diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
index 65d0ed0..9ebbf00 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/deploy.yml
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ jobs:
             "${CLONE_DIR}/" "${RELEASE_DIR}/"
 
           echo "=== 3. Link shared resources ==="
+          mkdir -p "${RELEASE_DIR}/data"
           # .env from shared dir (not in git)
           ln -sfn "${DEPLOY_BASE}/shared/.env" "${RELEASE_DIR}/.env"
           # uploads directory from shared (persist across releases)