diff --git a/.woodpecker.yml b/.woodpecker.yml
index 59a03d4..7cbe4ab 100644
--- a/.woodpecker.yml
+++ b/.woodpecker.yml
@@ -7,17 +7,17 @@ steps:
         set -eu
         mkdir -p ~/.ssh
 
-        # 🔐 Pull and decode known_hosts (raw in Secret Manager)
+        # Inject known_hosts content directly
         gcloud secrets versions access latest \
           --secret="STAGING_KNOWN_HOSTS" \
-          --project="aptivaai-dev" | base64 -d > ~/.ssh/known_hosts
+          --project="aptivaai-dev" > ~/.ssh/known_hosts
         chmod 644 ~/.ssh/known_hosts
 
-        # 🔐 Pull and decode SSH key (also raw in Secret Manager)
+        # Inject SSH key directly
         gcloud secrets versions access latest \
           --secret="STAGING_SSH_KEY" \
-          --project="aptivaai-dev" | base64 -d > ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
+          --project="aptivaai-dev" > ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
         chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
 
-        # ✅ Sanity check: SSH handshake only
+        # Sanity check: perform handshake
         ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=yes jcoakley@10.128.0.12 hostname