diff --git a/.cargo/config.toml b/.cargo/config.toml
index a0b2a08a..d8baa144 100644
--- a/.cargo/config.toml
+++ b/.cargo/config.toml
@@ -6,3 +6,6 @@ rustflags = ["-C", "link-arg=-Wl,--stack,8000000"]
 
 [target.aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu]
 linker = "aarch64-linux-gnu-gcc"
+
+[profile.test]
+debug = 0
diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/check.yml b/.gitea/workflows/check.yml
index 508ebe7a..a622f2c6 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/check.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/check.yml
@@ -10,9 +10,30 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: docker
     container:
       image: hub.nationtech.io/harmony/harmony_composer:latest
+      options: --network host
+
     steps:
       - name: Checkout code
         uses: actions/checkout@v4
 
+      - name: Install kubectl
+        run: |
+          KUBECTL_VERSION=v1.31.5
+          curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/${KUBECTL_VERSION}/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl"
+          chmod +x kubectl
+          mv kubectl /usr/local/bin/kubectl
+          kubectl version --client
+
       - name: Run check script
         run: bash build/check.sh
+
+      - name: Debug kube connectivity
+        if: always()
+        run: |
+          echo "PATH=$PATH"
+          kubectl config current-context || true
+          kubectl config view --minify --raw || true
+          kubectl cluster-info || true
+          kubectl get nodes -v=8 || true
+          docker ps || true
+
diff --git a/harmony_assets/src/store/local.rs b/harmony_assets/src/store/local.rs
index 0a6486a4..76fded28 100644
--- a/harmony_assets/src/store/local.rs
+++ b/harmony_assets/src/store/local.rs
@@ -174,6 +174,7 @@ mod tests {
     #[cfg(feature = "reqwest")]
     mod download_tests {
         use super::*;
+        use crate::ChecksumAlgo;
         use httptest::{Expectation, Server, matchers::request, responders::*};
 
         fn test_asset_with_url(url: &str, checksum: &str) -> Asset {
diff --git a/k3d/src/lib.rs b/k3d/src/lib.rs
index 193a9eb4..200b2533 100644
--- a/k3d/src/lib.rs
+++ b/k3d/src/lib.rs
@@ -220,6 +220,7 @@ impl K3d {
         debug!("Initializing k3d cluster '{}'", cluster_name);
 
         self.create_cluster(cluster_name)?;
+        self.ensure_k3d_config_is_default(cluster_name)?;
         self.create_kubernetes_client().await
     }
 
@@ -263,12 +264,11 @@ impl K3d {
             client = self.initialize_cluster().await?;
         } else {
             self.start_cluster().await?;
-
+            self.ensure_k3d_config_is_default(self.get_cluster_name()?)?;
             debug!("K3d and cluster are already properly set up");
             client = self.create_kubernetes_client().await?;
         }
 
-        self.ensure_k3d_config_is_default(self.get_cluster_name()?)?;
         Ok(client)
     }
 
@@ -400,8 +400,20 @@ impl K3d {
     }
 
     fn ensure_k3d_config_is_default(&self, cluster_name: &str) -> Result<(), String> {
+        let home = std::env::var("HOME").unwrap_or_else(|_| "/root".to_string());
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(format!("{home}/.kube"))
+            .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to create ~/.kube dir: {}", e))?;
         let output = self.run_k3d_command(["kubeconfig", "merge", "-d", cluster_name])?;
 
+        log::debug!(
+            "k3d kubeconfig merge stdout: {}",
+            String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout)
+        );
+        log::debug!(
+            "k3d kubeconfig merge stderr: {}",
+            String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr)
+        );
+
         if !output.status.success() {
             let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr);
             return Err(format!("Failed to setup k3d kubeconfig : {}", stderr));