diff --git a/nix/repo/ci.nix b/nix/repo/ci.nix
index 157ede7..634305d 100644
--- a/nix/repo/ci.nix
+++ b/nix/repo/ci.nix
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {inputs, ...}: let
-  inherit (inputs) cilib;
+  inherit (inputs) cilib pkgs;
 in
   cilib.mkCI {
     config.soonix = {
@@ -58,9 +58,26 @@ in
       };
     };
     pipelines."default" = {
-      stages = ["test" "build" "deploy"];
+      stages = ["check" "test" "build" "deploy"];
+      variables = {
+        EXAMPLE = "empty";
+        CURL = toString pkgs.curl;
+      };
       jobs = {
+        "check" = {
+          stage = "check";
+          script = [
+            "set -euo pipefail"
+            "echo EXAMPLE=$EXAMPLE CURL=$CURL SAMPLE=$SAMPLE HELLO=$HELLO"
+          ];
+          variables = {
+            SAMPLE = "working";
+            HELLO = toString pkgs.hello;
+            FF_SCRIPT_SECTIONS = "true";
+          };
+        };
         "test" = {
+          nix.deps = with pkgs; [coreutils nix];
           stage = "test";
           script = [
             "nix run .#tests -- --junit=junit.xml"
@@ -73,6 +90,7 @@ in
         };
         "docs" = {
           stage = "build";
+          nix.deps = with pkgs; [coreutils nix];
           script = [
             # sh
             ''