diff --git a/.forgejo/workflows/botserver.yaml b/.forgejo/workflows/botserver.yaml
index 0af23dbd..cc9554f4 100644
--- a/.forgejo/workflows/botserver.yaml
+++ b/.forgejo/workflows/botserver.yaml
@@ -64,9 +64,22 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Deploy via rsync
         run: |
-          ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no system "pkill -f botserver || true; sleep 2; rm -f /opt/gbo/bin/botserver"
-          rsync -avz -e "ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no" /opt/gbo/ci/botserver/target/debug/botserver system:/opt/gbo/bin/botserver 2>&1 | tee /tmp/deploy.log
-          ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no system "chmod +x /opt/gbo/bin/botserver && chown gbuser:gbuser /opt/gbo/bin/botserver && cd /opt/gbo/bin && nohup sudo -u gbuser ./botserver --noconsole >> /opt/gbo/logs/error.log 2>&1 &"
+          echo "=== Deploy started ==="
+          echo "Checking binary exists..."
+          ls -lh /opt/gbo/ci/botserver/target/debug/botserver
+          echo "Killing old botserver..."
+          ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no system "pkill -f botserver || true; sleep 2; rm -f /opt/gbo/bin/botserver && echo 'Old binary removed'"
+          echo "Starting rsync transfer..."
+          rsync -avz --progress -e "ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -v" /opt/gbo/ci/botserver/target/debug/botserver system:/opt/gbo/bin/botserver 2>&1 | tee /tmp/deploy.log
+          RSYNC_EXIT=${PIPESTATUS[0]}
+          echo "rsync exit code: $RSYNC_EXIT"
+          if [ "$RSYNC_EXIT" != "0" ]; then
+            echo "rsync FAILED with exit code $RSYNC_EXIT"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          echo "rsync SUCCESS, setting permissions..."
+          ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no system "chmod +x /opt/gbo/bin/botserver && chown gbuser:gbuser /opt/gbo/bin/botserver && ls -lh /opt/gbo/bin/botserver && cd /opt/gbo/bin && nohup sudo -u gbuser ./botserver --noconsole >> /opt/gbo/logs/error.log 2>&1 &"
+          echo "=== Deploy completed ==="
 
       - name: Verify botserver started
         run: |