diff --git a/.drone.yml b/.drone.yml
index ed126c053..dcbe81143 100644
--- a/.drone.yml
+++ b/.drone.yml
@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@ steps:
 
   - name: run federation tests
     image: node:15-alpine3.12
+    user: root
     commands:
       - ls -la target/debug/lemmy_server
       - apk add bash curl