diff --git a/deploy.sh b/deploy.sh
index 83ddfd7..958ab1c 100755
--- a/deploy.sh
+++ b/deploy.sh
@@ -9,6 +9,28 @@ NC="\033[0m"
 log() { echo -e "${GREEN}[$(date +'%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')] $*${NC}"; }
 err() { echo -e "${RED}[$(date +'%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')] $*${NC}" 1>&2; }
 
+ensure_command() {
+  local cmd="$1"
+  command -v "$cmd" >/dev/null 2>&1
+}
+
+bootstrap_node() {
+  # In non-interactive SSH sessions, node/npm might not be on PATH (e.g. nvm in .bashrc).
+  if ensure_command npm && ensure_command node; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+  if [ -s "$HOME/.nvm/nvm.sh" ]; then
+    # shellcheck disable=SC1090
+    . "$HOME/.nvm/nvm.sh"
+    # Prefer default alias if configured, otherwise keep current.
+    nvm use --silent default >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+  fi
+}
+
+bootstrap_node
+if ! ensure_command git; then err "git not found in PATH"; exit 127; fi
+if ! ensure_command npm; then err "npm not found in PATH"; exit 127; fi
+
 log "Fetching latest changes..."
 git fetch --all --prune || { err "git fetch failed"; exit 1; }