diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml
index eacd0e9..fa26c9a 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -59,7 +59,8 @@ jobs:
           for pkg in "${PACKAGES[@]}"; do
             echo "::group::Building $pkg"
             # Capture build output, extract store path (last line starting with /nix/store/)
-            if BUILD_OUTPUT=$(nix build ".#$pkg" --no-link --print-out-paths 2>&1); then
+            # --cores 2 limits parallel jobs to reduce RAM pressure on john-endesktop
+            if BUILD_OUTPUT=$(nix build ".#$pkg" --no-link --print-out-paths --cores 2 2>&1); then
               OUT_PATH=$(echo "$BUILD_OUTPUT" | grep '^/nix/store/' | tail -1)
               echo "$BUILD_OUTPUT"
               echo "Store path: $OUT_PATH"