diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 398aa1b6c..614fc48f5 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -86,8 +86,12 @@ docs-deploy:
 
 pages:
   stage: deploy
+  before_script: ""
   script:
+    # artifacts are kept between jobs
     - mv static public
+  variables:
+    NODE_ENV: production
   artifacts:
     paths:
     - public