diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/windows-smoke.yml b/.gitea/workflows/windows-smoke.yml
index ccd0d5f..084e2bd 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/windows-smoke.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/windows-smoke.yml
@@ -43,12 +43,16 @@ jobs:
           Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "$env:GITEA_URL/$env:REPO/releases/download/latest/LotusChat-x86_64-setup.exe" -OutFile smoke-installer\setup.exe
           Get-Item smoke-installer\setup.exe | Select-Object Name, Length
 
+      # A second actions/checkout in one job trips over the host runner's
+      # action cache on Windows ("Access is denied" on its pack files), so
+      # fetch the branch into a worktree with plain git instead.
       - name: Check out the branch to build
         if: ${{ inputs.ref != '' }}
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          ref: ${{ inputs.ref }}
-          path: build-src
+        shell: powershell
+        run: |
+          git fetch --depth=1 origin "${{ inputs.ref }}"
+          git worktree add --force build-src FETCH_HEAD
+          git -C build-src log --oneline -1
 
       - name: Build the branch
         if: ${{ inputs.ref != '' }}