diff --git a/api/src/modules/gitea-setup/gitea-setup.service.ts b/api/src/modules/gitea-setup/gitea-setup.service.ts
index c22b6e1e..5307d56c 100644
--- a/api/src/modules/gitea-setup/gitea-setup.service.ts
+++ b/api/src/modules/gitea-setup/gitea-setup.service.ts
@@ -393,41 +393,29 @@ async function autoSetupIfNeeded(): Promise<{ alreadyComplete: boolean; success:
     // DB might not be ready yet
   }
 
-  // Wait for Gitea to be available and admin user to exist (up to 6 retries, 10s apart).
-  // The gitea-init.sh script creates the admin user after migrations,
+  // Wait for Gitea to be available and admin user to exist (up to 8 retries, 10s apart).
+  // The gitea-init container creates the admin user after gitea-app is healthy,
   // so we need to wait for both Gitea web AND admin auth to be ready.
+  // Note: REQUIRE_SIGNIN_VIEW=true blocks unauthenticated /version, so we use
+  // Basic Auth for the readiness check directly.
   let giteaReady = false;
-  for (let i = 0; i < 6; i++) {
+  for (let i = 0; i < 8; i++) {
     try {
-      const controller = new AbortController();
-      const timeout = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 5000);
-      try {
-        // Check if Gitea is online
-        const res = await fetch(`${env.GITEA_URL}/api/v1/version`, { signal: controller.signal });
-        if (res.ok) {
-          // Also verify admin auth works (user may not exist yet if init script is still running)
-          try {
-            await giteaBasicRequest<{ login: string }>('GET', '/user', 'admin', password);
-            giteaReady = true;
-            break;
-          } catch {
-            // Admin user not ready yet — gitea-init.sh may still be running
-          }
-        }
-      } finally {
-        clearTimeout(timeout);
-      }
+      // Check if Gitea is online AND admin auth works in one shot
+      await giteaBasicRequest<{ login: string }>('GET', '/user', 'admin', password);
+      giteaReady = true;
+      break;
     } catch {
-      // Not ready yet
+      // Not ready yet — Gitea may not be up, or admin user may not exist yet
     }
-    if (i < 5) {
-      logger.info(`Gitea auto-setup: waiting for Gitea + admin user (attempt ${i + 1}/6)...`);
+    if (i < 7) {
+      logger.info(`Gitea auto-setup: waiting for Gitea + admin user (attempt ${i + 1}/8)...`);
       await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 10000));
     }
   }
 
   if (!giteaReady) {
-    return { alreadyComplete: false, success: false, error: 'Gitea not reachable or admin user not ready after 6 attempts' };
+    return { alreadyComplete: false, success: false, error: 'Gitea not reachable or admin user not ready after 8 attempts' };
   }
 
   // Run setup
diff --git a/scripts/gitea-init.sh b/scripts/gitea-init.sh
index 2d7a0ffd..879a16b2 100755
--- a/scripts/gitea-init.sh
+++ b/scripts/gitea-init.sh
@@ -14,6 +14,12 @@ log()  { echo "$PREFIX $1"; }
 # The gitea binary needs app.ini to know the database connection.
 # On the Gitea Docker image, GITEA_CUSTOM defaults to /data/gitea
 # and app.ini lives at /data/gitea/conf/app.ini (created by gitea-app's entrypoint).
+# Gitea refuses to run as root. The init container bypasses the Gitea entrypoint,
+# so we must drop privileges ourselves. Re-exec as 'git' user via su-exec.
+if [ "$(id -u)" = "0" ]; then
+  exec su-exec git "$0" "$@"
+fi
+
 export GITEA_CUSTOM="${GITEA_CUSTOM:-/data/gitea}"
 
 if [ ! -f "$GITEA_CUSTOM/conf/app.ini" ]; then
@@ -35,7 +41,7 @@ if gitea admin user create --admin \
   --username "$GITEA_ADMIN_USER" \
   --password "$GITEA_ADMIN_PASSWORD" \
   --email "$GITEA_ADMIN_EMAIL" \
-  --must-change-password false 2>&1; then
+  --must-change-password=false 2>&1; then
   log "Admin user created successfully"
 else
   log "Admin user already exists (or creation skipped)"