-path/7544/4):
>
> I eperience the same issue: I’m using a docker-compose deployment for both gitea & act runner ; docker-compose file is equivalent to to one of the example: [gitea/act\_runner/src/branch/main/examples/docker-compose](https://gitea.com/gitea/act_runner/src/branch/main/examples/docker-compose) version: "3.4" services: gitea: container\_name: gitea restart: always image: gitea/gitea:latest environment: - USER\_UID=1000 - USER\_GID=1000 - GITEA\_\_server\_\_HTTP\_PORT=80 - GITEA\_\_server\_\_DOMAIN=git.lan - GITEA\_\_server\_\_SSH\_DOMAIN=git…
It might be as simple as adding labels to the runner to get node installed, but the documentation here also references images that are 4 years old.
I am running gitea 1.26.4.
I appreciate your help and feedback.
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### Author:  [@nite\_route](https://forum.gitea.com/u/nite_route)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2026, 2:20am UTC](https://forum.gitea.com/t/unable-to-checkout-code/12295/2 "2026-09-01T02:20:34Z")
node has to exist in the job container (or host runner) that actually runs the steps. installing it only inside the act\_runner container usually does nothing, that process just starts the job.
with the docker-compose runner, labels decide the image. if the label is a bare/custom image with no node, checkout dies with exactly that PATH error.
point ubuntu-latest (or whatever you use in the workflow) at a current runner image that includes node, eg the gitea/runner-images ones from the docs now, not the 4 year old examples.
if you intentionally want host mode, the label needs to be host and then node on that machine PATH matters. for docker labels, fix the image, dont apt install node in act\_runner.