diff --git a/.ci/deploy.sh b/.ci/deploy.sh
index 20c30ce7baef54c688fcb3eed61e8d29a7447dea..9e9515e78d996b01fd5d942c72714b58b3e3a891 100644
--- a/.ci/deploy.sh
+++ b/.ci/deploy.sh
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ else
     version="unstable";
 fi
 
+# build the unstable version - can be optimized
+git submodule update --recursive --init
+
 # add matomo
 sed -i "/matomohead/r./.ci/analytics/head.html" theme/templates/_index.html
 sed -i "/matomopolicy/r./.ci/analytics/policy.html" theme/templates/_index.html
diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 4955f6220f2179ad981af055c62de4d844383b24..a01b57938b1e884c5c2574a6e95336eb95ed66bb 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -61,8 +61,6 @@ build:courses:
   rules:
     - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "develop"
     - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "master"
-  before_script:
-    - git submodule update --recursive --init
   script:
     - bash .ci/deploy.sh
   artifacts: