diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 26ba8dc..5ad34ad 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -60,10 +60,12 @@ release:
     TWINE_USERNAME: gitlab-ci-token
     TWINE_PASSWORD: $CI_JOB_TOKEN
     ENVIRONMENT: test
-  before_script:
-    - sudo chown -R gitlab-runner:gitlab-runner "$CI_PROJECT_DIR" || true
-    - sudo find "$CI_PROJECT_DIR" -type f -exec chmod 644 {} + || true
-    - sudo find "$CI_PROJECT_DIR" -type d -exec chmod 755 {} + || true
+  before_script: # common setup for every job
+    - python3.12 -m venv $VIRTUAL_ENV
+    - source $VIRTUAL_ENV/bin/activate
+    - pip install --upgrade pip
+    - find "$CI_PROJECT_DIR" -name '__pycache__' -type d -exec rm -rf {} + || true
+    - find "$CI_PROJECT_DIR" -name '*.pyc' -type f -delete || true
   script:
     # build and run commands within docker container context
     - docker compose build backend