diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index ff4c1520a..85c741e4c 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ frontend:
       paths:
         - .well-known-cache
   script:
+    - "nix-shell -p gup --command 'make .npmrc'" # TODO: hotfix; make obsolete
     - "nix-shell -p nodejs_21 --command 'make frontend-build'"
   before_script: *nix-before
   needs: