diff --git a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
index 0659f64..f3d3a67 100644
--- a/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.gitea/workflows/release.yml
@@ -230,12 +230,25 @@ jobs:
             CONTAINER_IP=$(docker inspect -f '{{range .NetworkSettings.Networks}}{{.IPAddress}}{{end}}' ping-river-monitor-test)
             echo "Container IP: $CONTAINER_IP"
             
-            # Test using container IP directly (port 8000 inside container)
+            # Try multiple connection methods
+            response=""
+            
+            # Method 1: Try container IP directly
             if [ -n "$CONTAINER_IP" ]; then
-              response=$(curl -s --max-time 10 --connect-timeout 5 -w "HTTP_CODE:%{http_code}" http://$CONTAINER_IP:8000/health)
-            else
-              # Fallback to localhost if IP detection fails
-              response=$(curl -s --max-time 10 --connect-timeout 5 -w "HTTP_CODE:%{http_code}" http://127.0.0.1:8080/health)
+              echo "Trying container IP: $CONTAINER_IP:8000"
+              response=$(curl -s --max-time 5 --connect-timeout 3 -w "HTTP_CODE:%{http_code}" http://$CONTAINER_IP:8000/health 2>/dev/null || echo "TIMEOUT")
+            fi
+            
+            # Method 2: If container IP fails, try docker exec
+            if [[ "$response" == "TIMEOUT" ]] || [ -z "$response" ]; then
+              echo "Container IP failed, trying docker exec..."
+              response=$(docker exec ping-river-monitor-test curl -s --max-time 5 -w "HTTP_CODE:%{http_code}" http://127.0.0.1:8000/health 2>/dev/null || echo "EXEC_FAILED")
+            fi
+            
+            # Method 3: If exec fails, try host networking
+            if [[ "$response" == "EXEC_FAILED" ]] || [ -z "$response" ]; then
+              echo "Docker exec failed, trying host networking..."
+              response=$(curl -s --max-time 5 --connect-timeout 3 -w "HTTP_CODE:%{http_code}" http://127.0.0.1:8080/health 2>/dev/null || echo "HOST_FAILED")
             fi
             
             http_code=$(echo "$response" | grep -o "HTTP_CODE:[0-9]*" | cut -d: -f2)
@@ -260,20 +273,29 @@ jobs:
 
           # Test API endpoints with container networking
           echo "🧪 Testing API endpoints..."
-          
+
           # Get container IP for direct communication
           CONTAINER_IP=$(docker inspect -f '{{range .NetworkSettings.Networks}}{{.IPAddress}}{{end}}' ping-river-monitor-test)
           echo "Using container IP: $CONTAINER_IP"
-          
+
           endpoints=("health" "docs" "stations" "metrics")
           for endpoint in "${endpoints[@]}"; do
             echo "Testing /$endpoint..."
             
-            # Use container IP if available, otherwise fallback to localhost
-            if [ -n "$CONTAINER_IP" ]; then
-              response=$(curl -s --max-time 10 -w "HTTP_CODE:%{http_code}" http://$CONTAINER_IP:8000/$endpoint)
-            else
-              response=$(curl -s --max-time 10 -w "HTTP_CODE:%{http_code}" http://127.0.0.1:8080/$endpoint)
+            # Try multiple connection methods for reliability
+            response=""
+            
+            # Try docker exec first (most reliable in containerized CI)
+            response=$(docker exec ping-river-monitor-test curl -s --max-time 5 -w "HTTP_CODE:%{http_code}" http://127.0.0.1:8000/$endpoint 2>/dev/null || echo "EXEC_FAILED")
+            
+            # Fallback to container IP if exec fails
+            if [[ "$response" == "EXEC_FAILED" ]] && [ -n "$CONTAINER_IP" ]; then
+              response=$(curl -s --max-time 5 --connect-timeout 3 -w "HTTP_CODE:%{http_code}" http://$CONTAINER_IP:8000/$endpoint 2>/dev/null || echo "IP_FAILED")
+            fi
+            
+            # Final fallback to host networking
+            if [[ "$response" == "IP_FAILED" ]] || [[ "$response" == "EXEC_FAILED" ]]; then
+              response=$(curl -s --max-time 5 --connect-timeout 3 -w "HTTP_CODE:%{http_code}" http://127.0.0.1:8080/$endpoint 2>/dev/null || echo "ALL_FAILED")
             fi
             
             http_code=$(echo "$response" | grep -o "HTTP_CODE:[0-9]*" | cut -d: -f2)